GitHub - devadutta/shot2: Screenshots that don't waste your tokens.

2 min read Original article ↗

Shot2 icon

Screenshots that don't waste your tokens.
A tiny macOS menu bar app built for developers who vibe code with LLMs.

The Problem

You're screenshotting your screen to paste into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot. Sounds simple. Except:

  • macOS screenshots are PNG by default. A single full-screen capture is 1.3 MB. That's a lot of tokens for "look at this error message."
  • Area screenshots have no compression control. Cmd+Shift+4 gives you a PNG. Period. No settings, no compression, no options.
  • Every screenshot you paste costs tokens. Vision models charge per-image based on size. Bigger files = more tokens = slower responses = higher bills.

LLMs don't need retina-quality PNGs to read your stack trace. They need just enough pixels to understand what's on screen.

The Fix

Shot2 compresses by default. Every screenshot is JPEG-compressed before it hits your clipboard, so when you paste it into your AI chat, you're sending 3x fewer tokens with zero loss in comprehension.

Size comparison: Default Mac 1.3MB, Mac JPEG 900KB, Shot2 430KB

That's the same screen. Same content. Same readability for an LLM. Just 3x less cost.

Features

  • Clipboard-first — screenshots go straight to your clipboard, ready to paste
  • Aggressive compression — JPEG at 40% quality by default (LLMs can't tell the difference)
  • Four quality levels — Original PNG, Compressed (80%), Ultra Compressed (40%), Ludicrous (10%)
  • Global hotkeys — Cmd+Shift+1 (full screen) and Cmd+Shift+2 (area select), configurable
  • Optional disk save — save to a folder if you want, skip if you don't
  • Menu bar only — no dock icon, no windows, no clutter
  • Zero dependencies — native Swift, no Electron, no frameworks, ~200KB app

Install

Clone and build with Xcode:

git clone https://github.com/devadutta/shot2.git
cd shot2
open shot2.xcodeproj

Build and run (Cmd+R). The camera icon appears in your menu bar.

Usage

Action Default Shortcut
Capture full screen Cmd+Shift+1
Capture area Cmd+Shift+2
Open settings Click menu bar icon → Settings

All shortcuts are configurable in Settings → General → Keyboard Shortcuts.

Settings

  • Save to Disk — toggle file saving on/off, pick your save folder
  • Clipboard Quality — Original, Compressed, Ultra Compressed, or Ludicrous
  • Keyboard Shortcuts — click to record custom key combos for each action

Why "Shot2"

Shot2 — your second shot at screenshots. Better, smaller, smarter.

License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

Built by Devadutta Ghat.