PxlShot — Free Screenshot Tool for Mac - Tim Leland

2 min read Original article ↗

Free native screenshot tool for macOS

The screenshot tool I always wanted.

Capture an area, window, or display. Mark it up, hide private details, then copy, save, or share.

  • Free
  • No account
  • No uploads or analytics
PxlShot Quick Access panel showing a large capture preview, recent capture thumbnails, and the History button

PxlShot in action

The workflow in 34 seconds.

See capture, editing, redaction, and history in the real Mac app.

Capture

Capture a window.

Mark up

Add arrows and notes.

Style

Add a background and browser frame.

Area capture

Capture a selected area.

Built-in polish

Ready to share.

Add padding, a background, or a Mac or Windows browser frame. No design app needed.

PxlShot editor showing a screenshot inside a light macOS browser frame
Custom address, light or dark, Mac or Windows.

What it does

From capture to share.

A free, privacy-first CleanShot X alternative for Mac.

01

Capture fast

Grab an area, window, or display from the menu bar or a shortcut.

02

Move right away

Drag a recent shot, open it to edit, or jump to history.

03

Mark it up

Add arrows, shapes, text, highlights, freehand notes, or numbered steps.

04

Finish the image

Crop it, add a background, round the corners, or use a browser frame.

05

Hide private details

Blur, pixelate, or redact details permanently before sharing.

06

Find it later

Search captures by the text inside them. OCR stays on your Mac.

A faster way to code with AI

Show it. Mark it. Say it.

A marked-up screenshot and a spoken prompt are usually clearer than a wall of text.

  1. Capture the problem. Include enough context.
  2. Point to the spot. Use an arrow or numbered markers.
  3. Dictate the change. Say what should change and what should stay.

See my full AI coding workflow

PxlShot editor showing arrows and numbered markers added to a screenshot for an AI coding prompt
An arrow tells the model where to look.

A closer look

Native Mac UI. No cloud.

Private by default

Screenshots stay on your Mac.

No account, server, analytics, telemetry, ads, or network access. Captures, OCR, and search stay local. Exports are re-encoded without GPS or EXIF metadata.

Read the PxlShot privacy policy

Quick answers

Is PxlShot really free?

Yes. No subscription or account.

What version of macOS does it need?

PxlShot requires macOS 14 or newer.

Does OCR upload the screenshot?

No. Text recognition runs on the Mac for both editor extraction and recent-capture search. You can review extracted text before copying it.

PxlShot app icon

PxlShot for macOS

Free on the Mac App Store.

Download PxlShot