screenshot_skill

Overview

This skill captures screenshots of windows or the full screen and saves them as files for verification, documentation, or debugging. It is optimized to produce ephemeral quick-look files by default and persistent files when you specify a path. Use it to confirm visual state after uncertain CLI operations, to gather evidence, or to include images in documentation.

How this skill works

The tool enumerates windows using macOS Quartz APIs and can capture a specific window or the entire screen via the native screencapture utility. Captured images are optionally resized with sips to a sensible default max dimension (1568px) to balance fidelity and upload latency. It can capture windows even when they are covered or minimized, and writes files to /tmp/claude-screenshots/ by default unless you provide a destination path.

When to use it

• When you ask “Have a look” or “Can you see what’s on screen?”
• After uncertain CLI operations (backgrounded jobs, nohup) to verify state
• When tool prompts or UI state is ambiguous and a visual check helps
• To create persistent images for documentation or bug reports
• After browsermcp actions when you need a file-based screenshot instead of an injected snapshot

Best practices

• List windows first to locate the exact app/title before capturing (--list)
• Prefer default 1568px resize for balanced quality and upload speed; use --native only when original resolution is required
• Keep screenshots purposeful to avoid cluttering the directory
• Use explicit paths for documentation artifacts so files persist where you need them
• Ensure the terminal app has Screen Recording permission to avoid capture failures

Example use cases

• Verify a backgrounded build or server started correctly after running a CLI command
• Capture a browser window with a specific title for a bug report
• Take before-and-after screenshots when making UI changes for documentation
• Grab a non-browser app window (editor, terminal, communication app) that browser snapshots cannot capture
• Persist screenshots to a docs folder for step-by-step guides