# wlr-shot
Screen capture for **wlroots** compositors, built on the shared
[`wlr-capture`](../wlr-capture) engine (`ext-image-copy-capture-v1`, correct
strides, occlusion-independent).
> **Status:** early. It captures an output, a region (interactive `-s` or
> `-g`/slurp), or a window — as a screenshot (PNG/JPEG/PPM) or an H.264 recording /
> timelapse.
## Usage
```sh
wlr-shot screenshot [-o NAME | -g GEOM | -w ID | --pick-window]
[-t png|jpeg|ppm] [-q QUALITY] [-c] [FILE|-]
wlr-shot screenshot --list-outputs
wlr-shot record [-o NAME | -g GEOM | -w ID | --pick-window | -s | -a]
[--encoder auto|nvenc|vaapi|software] [--fps N]
[--timelapse INTERVAL] [-d SECS] FILE
```
Source (pick one; defaults to the sole output):
- `-s, --select` — **interactively** drag a region on a frozen overlay (spans all
outputs; `Esc` cancels, `Enter` confirms). No external tool needed.
- `-o, --output NAME` — a whole output (e.g. `DP-4`).
- `--all` — the whole layout: every output combined into one image.
- `-g, --geometry "X,Y WxH"` — a logical region (the format **slurp** prints),
stitched across every output it covers. Pairs with slurp:
`wlr-shot screenshot -g "$(slurp)" shot.png`.
- `-w, --window ID` — a window, by its `ext-foreign-toplevel` identifier (as
printed by `wlr-chooser`).
- `--pick-window` — launch `wlr-chooser` to choose the window interactively.
- `-a, --active-window` — the focused window.
- `--current-output` — the focused output.
The last two need the compositor's focus info. Wayland exposes no portable way to
query focus, so these use compositor IPC: **Sway** (`swaymsg`) is supported today;
Hyprland / niri are natural future additions. Without a supported compositor they
error with a hint (use `--pick-window` / `-o NAME` instead).
Encoding & destination:
- `-t, --type` — `png` (default), `jpeg`, or `ppm`.
- `-q, --quality` — JPEG quality, 1–100 (default 90).
- `-c, --clipboard` — copy to the Wayland clipboard instead of writing a file. A
small daemon detaches to serve the selection (wlroots `data-control`, the
protocol `wl-copy` uses) until another client replaces it — the clipboard is
pull-based, so the data must outlive the command. `--clipboard-foreground` keeps
it in the foreground (for scripts/debugging). Needs a compositor exposing
`zwlr_data_control_manager_v1`.
- `FILE` — destination, or `-` for stdout (the default). Ignored with `--clipboard`.
- `--list-outputs` — print `NAME<TAB>WxH+X,Y` (logical geometry) and exit.
Resolution: a whole output, or a region within a **single** output, is captured at
**native (physical) resolution** — so a fractionally-scaled monitor keeps full
pixel detail. A region spanning **several** outputs is composited at logical
resolution.
## Recording (`record`)
Stream a source to a file whose **format follows the extension**: `.mp4`/`.mkv` for
H.264 video, or **`.gif`/`.webp`** for an animated image (downscaled — GIF to 800 px,
WebP to 1280 px on the long side — and best used on a **region**, since per-frame GIF
quantization on a full 4K output is slow). The same source flags as `screenshot` apply — `-o`/sole output,
`--current-output`, `-w ID`/`--pick-window`, `-a`, `-g`, and `-s` — except a region
(`-g`/`-s`) records a **single** output for now (the one its top-left corner sits
on). Recording a **window** (`-w`/`--pick-window`) follows it across workspaces and
even while occluded.
```sh
wlr-shot record -o DP-4 out.mp4 # an output, until Ctrl-C
wlr-shot record --pick-window -d 30 clip.mp4 # a window, 30 seconds
wlr-shot record -g "$(slurp)" region.mp4 # a region (single output)
wlr-shot record -g "$(slurp)" --fps 15 demo.gif # a region as an animated GIF
wlr-shot record -g "$(slurp)" demo.webp # …or animated WebP (smaller)
wlr-shot record -o DP-4 --timelapse 2s day.mp4 # a frame every 2s, played at --fps
wlr-shot record -o DP-4 --no-audio clip.mp4 # video only (audio is on by default)
```
- `--encoder` — `auto` (default) prefers hardware (NVENC, then VAAPI) and falls back
to software `libx264`. Force one with `nvenc`/`vaapi`/`software`.
- `--device PATH` — DRM render node for VAAPI (default `/dev/dri/renderD128`).
- `--fps N` — frame rate (default 30). Capture is damage-driven (a frame only arrives
when the screen changes), so a normal recording emits a **constant** `--fps`,
repeating the last frame through static stretches; `--timelapse` instead samples one
frame per interval and plays them back at `--fps`, so the footage is sped up.
- `--timelapse INTERVAL` — sample one frame every `INTERVAL` (`2s`, `500ms`, `1m`).
- `-d, --duration SECS` — stop automatically; otherwise **Ctrl-C** ends and finalises
the file. (Recording a window also ends when the window closes.)
- **Audio** — a video recording captures **system audio** (the default sink's monitor)
as an AAC track by default, via **native PipeWire**. `--no-audio` records silently;
`--audio-source NODE` captures a specific node instead (e.g. a microphone). Needs the
`audio` build feature (on by default; links libpipewire). GIF/WebP carry no audio.
For a PipeWire-less host, build with `--features audio-fallback` to add a **Pulse/ALSA**
path (via FFmpeg's libavdevice, no extra system dep), tried after PipeWire.
Recording needs the `video` build feature (on by default), which links the system
FFmpeg libraries. A screenshots-only build drops it: `cargo build -p wlr-shot
--no-default-features --features i18n`.
## Requirements
A wlroots compositor exposing `ext-image-copy-capture-v1`,
`ext-image-capture-source-v1` and `ext-output-image-capture-source-manager-v1`
(Sway ≥ 1.12 / wlroots ≥ 0.20). `xdg-output` is used for accurate logical
geometry when present.
The default build (with `record`) links the system **FFmpeg** libraries, so it needs
their development packages at build time — on Debian/Ubuntu: `libavcodec-dev
libavformat-dev libavutil-dev libavfilter-dev libavdevice-dev libswscale-dev
libswresample-dev libva-dev` (and `clang` for the bindings). Hardware encoding needs
the matching runtime: NVIDIA's `libnvidia-encode` for NVENC, or a VAAPI driver for
your GPU. None of this is required for the screenshots-only build.
## License
MIT OR Apache-2.0.