aishot · macOS capture
~ $ aishot --send
Take the shot. It lands where you're already typing.
One hotkey. AIShot grabs a screenshot and reads the app in front of you, then hands over whatever that app actually wants — no dragging, no "where did it save," no detour through Finder. # and it saves a real PNG every time, so you keep the file too.
- $ frontmosta terminal or IDE gets an escaped file path — exactly what a CLI agent needs.
- $ frontmostan AI app or browser gets the PNG pasted straight in.
- $ idlenothing runs in the background. It wakes only on the hotkey.
the real friction
The screenshot was never the hard part.
To show an AI what's on your screen you capture it — then hunt through Finder for the file, or drag it into the chat window. Every single time. The friction isn't the shot. It's the shuffle afterward.
one hotkey, done
Capture, and it's already in the conversation.
Press your hotkey, drag a region — Space grabs a whole window, Esc cancels. The PNG saves to your normal screenshot folder and lands in whatever app was frontmost, pasted for you with an automatic ⌘V. No Finder, no drag & drop.
how it works
It pastes the right thing for where you are.
Name
aishot — capture once, then hand the shot to whatever app is in front. The paste changes to fit; the saved file never does.
And always — saved as a real file · Screenshot 2026-07-08 at 11.09.27 AM.png
what it does
Small on the surface, precise underneath.
Region or window, path or image, saved and pasted — every part is tuned to disappear into the one motion of showing the AI what you see.
Region or window
Drag any region, or hit Space to grab a whole window.
Format auto-detect
Path for terminals, image for chats — decided per app.
Automatic ⌘V
It pastes for you, so the shot lands right where your cursor is.
Saved as a file
Native macOS naming, archived the moment it's captured.
Zero setup
Follows your system screenshot folder, even if you moved it.
No idle footprint
Runs only when invoked. No menu bar item, no daemon.
open & honest
Honest tools age better than magic ones.
MIT-licensed, with the full source on GitHub. And the rough edges, up front:
- Ad-hoc signed, not notarized — first launch needs a one-time "Open Anyway" under Privacy & Security.
- Two one-time permissions: Screen Recording, then Accessibility for the synthesized ⌘V. Until Accessibility is granted it still copies to the clipboard.
- Rebuilding from source resets its permission grants by design, so the next launch re-prompts cleanly.
- No account, no telemetry, no upsell.
run it yourself
Clone, build, bind a hotkey.
You'll need macOS 14+ and Xcode Command Line Tools. build.sh builds, ad-hoc signs, and installs to ~/Applications. Then point any launcher — Karabiner ships ⌘⇧2 — at the open command.