Usage

Most users should start here:

crabture

That opens the graphical overlay. Choose AREA, WINDOW, or FULL, then capture the target. Use Escape, right-click, or CANCEL to leave without changing files or the clipboard. See Graphical controls.

Common tasks

Want to…	Run
Open the graphical screenshot UI	crabture
Capture the full primary screen immediately	crabture --instant
Capture monitor 2 immediately	crabture --monitor 2
Draw a fast area selection directly	crabture --select
Capture exact coordinates	crabture --region 100,200,800x600
Copy instead of saving from a direct command	crabture --instant --copy
Save JPG files	crabture --instant --format jpg
Save direct captures to a directory	crabture --instant ~/screenshots
List monitor names, sizes, and scale	crabture --list-monitors
Open the legacy terminal menu	crabture --menu

Command examples

# Graphical screenshot UI (default)
crabture

# Legacy interactive TUI
crabture --menu

# Instant full-screen screenshot
crabture --instant

# Capture a specific monitor (1-based index)
crabture --monitor 2

# Interactive area selection
crabture --select

# Capture a region by coordinates
crabture --region 100,200,800x600

# Copy to clipboard instead of saving
crabture --instant --copy

# Save as JPG to a specific directory
crabture --instant --format jpg ~/screenshots

# List available monitors
crabture --list-monitors

Where output goes

• Graphical UI: copies captures to the clipboard by default and remembers output preferences.
• Direct commands (--instant, --monitor, --select, --region): save files by default. Add --copy to copy instead.
• If you pass a directory path, direct captures save there. Otherwise crabture uses XDG_SCREENSHOTS_DIR, falling back to ~/Pictures.