scrot is a command-line screen capture utility for Linux operating systems. It allows users to take screenshots of their desktops, windows, or specific regions on their screens with a simple command. The captured image can then be saved in various formats such as JPEG, PNG, or BMP.
scrot is a simple yet powerful tool for taking screenshots, and it has a number of options to customize the output of the captured image. Additionally, scrot can be used in scripts to automate the process of taking screenshots, making it a useful tool for creating documentation or tutorials.
scrot is an open-source project and is hosted on GitHub. The source code is freely available for anyone to view, modify, and distribute under the terms of the GNU General Public License. The project is actively maintained, and users can submit bug reports or feature requests through the project’s GitHub page.
Overall, scrot is a powerful and flexible tool for taking screenshots on Linux systems, and it is a great addition to any user’s toolkit.
If you encounter the below error while running the command scrot:
scrot: command not found
you may try installing the below package as per your choice of distribution:
| Distribution | Command |
|---|---|
| Debian | apt-get install scrot |
| Ubuntu | apt-get install scrot |
| Alpine | apk add scrot |
| Arch Linux | pacman -S scrot |
| Kali Linux | apt-get install scrot |
| Fedora | dnf install scrot |
| Raspbian | apt-get install scrot |
scrot Command Examples
1. Capture a screenshot and save it to the current directory with the current date as the filename:
# scrot
2. Capture a screenshot and save it as `capture.png`:
# scrot capture.png
3. Capture a screenshot interactively:
# scrot --select
4. Capture a screenshot from the currently focused window:
# scrot --focused
5. Display a countdown of 10 seconds before taking a screenshot:
# scrot --count --delay 10