5 Free Linux screenshot tools | How to take a screenshot in Linux?

Taking screenshots on Linux is not as simple as taking a screenshot on other operating systems such as Windows or macOS. This is because there is no specific utility that is installed for taking a screenshot.

But, there are other distributions that have at least one utility installed and can be used to take a screenshot.

Linux screenshot tool

In this article, we will take a look at some default tools that can be used to take a screenshot on Linux.

1. Taking a screenshot using a built-in tool

Linux mint has its own in-built screenshot tool that can easily take a screenshot.

This tool is a quite easy and simple tool to use,.You can take a snip of your current window by hitting keyboard shortcuts the PrtSc key or Fn +Prt SC keys on other devices.

When the screenshot is taken, the tool has an option of how you can choose to copy it to clipboard and you can also give your screenshot a name and choose the folder which you want your screenshot to be saved to.

2. Taking a screenshot using Shutter

Shutter Linux screenshot tool is one screen capture tool that allows you to capture a screenshot of an entire window, a selected area, and even a snip of your desktop.

To install a shutter you can either choose to browse from the software center and install it from there or you can as well run the following command. Make sure you have sudo privilege or root access to run.

sudo apt install shutter

Note: To install the packages/tools in Linux through the terminal, you should know the basic Linux commands.

You can use the app launcher to search for a shutter and manually launch it.

To take a screenshot, click on the shutter tool icon. From there you can choose the type of screenshot you want to take.

 It also has an integrated feature that enables you to share your image online. It is a user-friendly tool as it does not have any complications while taking a screenshot.

 It also ships with an editing feature that helps the user to add some effects to the image.

After you are done editing your image you can save it by clicking on the File menu at the top right corner of the toolbar.

3. Taking a screenshot with ImageMagick (Command-line Tool)

How to take the Linux screenshot using command?

ImageMagic is a command-line utility that is used to take a screenshot simply by running a few commands.

This open-source software is used to display, convert and even edit bitmap images. It has a vector image file which has a support frame consisting of a200 image format. It can also write images in different formats such as PNG,  GIF, JPEG, and many others.

It has the ability to take a screenshot by using a set of commands. It also allows you to take a screenshot of the active window, the entire screen or even a portion of the screen.

To install ImageMagic, you need to install the required packages by running the following command.

sudo apt install phpphp-common gcc

After installing the required packages now you can install ImageMagick by running these commands.

sudo apt install ImageMagick

To take a screenshot of an entire screen simply type the following commands then press enter.

import -window root pictures/image2.png

You can also take a screenshot of a selected area by running the following commands and pressing Enter, your mouse cursor will turn into a crosshair then you can click on the window you want to capture.

import pictures/image3.png

Add a delay time to take your screenshot by typing:

import -window root -3 second pictures/image4.png

You can then choose the amount of time you want to delay then press enter.

4. Taking a screenshot using Gimp

Gimp Linux screenshot tool is the ideal image editor that always comes installed in Linux. But, if you don’t have it then worry not and just head to the software center and install it.

You can also run these commands to install it.

sudo apt install gimp

Click on the start menu and select Gimp. After it opens click on the File menu then select create, on the drop-down menu click on the screenshot option.

Then you can choose the type of screenshot you want if it of the full screen, a custom of a single window. You can add a delay if you want, so as to get the targeted screenshot at the time you want.

After selecting the type of screenshot you want, and maybe if you have added a delay duration, click snap for your picture to be taken effectively after that, you can open your mage on the Gimp editing window for further editing. As in my case, I have chosen a screenshot of the entire screen.

When you are done with editing or if you don’t want to add an effect screenshot, you can save it. Click on the File menu then, on the drop-down menu, select export option, give your screen s a suitable name and choose a folder which you would like your image to be saved to. When you are done,  click export for your image to be finally saved.

5. Taking a screenshot using Flameshot tool

A flame shot tool is a splendid tool that recently arrived on Github. It has quite magnificent features such as it helps you to annotate, mark, and many others.

If you want to install it on Ubuntu, simply search it on the Ubuntu software center. Also, you can run the command below on the terminal to install it.

sudo apt install flame shot

After installation, you can always search on the start menu to launch it. At the bottom, left corner you’ll notice a flame shot icon.

Click on the tool to select an area. After selecting an area press enter to capture a screenshot.

At the bottom of the screenshot, there are different types of drawing tools that you can use for editing. Next, there are also some editing such as undo, copy and many more. The functions are easy to identify.

Flameshot also supports some keyboard shortcut making it easier for the user to save the image by using ctrl + s and even copy the image to the clipboard by hitting ctrl + c keys.

Conclusion

These are the best screenshot tools used to capture a screenshot on Linux. There are a lot of options available when it comes to the best Linux screenshot tool. You can always choose any of the tools that are convenient for you.

Editors’ Note: This article is shared by Jeff M Thomas and edited by Aniruddha Chaudhari.