If you need to help a friend or colleague with a computer issue, screenshots can be a huge help—images of your screen that make explanations clear. You can capture your own screen and share it so others can see exactly what you mean. The internet is full of screen capture tools, and on this page you can read our review of Flameshot, which is both open source and 100% free.
Whether you use Windows, Mac, or Linux, you can use Flameshot, since the tool is available on all three platforms. That’s an advantage if you often switch between computers and want the same screenshot tool everywhere.
We tested the Windows edition of Flameshot, and on this page you can read a brief review of our experience with the program. At the bottom, we also mention an alternative you can try if you’d like a different screenshot tool with other features.
Download and installation
To download and install Flameshot, simply click the download button here on our website. You’ll then be taken to SourceForge’s website, where you can find the installers for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
As mentioned earlier, we only tested the Windows version of Flameshot, and installing it was super easy. As you can see in the GIF below, the setup looks like most other Windows installers—just click through to complete it.
On our PC, the installation took only a moment, and we were ready to start using Flameshot right away. A desktop shortcut is created automatically, which you can click to open Flameshot.
How Flameshot works
When you open Flameshot for the first time, a small pop-up appears in the corner of the screen. It lets you know that Flameshot lives on the right side of the taskbar among the hidden icons (the system tray). In other words, it doesn’t take up any screen space until you need it.
When you want to take a screenshot, you can either click the icon in the system tray or press the Print Screen key on your keyboard. From there, you have several options. For example, you can quickly save a full-screen capture by pressing CTRL+S on the keyboard, or copy the screenshot to the clipboard with CTRL+C. If you only want to capture a specific part of the screen, you can drag to select a rectangular area with your mouse. Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to draw completely freeform shapes.
After taking a screenshot you’re happy with, you can use the built-in editing tools. To highlight something specific, you can draw arrows and add numbers. There’s also a blur tool you can use to obscure personal or sensitive information.
Extra features and settings
Flameshot includes a few extra features worth highlighting. It’s especially handy that you can upload screenshots directly from the program to the online service Imgur. You can then share a link with anyone who needs access to the files. However, Imgur is the only supported service.
If you want to change how Flameshot behaves, open the program settings. You can access them by right-clicking the Flameshot icon in the system tray and then clicking the “Configuration” button.
Inside the settings, shown in the GIF above, you can tweak a wide range of options. For example, you can enable or disable specific image editing tools, and you can set how Flameshot automatically names your screenshots.
Great alternatives
On our website, you can also find reviews of many other screenshot tools in our image editing category, which you can access at this link.
A great alternative is Sniptool—you can read our review right here. Sniptool includes two extremely useful features that Flameshot lacks. First, you can freely select any shape on the screen, not just rectangles—e.g., draw a circle around exactly what you want to capture. Second, you can also record screen videos, which is super handy when video is more useful than a still image.
Sniptool does have a downside: there’s no built-in upload feature. If you want to upload your screenshots to Imgur with Sniptool, you’ll need to do it manually or install another program.
That said, you don’t need to install lots of programs if you just want simple screenshots and don’t need extra features. On Windows, you can use the built-in Snipping Tool via the keyboard shortcut Windows key+Shift+S. Microsoft has published a short guide, which you can find by clicking here. On a Mac, you can read Apple’s guide to the many built-in screenshot features in macOS at this link. If you’re on Linux, we recommend searching Google for instructions tailored to your specific distribution.
Conclusion
Overall, we think Flameshot is a solid tool. It packs a range of smart features, is very easy to use, and is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. And on top of that, it’s completely free and open source!
Flameshot isn’t perfect, though. If you want an alternative that can also record your screen, we recommend trying Sniptool. You can also stick with the built-in tools in Windows and macOS, as described earlier in this review.
We also continually review new software, so we hope you’ll come back and visit our website again soon!
Quickly capture, edit, and upload screenshots with Flameshot! The tool is free for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
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