Installation

Flashot runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Choose your platform below.

macOS

Homebrew (Recommended)

brew tap poneding/flashot
brew install --cask flashot

Manual Download

1. Download the latest .dmg from the Releases page.
2. Open the .dmg and drag Flashot to your Applications folder.
3. Grant Screen Recording permission when prompted:
   • Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording
   • Enable Flashot in the list
4. Restart Flashot after granting permission.

Self-signed App on macOS

Flashot's macOS release builds use a fixed self-signed code-signing certificate. This is not an Apple Developer ID certificate and is not notarized, so macOS Gatekeeper may block the app on first launch.

Option A — Remove the quarantine attribute (recommended):

xattr -cr /Applications/Flashot.app

Option B — Right-click to open:

1. Right-click (or Control-click) Flashot.app in Applications
2. Select Open from the context menu
3. Click Open in the dialog that appears

Windows

1. Download the latest .exe installer from the Releases page.
2. Run the installer.
3. Launch Flashot from the Start Menu.

Linux

1. Download the latest .AppImage from the Releases page.

2. Make it executable:

   chmod +x Flashot-*.AppImage

3. Run the AppImage:

   ./Flashot-*.AppImage

TIP

For the best experience on Linux, use X11. Wayland support is experimental.

Verify Installation

After launching Flashot, you'll see its icon in the system tray (menu bar on macOS). You're ready to take your first screenshot — see the Getting Started guide.

Updating

With Homebrew (macOS)

brew upgrade --cask flashot

Auto-Update

Flashot includes a built-in updater. When a new version is available, you'll be notified through the tray menu via Check for Updates. The update is downloaded, verified, and installed automatically behind the scenes.

You can enable automatic update checks in the settings and optionally opt into beta releases for early access to new features.