Flameshot is a screenshot tool that lets you mark up the picture before it is even saved. Select an area and a toolbar appears right on the screen: draw arrows, rectangles and circles, highlight with a marker, add text or pixelate sensitive parts, with undo, then copy or save the result. It is a long-time favourite on Linux and runs on Windows and macOS too.
It is also scriptable. Commands such as flameshot gui, flameshot full and flameshot screen take a capture with a delay, save to a chosen folder, copy to the clipboard or print the image for another program, and Linux desktops can control it over DBus. You can change its colours and buttons, and there is an optional upload to Imgur.
Flameshot is GPL-3.0 licensed, with about 31,000 stars and 363 contributors since 2017. Version 15.0.0 came out on 7 November 2026.
- Repository: github.com/flameshot-org/flameshot
- Licence: GPL-3.0 (GNU General Public License v3.0)
- Language: C++. Stars: 31.5K. Forks: 2,096. Last push: Nov 6, 2026.
- Scan: safe, Nov 10, 2026, commit e8092a1
Who it is for
Anyone who writes guides, files bug reports or explains things with screenshots, Linux users who want a better screenshot tool than their desktop's default, and people who want to pixelate private details before sharing an image.
Getting started
1. Download a package or installer for Linux, Windows or Mac
https://github.com/flameshot-org/flameshot/releases/latest2. Or on Windows with Scoop
scoop install flameshot3. Take a screenshot with the editor
flameshot guiOn macOS, the README says a Homebrew install may be blocked as from an unverified developer, and explains how to allow it. Windows binaries are code-signed through the SignPath Foundation, though the project notes not every patch release is signed.
Safety scan
We cloned flameshot-org/flameshot at commit e8092a1 on Nov 10, 2026 and ran the checks described on the GitHub Tools page: credential patterns, decode-and-execute code, install-time scripts, committed binaries, risky CI workflows, every host the code talks to, known vulnerabilities in pinned dependencies, and project hygiene. A person read every hit. This is what we found.
- No secret hits, no pattern hits, no install hooks and no committed binaries across 506 files and about 191,000 lines, mostly C++.
- No lockfile to check against vulnerability databases.
- The README's privacy policy says Flameshot transfers nothing to other networked systems unless you ask it to. That matches the code: the hosts are GNU licence links, GitHub, Qt and freedesktop documentation, and Imgur, which is only used when you choose to upload a screenshot there.
- 6 workflows, none using pull_request_target. None of the 6 third-party actions is pinned to a commit. A security policy, code of conduct and licence are present; no Dependabot or CodeQL.
What the scanner counted
| Check | Result |
|---|---|
| Secrets | None found. |
| Suspicious code | None found. |
| Install-time code | None: nothing runs at install beyond the package manager itself. |
| Committed binaries | None. |
| CI workflows | 6 workflows. None use pull_request_target. 6 of 6 third-party actions pinned to a tag rather than a commit. |
| Network hosts | 11 distinct hosts referenced from source; most often www.gnu.org, github.com, stackoverflow.com, imgur.com. No URLs to bare IP addresses. |
| Known vulnerabilities | No lockfile to check: dependencies are declared as ranges, so what gets installed is whatever is current on the day. |
| Project hygiene | Has security policy, licence file. Missing automated dependency updates, CodeQL, contributing guide. |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | 5.3 out of 10, as of Nov 2, 2026. |
By the numbers
| Stars | 31.5K |
|---|---|
| Forks | 2,096 |
| Contributors | 363 |
| Commits | 2,395 |
| Open issues | 669 |
| Open pull requests | 79 |
| Releases | 37 |
| Latest release | v15.0.0 |
| Licence | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | C++ |
| Project age | 9 years |
| Last push | Nov 6, 2026 |
| Tracked files | 506 |
| Lines of code | 191.2K |
| Checkout size | 24 MB |
Lines by language: TypeScript 161.1K, C++ 20.4K, C/C++ header 5,242, Markdown 2,090, YAML 1,565, Shell 535.
Questions
Is Flameshot free?
Yes. Flameshot is free and open source under GPL-3.0, with no paid version and no account.
Does Flameshot upload my screenshots?
Only if you press the upload button, which sends that one image to Imgur. Everything else stays on your computer.
How is it different from ShareX?
ShareX is Windows-only and does much more, including screen recording and many upload destinations. Flameshot is simpler, focuses on capture and quick annotation, and runs on Linux, Windows and Mac. We list ShareX in this GitHub section too.
This post is part of GitHub Tools, where every repository is cloned and scanned before it is written up. The scan is a snapshot of one commit on one day; the repository has moved on since, so check it before you install.