Capso: Free CleanShot X Alternative for macOS
Discover Capso, the open-source macOS screenshot and screen recording powerhouse built with Swift 6.0. This native alternative to CleanShot X ($29) and Cap ($58) offers area/window/fullscreen capture, video/GIF recording with webcam PiP, advanced annotations, OCR text recognition, and screen pinning - all completely free. Download via Homebrew or build from source using its modular Swift Package Manager architecture. Perfect for developers and power users seeking professional-grade capture tools without the paywall.
Capso: The Ultimate Free CleanShot X Alternative for macOS
Tired of paying $29 for CleanShot X or $58 for Cap? Capso delivers every premium feature for free - and it's fully open-source. Built natively with Swift 6.0 and SwiftUI for macOS 15+, this isn't some Electron compromise. It's a modular powerhouse you can build from source or install via Homebrew.
๐ Core Features That Crush the Competition
| Feature | CleanShot X | Cap | Capso |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screenshots | โ Full | โ Basic | โ Full |
| Video + GIF | โ | โ | โ + Webcam PiP |
| OCR Text | โ | โ | โ Visual Selection |
| Annotations | โ Advanced | โ Basic | โ Advanced + Beautify |
| Screen Pinning | โ | โ | โ Click-Through Mode |
| Price | $29 | $58 | FREE |
๐ฏ Killer Features You'll Love
๐ธ Pro-Grade Screenshots
- Area capture with live dimensions
- Window capture (click any app)
- Fullscreen one-click
- Floating Quick Access preview
๐ฅ Advanced Screen Recording
- MP4 + GIF export with quality presets
- Webcam PiP (4 shapes, draggable, snap-to-corners)
- Camera presentation mode (PiP โ Fullscreen)
- System audio + mic capture
- Pause/stop/restart controls + 3-2-1 countdown
โ๏ธ Annotation Editor
- Arrows, shapes, text, freehand, pixelate
- Highlighters, numbered counters
- Screenshot beautification (backgrounds, shadows, rounded corners)
๐ Instant OCR
- Select โ Copy text to clipboard
- Visual highlighting of text blocks
๐ป Install in Seconds
# Homebrew (recommended)
brew tap lzhgus/tap
brew install --cask capso
# Or build from source
git clone https://github.com/lzhgus/Capso.git
cd Capso
xcodegen generate
open Capso.xcodeproj
๐๏ธ Developer-Friendly Architecture
Capso's genius is its 8 reusable Swift Packages:
CaptureKit- ScreenCaptureKit wrapperAnnotationKit- Drawing/annotation systemOCRKit- Vision framework text recognitionRecordingKit- Video/GIF engine
Drop any package into your own app - no bloat!
๐ Roadmap Highlights
- Scrolling capture
- Video trimmer
- Raycast integration
- URL scheme API
Capso isn't just free - it's better. Native performance, modern SwiftUI design, and a Business Source License that converts to Apache 2.0 in 3 years. Download now and ditch those screenshot subscriptions forever.