README.org

August 26, 2024 · View on GitHub

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  • macosrec

Take screenshots or videos of macOS windows from the command line (also includes [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_character_recognition][OCR]]).

See [[https://xenodium.com/recordscreenshot-windows-the-lazy-way][Recording and screenshotting windows: the lazy way]].

#+HTML:

Note: This gif was captured with macosrec

#+begin_src shell $ macosrec USAGE: record-command [--version] [--list] [--hidden] [--screenshot ] [--record ] [--ocr] [--clipboard] [--mov] [--gif] [--save] [--abort] [--output ]

OPTIONS: --version Show version. -l, --list List recordable windows. --hidden Also include hidden windows when listing. -x, --screenshot Take a screenshot. -r, --record Start recording. -c, --ocr Select and recognize text in screen region. -b, --clipboard Save --ocr text to clipboard. -m, --mov Record as mov. -g, --gif Record as gif. -s, --save Save active recording. -a, --abort Abort active recording. -o, --output -h, --help Show help information. #+end_src

  • Install ** Homebrew #+begin_src sh brew tap xenodium/macosrec brew install macosrec #+end_src ** Build #+begin_src sh swift build #+end_src
  • Screenshot

Before taking a screenshot, identify the window number using =--list=.

#+begin_src sh $ macosrec --list

21902 Emacs 22024 Dock - Desktop Picture - Stone.png 22035 Firefox - Planet Emacslife #+end_src

Use =--screenshot= + window number to take a screenshot.

#+begin_src sh ~ $ macosrec --screenshot 21902 ~/Desktop/2023-04-14-08:21:45-Emacs.png #+end_src

  • Videos

Before taking a video, identify the window number using =--list=.

#+begin_src sh $ macosrec --list

21902 Emacs 22024 Dock - Desktop Picture - Stone.png 22035 Firefox - Planet Emacslife #+end_src

Use =--record= + window number to start recording a video (gif).

/Note: you can also use application name and it will use the first window it finds belonging to it./

To end recording, send a SIGINT signal (Ctrl+C from terminal). Alternatively, running =macosrec --save= from another session would also end the recording.

#+begin_src sh ~ $ macosrec --record 21902 --gif Saving... ~/Desktop/2023-04-14-08:21:45-Emacs.gif #+end_src

/Note: you can also use application name and it will use the first window it finds belonging to it./

#+begin_src sh ~ $ macosrec --record emacs --mov Saving... ~/Desktop/2023-04-14-08:21:45-Emacs.mov #+end_src

** Optimizing gif

The gifs can get pretty large fairly quickly depending on the lenght of the recording. Consider using something like [[https://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/][gifsicle]] to reduce size. For example:

#+begin_src sh gifsicle -O3 large.gif --lossy=80 -o smaller.gif #+end_src

  • OCR ** Selecting a region The =--ocr= flag defaults to selecting a screen region (unless =--input=) is given. #+begin_src sh $ macosrec --ocr

    Hello this text was recognized #+end_src

** From existing image

Use the =--input= flag:

#+begin_src sh $ macosrec --ocr --input /path/to/image.png

Hello this text was recognized #+end_src

** Save to clipboard

Use the =--clipboard= flat:

#+begin_src sh $ macosrec --ocr --input /path/to/image.png --clipboard

Hello this text was recognized #+end_src

  • Speech to text Recognizing text with in speech =--speech-to-text= is only supported via =--input= audio file (i.e. .mp3).

#+begin_src sh $ macosrec --speech-to-text --locale "en-GB" --input path/to/audio.mp3

Hello this text was recognized #+end_src

  • Disclaimer

I built this util to record demos I post at [[https://xenodium.com][xenodium.com]]. Does the job so far, but can likely take improvements, specially around image handling efficiency. PRs totally welcome.

** Resizing windows while recording (not supported)

While a video will be recorded if you resize the window during the recording session, it's unlikely to produce a file with the expected outcome. This feature is currently unsupported and out of scope. Having said that, if anyone's keen to implement it, a PR is totally welcome.

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