macOS · menu bar · local

Drag.
Record.
Done.

Clipshot is a menu-bar recorder for short screen clips. Drag a region — free or locked to a ratio — and get MOV, MP4 or GIF. No app to open, no cloud.

fnF6 record / stop ·  fnF7 same as last ·  Esc cancel

REC 0:00
notes.md
1280 × 720 · 16:9
3
✓ Saved · Clipshot.mp4

Drag → countdown → record → saved. A live mock, not a video.

Gallery. Cloud. Account. Editor.
Just the clip.

Clipshot is a thin layer over macOS’ own screencapture and ffmpeg — it records what you point at and hands you a file. Everything stays on your Mac: no database, no login, no telemetry.

Few features.
The right ones.

screencapture + ffmpeg
01

Pick anything

Drag a region freely — or lock the drag to 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:3 and friends, your own ratio, or an exact pixel size (Retina-correct). Works across all monitors.

02

MOV · MP4 · GIF

Lossless remux or quality levels for MP4, animated GIF via an optimised palette.

03

One button in the bar

A film camera that pulses red while recording, flashes green when done. Start from anywhere with a global hotkey.

04

Optional polish

Fade in/out, a border, speed 0.5–2× and loudness normalisation — opt-in ffmpeg effects, never forced.

05

Straight to your workflow

Send the finished clip to an n8n webhook (or anything that takes a file POST). If your flow answers with a link, Clipshot drops it right into your clipboard — record → shareable link over your own infrastructure.

06

Sound, your way

Silent by default, or record the microphone — one switch.

07

Stays out of the way

Countdown, auto-stop, recent clips, save-folder and filename templates, launch at login. No Dock icon.

Hands on the keys.

defaults
Record / stopfnF6
Record same region as last timefnF7
Cancel the selectionEsc
Open settings⌘,
Quit Clipshot⌘Q

Both hotkeys are freely re-recordable in Settings → General. On most Macs F-keys need fn, or set them as standard function keys in System Settings.

Record → shareable link.

Point Clipshot at an n8n webhook. After each recording the clip is uploaded as multipart/form-data; your flow stores it (Nextcloud, S3, wherever) and replies with a URL. Clipshot copies that URL to your clipboard and pings you — a self-hosted “screenshot-to-link”, but for video. Bearer token stays in your Keychain.

Get Clipshot.

Free. Self-signed (ad-hoc), not notarised. Downloaded the ZIP? Lift the Gatekeeper block once — try right-click → Open, and if macOS still blocks it, run the one Terminal command on the right. Then macOS asks once for Screen Recording.

macOS 14+ · Apple Silicon · ~0.4 MB · needs ffmpeg for MP4/GIF (brew install ffmpeg)

↓  Download for macOS 
# after downloading, lift Gatekeeper once:
$ xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine ~/Downloads/Clipshot.app

# MP4 / GIF export uses ffmpeg:
$ brew install ffmpeg

Changelog

newest first
0.9July 2, 2026
  • Daily update check — a single version ping to the project site, no auto-install.
  • On a new version: menu hint + notification; manual check in the About tab.
0.8.2July 2, 2026
  • Onboarding and Permissions now check for ffmpeg — one-click install (Homebrew, runs visibly in Terminal).
0.8.1July 2, 2026
  • Security & polish pass after a code review: workflow token only over HTTPS/localhost, response links strictly validated.
  • If ffmpeg is missing or conversion fails, the clip is rescued as MOV — with a notification instead of silence.
  • ffmpeg status in the Permissions tab; settings only show what applies to the chosen format; localisation fixes.
0.8June 30, 2026
  • The app is now bilingual (English / German), switchable in Settings → General — English by default.
0.7June 30, 2026
  • New “Bilder” format: save the clip as individual PNG frames into their own folder.
  • Frame interval: every frame, or one every 1 / 2 / 5 seconds.
0.6June 30, 2026
  • System-audio recording (ScreenCaptureKit) — optional, with an on-screen recording frame.
  • Big 3-2-1 countdown centred on screen, with a start tone.
  • Multi-monitor: selection and countdown work correctly on every display.
  • Fixed free-region capture and the microphone permission.
0.5June 29, 2026
  • Settings window with sidebar (General, Capture, Save, Workflow, Permissions, About).
  • Send to workflow (n8n webhook) with connection test; response link → clipboard.
  • System notifications, first-run onboarding, hotkey recorder, launch at login.
0.3 – 0.4June 29, 2026
  • Aspect-locked region overlay across all monitors, exact pixel sizes.
  • Quality levels, opt-in effects (fade, border, speed, loudnorm), microphone audio.
  • Countdown, auto-stop, “same as last”, recent-clips menu, filename templates.
0.1 – 0.2June 29, 2026
  • First version: record a screen clip from the menu bar; MOV / MP4 / GIF; global hotkey.