CodeSnap

Generate beautiful code screenshots from your terminal. Like Carbon.now.sh, but as a CLI tool.

Why CodeSnap?

Stop opening websites just to screenshot your code. CodeSnap gives you pixel-perfect, syntax-highlighted code screenshots right from your terminal. Perfect for documentation, blog posts, Twitter, or showing off that clever one-liner.

Features

• Syntax highlighting for 100+ languages via Shiki
• Multiple themes - Dark, Light, Monokai, Nord, Dracula, GitHub, Solarized
• macOS-style window controls - Optional window chrome for that polished look
• Custom backgrounds - Solid colors or gradients
• Line number control - Show/hide, or select specific line ranges
• Shadow effects - Add depth to your screenshots
• Piped input - Screenshot code from clipboard or command output
• Fast - Generates screenshots in seconds

Installation

npm install -g codesnap

Or run locally:

git clone https://github.com/ranjan98/codesnap.git
cd codesnap
npm install
npm run build
npm link

Usage

Basic Screenshot

# Screenshot a file
codesnap capture myfile.js

# Custom output location
codesnap capture myfile.py --output screenshot.png

Themes

# Use a specific theme
codesnap capture app.tsx --theme dracula

# See all available themes
codesnap themes

Available themes:

• dark (default)
• light
• monokai
• nord
• dracula
• github-dark
• github-light
• solarized-dark
• solarized-light

Window Controls

# Add macOS-style window controls
codesnap capture server.go --window-controls --title "server.go"

# With custom background
codesnap capture api.rs --window-controls --bg "#282a36"

Line Numbers & Ranges

# Hide line numbers
codesnap capture script.sh --no-line-numbers

# Capture specific lines (lines 10-25)
codesnap capture app.ts --start-line 10 --end-line 25

Styling Options

# Custom background color
codesnap capture code.py --bg "#0d1117"

# Add shadow effect
codesnap capture main.cpp --shadow

# Custom padding
codesnap capture style.css --padding 60

# Combine all options
codesnap capture app.js \
  --theme nord \
  --window-controls \
  --title "app.js" \
  --bg "#2e3440" \
  --shadow \
  --padding 50 \
  --output beautiful-code.png

From Clipboard or Stdin

# Screenshot code from clipboard (macOS)
pbpaste | codesnap stdin --language javascript

# From a command
cat myfile.rb | codesnap stdin --language ruby --theme monokai

# From any output
git diff | codesnap stdin --language diff

Examples

Example 1: Basic JavaScript

codesnap capture example.js

Creates a dark-themed screenshot with syntax highlighting and line numbers.

Example 2: Styled Python

codesnap capture train.py \
  --theme github-dark \
  --window-controls \
  --title "train.py" \
  --shadow

Creates a GitHub Dark themed screenshot with window controls and shadow.

Example 3: Specific Lines

codesnap capture api.go \
  --start-line 45 \
  --end-line 67 \
  --theme nord \
  --output api-handler.png

Screenshots only lines 45-67 with Nord theme.

Example 4: Blog Post Snippet

codesnap capture snippet.tsx \
  --no-line-numbers \
  --theme light \
  --bg "linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea 0%, #764ba2 100%)" \
  --padding 80 \
  --shadow

Clean screenshot with gradient background, perfect for blog posts.

Supported Languages

Auto-detects from file extension:

JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Ruby, Go, Rust, Java, C, C++, C#, PHP, Swift, Kotlin, Bash, YAML, JSON, Markdown, HTML, CSS, SCSS, SQL, and many more.

Specify manually with --language flag if needed.

Use Cases

• Documentation - Clean code examples for README files
• Social Media - Share code snippets on Twitter/LinkedIn
• Blog Posts - Professional-looking code blocks
• Presentations - High-quality code slides
• Tutorials - Clear, readable code examples
• Code Reviews - Highlight specific sections

Tips

1. High DPI displays - Screenshots are rendered at 2x resolution by default
2. File size - PNG outputs are typically 50-200KB
3. Custom fonts - Uses system monospace fonts (SF Mono on macOS)
4. Gradients - Use CSS gradient syntax for --bg option

Comparison to Alternatives

Feature	CodeSnap	Carbon.now.sh	Polacode
CLI Interface	✅	❌	❌
Offline	✅	❌	✅
Batch Processing	✅	❌	❌
Piped Input	✅	❌	❌
Themes	9+	20+	5+
Window Controls	✅	✅	✅

Roadmap

• More built-in themes
• Custom font selection
• Watermark support
• Batch processing multiple files
• SVG export option
• Configuration file support
• GIF generation for code diffs

Contributing

Found a bug? Want a new theme?

git clone https://github.com/ranjan98/codesnap.git
cd codesnap
npm install
npm run dev capture test.js

Submit issues or PRs on GitHub!

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details

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Made for developers who live in the terminal.

Give it a star if it saves you time! ⭐