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Command Line Options

Le Liu edited this page Dec 14, 2022 · 63 revisions

Command line options can be used to call some of the functions of Snipaste.

However, except for commands marked with a * (e.g. --config), the commands will only be effective if Snipaste is already running in the background.

In other words, if Snipaste is not running, those options will be ignored.

Snipaste PRO allows you to bind any command to a global hotkey!

Commands in bold also requires Snipaste PRO.

The online version of this document may be ahead of the software version you are using. Please refer to the software's built-in document.

Usage

snipaste.exe [OPTION]

For example:

Capture fullscreen and copy it to clipboard:

  • For Windows desktop version:X:/path/to/your/Snipaste.exe snip --full -o clipboard
  • For Windows Store version:Snipaste snip --full -o clipboard
  • For macOS version:/Applications/Snipaste.app/Contents/MacOS/Snipaste snip --full -o clipboard

Snip Options

snip                             Start snipping
snip --area X Y WIDTH HEIGHT     Start snipping with the snipping area's top-left corner
                                 set to (X, Y) and size set to WIDTH x HEIGHT
snip --size WIDTH HEIGHT         Start snipping with the snipping area's size being
                                 WIDTH x HEIGHT and its center being the cursor position
snip --full                      Start snipping with the snipping area set to fullscreen
snip --last                      Start snipping with the snipping area being the same as
                                 the last successful snipping
snip --delay-prompt              Start delayed snipping
snip --active-window             Start snipping with the snipping area set to the geometry of the active window
snip --custom                    Show Custom Snip Dialog, which allows to specify the
                                 position, size of the screenshot as well as the time to delay

The above snip options can be:

  1. combined with --delay TIME to specify the delay time (in seconds), e.g. snipaste.exe snip --delay 1.5 will start snipping after 1.5 seconds.
  2. combined with --shadow to obtain a screenshot with shadow; combined with --no-shadow to obtain a screenshot without shadow.
  3. combined with --output or -o to specify the output of the screenshot:
-o pin                           Pin the screenshot to the screen
-o clipboard                     Copy the screenshot
-o FILE_NAME                     Save the screenshot with the specified FILE_NAME. Support using variables.
                                 (double quote the text if it contains any space)
-o quick-save                    Save the screenshot to the Quick Save folder
-o file-dialog                   Show the file save dialog after the screenshot
-o printer                       Send the screenshot to the printer
-o success                       Save the screenshot to nowhere, but mark it as success
                                 A successful screenshot will be recorded (and can be reviewed)
                                 and can invoke Auto Save (if you have enabled that in the Preferences)
-o exec(COMMAND)                 Execute COMAAND after a successful screenshot

With Snipaste PRO, the above options can be combined with ;, but the output order is predefined and irrelevant to the written order.

Output order: FILE_NAME -> file-dialog -> printer -> quick-save -> clipboard -> pin -> success -> exec(COMMAND)

For example, snip -o file-dialog;clipboard will automatically copy the screenshot once the snipping area is determined and then popup the File Save Dialog.

Paste Options

paste                             Paste the clipboard content as an image window
                                  Note: no space is allowed before or after the comma.
paste --clipboard                 Same as 'paste'
paste --plain TEXT                Treat TEXT as plain text and paste it to the screen
                                  (double quote the text if it contains any space)
paste --html TEXT                 Treat TEXT as HTML and paste it to the screen
                                  (double quote the text if it contains any space)
paste --files FILE1 FILE2 ...     Paste image file FILE1, FILE2... to the screen
paste --files FOLDER1 FILE1       Paste image file FILE1, FILE2, FILE3... to the screen
  FILE2 FOLDER2 FILE3 ...         If FILE1 is a relative path, then it it relative to
                                  FOLDER1, while FILE3 is relative to FOLDER2.
                                  A FOLDER path should end with '/' or '\'.

The above paste options can be combined with --pos to specify the screen position of the floating window:

--pos X Y                         Specify the screen position of the top left corner of the image

Other Options

toggle-images                     Show/Hide all image windows
show-images                       Show all image windows
hide-images                       Hide al image windows
create-group [GROUPNAME]          Create an image group named GROUPNAME
                                  If no group name is given, a prompt dialog will popop
switch-groups                     Show the list of image groups
switch-group [GROUPNAME]          Switch to the first image group named GROUPNAME
                                  (double quote the name if it contains any space)
                                  If no group name is given, the next group will be switched to
empty-group                       Clear the current image group
show-group-manager                Open the Image Group Manger window
no-click-through                  Turn off the mouse-through mode of image windows
toggle-click-through              Toggle the mouse-through mode of image windows
show-tray-menu                    Show the tray menu under the cursor
whiteboard                        Enter whiteboard mode (Note: 'Esc to quit snipping' will be disabled;
                                  the toolbar will be automatically hidden, press Space key if you need it)
  --color [COLOR]                 Specify the fill color for whiteboard. [COLOR] can be common color names such as black, white, red or HEX values such as #001122
  --active-screen                 Show the whiteboard only on the active screen
external COMMAND                  Run an external program with arguments
                                  e.g. external notepad c:/123.txt will open c:/123.txt with Notepad
pick-color                        Pick and copy a pixel value on the screen
barcode-scan                      Scan the QR code / barcode on the screen and copy the result; the clipboard will be cleared if failed
paste-as-image                    Try to convert the content (e.g. text) in the clipboard to an image and send Ctrl-V
                                  (Windows only)
paste-as-plain-text               Convert the html text in the clipboard to plain text and send Ctrl-V
                                  (Windows only)
transparent-whiteboard            A special whiteboard mode with transparent background instead of a freeze screenshot
switch-group-prev                 Switch to last active image group
disable-hotkeys                   Disable global hotkeys
enable-hotkeys                    Enable global hotkeys
toggle-hotkeys                    Disable/Enable global hotkeys
clear-snip-history                Clear the snip records
open-preferences                  Open the Preferences Dialog
docs                              Open the Help Dialog
exit                              Quit Snipaste
--config=/path/to/config.ini      *Specify the path (absolute/relative) to the config file
                                  (double quote the path if it contains any space)

Examples

Examples below can be directly filled in the Edit command dialog:

custom_command_edit

But if you use external invocations (e.g. Windows shortcut file, command line, scripts, etc.), you would need to prepend the path to Snipaste to each command, as noted in Usage.

[Silent] means the command will be executed in the background, without any user interaction.

  1. snip -o clipboard Snip and copy the screenshot once the snipping area is determined
  2. snip --last -o clipboard Take the screenshot of the last successful snipping area and copy it [Silent]
  3. snip --full -o clipboard Copy the fullscreen screenshot [Silent]
  4. snip --shadow --active-window -o clipboard Take the screenshot of the active window and copy it with shadow [Silent][PRO]
  5. snip -o d:\123.png;exec(d:\ocr.exe d:\123.png) Snip, once the snipping area is determined, save the screen as d:\123.png, then execute d:\ocr.exe d:\123.png(please replace d:\ocr.exe with a path to your programs) [PRO]

Home

docs.snipaste.com

Getting Started

PRO Features

Advanced Tips

Command Line Options

Advanced Configs

Troubleshooting

FAQ

Key Bindings

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