Browser & Testing

screenshot

Description

Use when the user explicitly asks for a desktop or system screenshot (full screen, specific app or window, or a pixel region), or when tool-specific capture capabilities are unavailable and an OS-level capture is needed.

SKILL.md

Screenshot Capture

Follow these save-location rules every time:

If the user specifies a path, save there.
If the user asks for a screenshot without a path, save to the OS default screenshot location.
If Codex needs a screenshot for its own inspection, save to the temp directory.

Tool priority

Prefer tool-specific screenshot capabilities when available (for example: a Figma MCP/skill for Figma files, or Playwright/agent-browser tools for browsers and Electron apps).
Use this skill when explicitly asked, for whole-system desktop captures, or when a tool-specific capture cannot get what you need.
Otherwise, treat this skill as the default for desktop apps without a better-integrated capture tool.

macOS permission preflight (reduce repeated prompts)

On macOS, run the preflight helper once before window/app capture. It checks Screen Recording permission, explains why it is needed, and requests it in one place.

The helpers route Swift's module cache to $TMPDIR/codex-swift-module-cache to avoid extra sandbox module-cache prompts.

bash <path-to-skill>/scripts/ensure_macos_permissions.sh

To avoid multiple sandbox approval prompts, combine preflight + capture in one command when possible:

bash <path-to-skill>/scripts/ensure_macos_permissions.sh && \
python3 <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.py --app "Codex"

For Codex inspection runs, keep the output in temp:

bash <path-to-skill>/scripts/ensure_macos_permissions.sh && \
python3 <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.py --app "<App>" --mode temp

Use the bundled scripts to avoid re-deriving OS-specific commands.

macOS and Linux (Python helper)

Run the helper from the repo root:

python3 <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.py

Common patterns:

Default location (user asked for "a screenshot"):

python3 <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.py

Temp location (Codex visual check):

python3 <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.py --mode temp

Explicit location (user provided a path or filename):

python3 <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.py --path output/screen.png

App/window capture by app name (macOS only; substring match is OK; captures all matching windows):

python3 <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.py --app "Codex"

Specific window title within an app (macOS only):

python3 <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.py --app "Codex" --window-name "Settings"

List matching window ids before capturing (macOS only):

python3 <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.py --list-windows --app "Codex"

Pixel region (x,y,w,h):

python3 <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.py --mode temp --region 100,200,800,600

Focused/active window (captures only the frontmost window; use --app to capture all windows):

python3 <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.py --mode temp --active-window

Specific window id (use --list-windows on macOS to discover ids):

python3 <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.py --window-id 12345

The script prints one path per capture. When multiple windows or displays match, it prints multiple paths (one per line) and adds suffixes like -w<windowId> or -d<display>. View each path sequentially with the image viewer tool, and only manipulate images if needed or requested.

Workflow examples

"Take a look at and tell me what you see": capture to temp, then view each printed path in order.

bash <path-to-skill>/scripts/ensure_macos_permissions.sh && \
python3 <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.py --app "<App>" --mode temp

"The design from Figma is not matching what is implemented": use a Figma MCP/skill to capture the design first, then capture the running app with this skill (typically to temp) and compare the raw screenshots before any manipulation.

Multi-display behavior

On macOS, full-screen captures save one file per display when multiple monitors are connected.
On Linux and Windows, full-screen captures use the virtual desktop (all monitors in one image); use --region to isolate a single display when needed.

Linux prerequisites and selection logic

The helper automatically selects the first available tool:

scrot
gnome-screenshot
ImageMagick import

If none are available, ask the user to install one of them and retry.

Coordinate regions require scrot or ImageMagick import.

--app, --window-name, and --list-windows are macOS-only. On Linux, use --active-window or provide --window-id when available.

Windows (PowerShell helper)

Run the PowerShell helper:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.ps1

Common patterns:

Default location:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.ps1

Temp location (Codex visual check):

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.ps1 -Mode temp

Explicit path:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.ps1 -Path "C:\Temp\screen.png"

Pixel region (x,y,w,h):

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.ps1 -Mode temp -Region 100,200,800,600

Active window (ask the user to focus it first):

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.ps1 -Mode temp -ActiveWindow

Specific window handle (only when provided):

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File <path-to-skill>/scripts/take_screenshot.ps1 -WindowHandle 123456

Direct OS commands (fallbacks)

Use these when you cannot run the helpers.

macOS

Full screen to a specific path:

screencapture -x output/screen.png

Pixel region:

screencapture -x -R100,200,800,600 output/region.png

Specific window id:

screencapture -x -l12345 output/window.png

Interactive selection or window pick:

screencapture -x -i output/interactive.png

Linux

Full screen:

scrot output/screen.png

gnome-screenshot -f output/screen.png

import -window root output/screen.png

Pixel region:

scrot -a 100,200,800,600 output/region.png

import -window root -crop 800x600+100+200 output/region.png

Active window:

scrot -u output/window.png

gnome-screenshot -w -f output/window.png

Error handling

On macOS, run bash <path-to-skill>/scripts/ensure_macos_permissions.sh first to request Screen Recording in one place.
If you see "screen capture checks are blocked in the sandbox", "could not create image from display", or Swift ModuleCache permission errors in a sandboxed run, rerun the command with escalated permissions.
If macOS app/window capture returns no matches, run --list-windows --app "AppName" and retry with --window-id, and make sure the app is visible on screen.
If Linux region/window capture fails, check tool availability with command -v scrot, command -v gnome-screenshot, and command -v import.
If saving to the OS default location fails with permission errors in a sandbox, rerun the command with escalated permissions.
Always report the saved file path in the response.

License

Apache License
Version 2.0, January 2004
http://www.apache.org/licenses/

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