Freedom251 › Screenshot Annotation Software
Unisic
What Unisic is
Unisic is a free, open-source screenshot and screen-recording tool for Linux desktops running Wayland. It captures full screens, selected regions, and active windows, with annotations available on the selection overlay before capture. Its editor has 15 tools, including highlighting, pixelation, a smart eraser, callouts, measurement, numbered steps, and cropping, as well as undo, redo, and zoom. Users can copy OCR text from a screen region or selected words, and decode QR codes and barcodes. Upload destinations include custom HTTP endpoints, imported ShareX uploaders, FTP, SFTP, and built-in hosts. Recording supports regions, screens, and windows saved as GIF, MP4, or WebM, with optional system, microphone, or single-app audio. Instant replay buffers the previous 30 seconds. The maker says Unisic has no telemetry or accounts. It requires a Wayland session with xdg-desktop-portal; recording also needs PipeWire and ffmpeg, while OCR requires Tesseract and a language pack. Installation options include distro repositories, Nix, direct downloads, or building from source.
Who it suits
Unisic suits Linux users who run a Wayland session and want screenshot, annotation, OCR, upload, and recording tools. Recording and OCR require additional software beyond its basic system requirements.
What it does well
- Captures screens, regions, and active windows.
- Editor includes 15 annotation and editing tools.
- Records as GIF, MP4, or WebM.
- Free and open source under GPL-3.0.
What to know first
- Requires a Wayland session and xdg-desktop-portal.
- Recording additionally requires PipeWire and ffmpeg.
- OCR requires Tesseract and a language pack.
Limits
Unisic is free and open source under GPL-3.0. Running it requires Wayland with xdg-desktop-portal; recording additionally requires PipeWire and ffmpeg, while OCR requires Tesseract and a language pack.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free and open source · GNU GPL v3 | Free |
As unisic.app lists them, read 11 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Getting started
- Open https://unisic.app/ for the maker's installation options.
- Choose a documented route such as a distro repository, Nix, direct download, or building from source.
- Install it on a Wayland session with xdg-desktop-portal and a backend.
- For recording, also install PipeWire and ffmpeg.
- For OCR, install Tesseract and a language pack.
Verdict
Unisic combines capture, editing, OCR, upload, and recording in a free Wayland-focused Linux tool. Check its system and extra component requirements against the tasks you plan to use.
Questions
How much does Unisic cost?
Its Free plan costs nothing.
Is there a free plan or trial?
Yes, Unisic has a free plan. There is no free trial.
Which platform does Unisic support?
It is for Linux and requires a Wayland session with xdg-desktop-portal.
Is Unisic open source?
Yes. It is licensed under GNU GPL v3, also called GPL-3.0.
What installation options are available?
The maker documents distro repositories, Nix, direct downloads, and building from source.
What does Unisic need for recording and OCR?
Recording requires PipeWire and ffmpeg. OCR requires Tesseract and a language pack.
Facts from Unisic's own pages
- Capture
- It captures full screens, regions, and active windows, and supports annotation on the selection overlay before capture. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Capture and annotation
- It supports full-screen, region, and window capture, with annotations drawn on the frozen selection overlay before capture. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Compositor support
- The site describes capture support for KDE Plasma, GNOME and other desktops, and niri and wlroots compositors. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Distribution
- The site lists Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, Arch, Nix, and AppImage installation options. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Distribution options
- The maker documents installation through distro repositories, Nix, direct downloads, or building from source. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Editor
- The editor has 15 tools, including highlight, pixelate, smart eraser, callout, measure, numbered steps, and crop, plus undo, redo, and zoom. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Export formats
- PNG, JPG, WebP · unisic.app, 20 Sept 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · unisic.app, 20 Sept 2026
- History
- Captures appear in a thumbnail history where users can star favorites, pin previews, or drag thumbnails into another app. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Instant replay
- Instant replay buffers the last 30 seconds, and recordings can be trimmed from the notification card. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- License
- Unisic is free and open source under GPL-3.0. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Measurement tools
- Yes · unisic.app, 20 Sept 2026
- OCR
- It can copy OCR text from a screen region, select words in the editor to copy, highlight, or redact, and decode QR codes. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- OCR and codes
- OCR can copy text from a region or individual words, and QR or barcodes can be decoded to their payload. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Privacy
- The maker says Unisic has no telemetry, crash reporting, analytics, or accounts; its own network requests check GitHub for newer releases, and uploads occur only when triggered by the user. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Product
- Unisic is an open-source screenshot tool and screen recorder for Linux, built for Wayland. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Recording
- It records a region, full screen, or window as GIF or MP4/WebM video, with optional system and microphone audio and instant replay. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Redaction tools
- Yes · unisic.app, 20 Sept 2026
- Requirements
- It requires a Wayland session with xdg-desktop-portal; recording also requires PipeWire and ffmpeg. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Sharing
- Upload options include custom HTTP destinations, imported ShareX uploaders, FTP, SFTP, and built-in hosts. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Support
- The maker directs users to report bugs and request features through GitHub Issues, including desktop, compositor, GPU, and logs for problem reports. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- System requirements
- It requires a Wayland session with xdg-desktop-portal and a backend; recording additionally needs PipeWire and ffmpeg, while OCR needs Tesseract and a language pack. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Upload destinations
- It supports custom HTTP destinations, imported ShareX uploaders, FTP/SFTP, and built-in hosts; the resulting link is copied to the clipboard. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
- What it does
- Unisic is an open-source screenshot and screen recorder for Linux, built for Wayland. · unisic.app, 11 Oct 2026
Where Unisic stands on Freedom251
- Screenshot Annotation Software#30 of 76
- Screen Capture Software#41 of 61