Use github.com/kbinani/screenshot to capture a complete monitor or any desktop rectangle. The package returns an *image.RGBA; your program decides whether to encode it as PNG, JPEG, WebP, or another format and where to save it. For multiple monitors, enumerate displays with NumActiveDisplays, read each monitor’s coordinates with GetDisplayBounds, and pass those bounds to CaptureRect.
Install the package
Initialize a Go module if the project does not already have one, then install the module:
go mod init example.com/screenshot-demo
go get github.com/kbinani/screenshotImport the screenshot package together with the standard-library packages needed for your output format and error handling. The package captures pixels; it does not create files automatically.
Capture every active monitor as a PNG
This complete program follows the package’s documented multi-display workflow. It checks file creation, PNG encoding, and file closing errors instead of discarding them.
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package main
import (
"fmt"
"image/png"
"os"
"github.com/kbinani/screenshot"
)
func main() {
displays := screenshot.NumActiveDisplays()
if displays == 0 {
fmt.Println("no active displays")
return
}
for i := 0; i < displays; i++ {
bounds := screenshot.GetDisplayBounds(i)
img, err := screenshot.CaptureRect(bounds)
if err != nil {
fmt.Printf("capture display %d (%v): %vn", i, bounds, err)
continue
}
name := fmt.Sprintf("display-%d-%dx%d.png", i, bounds.Dx(), bounds.Dy())
file, err := os.Create(name)
if err != nil {
fmt.Printf("create %s: %vn", name, err)
continue
}
if err := png.Encode(file, img); err != nil {
file.Close()
fmt.Printf("encode %s: %vn", name, err)
continue
}
if err := file.Close(); err != nil {
fmt.Printf("close %s: %vn", name, err)
continue
}
fmt.Printf("saved %s (%v)n", name, bounds)
}
}Run it with go run .. Each successful capture produces a PNG in the program’s current working directory. The file name uses the display index and dimensions reported at runtime, so it does not assume a particular monitor arrangement.
Capture one monitor
When you know the display index, CaptureDisplay is the shortest route to a full-monitor image:
img, err := screenshot.CaptureDisplay(0)
if err != nil {
return err
}
file, err := os.Create("primary.png")
if err != nil {
return err
}
defer file.Close()
if err := png.Encode(file, img); err != nil {
return err
}Index 0 is the primary display. Do not assume that its bounds are always a particular resolution; query them when you need the position or dimensions.
Capture a selected rectangle
Using x, y, width, and height
Capture accepts a rectangle expressed as four integers:
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if err != nil {
return err
}The coordinates are relative to the primary-display origin. The example captures an 800-by-600 region beginning at (100, 80).
Using an image.Rectangle
CaptureRect is useful when a rectangle comes from display bounds or is assembled with the image package:
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package main
import (
"image"
"image/png"
"os"
"github.com/kbinani/screenshot"
)
func main() {
rect := image.Rect(100, 80, 900, 680)
img, err := screenshot.CaptureRect(rect)
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
file, err := os.Create("region.png")
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
defer file.Close()
if err := png.Encode(file, img); err != nil {
panic(err)
}
}Rectangle width is Max.X - Min.X and height is Max.Y - Min.Y. Validate dimensions before capturing if coordinates come from user input.
Understand monitor coordinates
The coordinate origin is the upper-left corner of the primary display, and Y increases downward. A secondary monitor positioned left of or above the primary can therefore have negative X or Y coordinates. For example, a bounds value such as (-293,-1440)-(2267,0) is valid, not an error.
Always obtain real bounds with GetDisplayBounds(i) before capturing a monitor. Hard-coding (0,0) works only for a region at the primary display’s origin and can miss monitors arranged elsewhere.
for i := 0; i < screenshot.NumActiveDisplays(); i++ {
bounds := screenshot.GetDisplayBounds(i)
fmt.Printf("display %d: min=(%d,%d), max=(%d,%d), size=%dx%dn",
i, bounds.Min.X, bounds.Min.Y,
bounds.Max.X, bounds.Max.Y,
bounds.Dx(), bounds.Dy())
}Choose the right API
| Need | Function | Input | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Count monitors | NumActiveDisplays |
None | Number of active displays |
| Find a monitor’s position and size | GetDisplayBounds |
Display index | image.Rectangle |
| Capture a full monitor | CaptureDisplay |
Display index | *image.RGBA and error |
| Capture arbitrary coordinates | Capture |
X, Y, width, height | *image.RGBA and error |
| Capture a prepared rectangle | CaptureRect |
image.Rectangle |
*image.RGBA and error |
All capture methods return pixel data in memory. Encode with image/png for lossless output, or use another encoder that accepts an image.
Platform and build requirements
The project lists Windows, Darwin (macOS), Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD support. The implementation is CGO-free except for Darwin. The API exposes ErrUnsupported for unsupported platform or architecture combinations, including Darwin builds made without CGO.
Before shipping, build for the exact operating system and architecture you will deploy. On macOS, verify that CGO is enabled and that the runtime environment permits screen capture. A successful build alone does not guarantee that the operating system will grant capture access.
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go env GOOS GOARCH CGO_ENABLED
go build ./...The module publication information displayed in the package reference is dated June 24, 2025, and the reference page indicates that its default view was not showing the latest version. Pin and review the version appropriate for your project rather than relying on an unstated version.
Production considerations
Check every fallible operation
Capture calls can return errors, as can file creation, encoding, and closing. Return or log errors with the display index and rectangle so an operator can identify which monitor failed.
Control memory use
An RGBA image uses roughly four bytes per pixel before encoder buffers. A 3840-by-2160 capture is about 33 MB of raw pixel storage, and capturing several monitors simultaneously increases that total. The example captures and writes one monitor at a time, allowing the image to become eligible for collection before the next iteration.
Keep output deterministic
Use an explicit output directory, stable names, and a timestamp or job identifier when captures may overlap. If concurrent captures are introduced, ensure each goroutine writes to a different file and consider limiting concurrency to avoid unnecessary memory spikes.
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The package takes a snapshot of the current desktop. If another application is animating or updating content, the resulting frame can reflect that instant. For repeatable automation, arrange the desktop first and add synchronization in your own program before calling a capture function.
Troubleshooting
ErrUnsupported or an unsupported-platform error
Confirm that the target OS and architecture are among those supported by the project. On Darwin, check CGO configuration; a build without required CGO support can be rejected. Rebuild for the intended target instead of assuming a binary built on another operating system will work.
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The wrong monitor was captured
Print NumActiveDisplays and every GetDisplayBounds result. Display indexes follow the operating system’s active-display enumeration, while physical placement is represented by the rectangle. Do not infer placement from the index.
A secondary monitor is partly missing
Inspect for negative coordinates. A monitor above or left of the primary commonly has negative Y or X values. Pass the complete rectangle returned by GetDisplayBounds to CaptureRect.
The output file is empty or missing
Check the error from os.Create, verify the process has write permission in its current directory, and close the file after encoding. Print the absolute output path when diagnosing a service or scheduled task, whose working directory may differ from an interactive shell.
The image has the wrong size
Log bounds.Dx() and bounds.Dy(). Window scaling, display configuration, and the selected rectangle determine the pixel dimensions. The package returns the captured pixel buffer; it does not resize it automatically.
macOS blocks capture
Check the operating system’s screen-recording/privacy permission for the executable that performs the capture. Permission changes may require restarting the application. This is an OS policy issue rather than a PNG-encoding problem.
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import requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)Node.js:
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const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);It also supports full-page captures with lazy images, CSS-selector element captures, dark mode, device presets and custom viewports, retina scale, PDF paper and margin controls, custom CSS and JavaScript, pre-capture clicks, selector hiding, selector/delay/network-idle waits, request and resource blocking, custom headers/cookies/user agents/Authorization, timezone and geolocation, transparent backgrounds, resizing, chosen cache TTLs, signed image links, asynchronous jobs with signed webhooks, bulk requests for up to 100 URLs, a usage API, and an OpenAPI specification. An MCP server provides take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf for Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients.
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API reference at a glance
NumActiveDisplays() intreports active displays.GetDisplayBounds(displayIndex int) image.Rectanglereturns a display’s desktop-relative bounds.Capture(x, y, width, height int) (*image.RGBA, error)captures an arbitrary region.CaptureRect(rect image.Rectangle) (*image.RGBA, error)captures the supplied rectangle.CaptureDisplay(displayIndex int) (*image.RGBA, error)captures one complete display.ErrUnsupportedidentifies unsupported platform or build conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does kbinani/screenshot save JPEG files directly?
No. Capture functions return an *image.RGBA. Use the appropriate Go image encoder and file writer for JPEG or another format.
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Yes. Use the negative coordinates in GetDisplayBounds; the coordinate system permits negative X and Y values for displays left of or above the primary.
Is CGO required on Linux or Windows?
The project describes its implementation as CGO-free except for Darwin. Darwin builds may require CGO and can return ErrUnsupported when built without it.
Quick Recap
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