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waytator

waytator is a one stop shot for screenshotting and recording on supported wlroots based compositor. It is also a lightweight image and video editor.

Using niri or GNOME? See Desktop-specific notes.

Build & Install

Arch

Get it from the AUR:

yay -S waytator

Nix

Waytator is in nixpkgs, though it can lag a release or two behind:

nix run nixpkgs#waytator

To get new releases the day they're out, use this repo's flake:

nix run github:faetalize/waytator/stable

To follow master instead:

nix run github:faetalize/waytator

On NixOS, add it as a flake input:

# flake.nix
inputs.waytator = {
  url = "github:faetalize/waytator/stable";
  inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
};

Then add the package to your system:

# configuration.nix
environment.systemPackages = [
  inputs.waytator.packages.${pkgs.stdenv.hostPlatform.system}.default
];

OCR is included. For a smaller install without it, use .default.override { withOcr = false; } instead of .default.

From source

1. Required build dependencies:

meson - ninja - pkg-config - gtk4 - libadwaita-1 - gtk4-layer-shell - wayland - wayland-protocols - gcc/clang/any C compiler

2. Required runtime dependencies:

wl-clipboard for clipboard support

3. Recommended runtime dependency:

tesseract for OCR support

4. Install into ~/.local:

meson setup build --buildtype=release --prefix="$HOME/.local" # Override the prefix if needed
meson compile -C build
meson install -C build

DONE! Waytator is now installed and is usually detected by launchers instantly.

Result:

• the waytator binary: ${HOME}/.local/bin/waytator
• the desktop entry: ${HOME}/.local/share/applications/dev.faetalize.waytator.desktop
• the app icon: ${HOME}/.local/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps/dev.faetalize.waytator.svg

The app's identifier is dev.faetalize.waytator. If you have an older version of the app installed with a different identifier (e.g. dev.waytator.Waytator), make sure to remove it first to avoid conflicts.

Troubleshooting

If ~/.local/bin is not already on your PATH, add it in your shell profile. For example, add the following line to ~/.bashrc:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

If launchers fail to start waytator after installing from source, make sure your graphical session includes ~/.local/bin in PATH, not just your shell configuration.

Usage

Annotating images

Open a screenshot or any other image to mark it up, then copy or save it:

waytator path/to/image.png          # open an image
grim -g "$(slurp)" - | waytator     # open an image piped in
waytator                            # open the app empty

Add --name "Screenshot.png" to name a piped image.

Tools have single-key shortcuts, shown on their buttons, and [ and ] change the size. They can all be changed in Preferences → Shortcuts.

Taking screenshots

waytator can take the screenshot itself and open it for annotating straight away:

waytator --screenshot               # select an area of the screen
waytator --screenshot screen        # capture a whole screen
waytator --screenshot --notify      # save and copy it without opening the editor

While you pick what to capture, the bar on screen switches between area and screen, waits a few seconds before capturing, and turns on a magnifier for pixel-exact selections. Hold Shift to slow the cursor down. Esc or a right click cancels. The same captures are also in the app itself.

Screenshots are saved to your Screenshots folder and copied to the clipboard. Both can be changed in Preferences.

A few more options:

waytator --screenshot --delay 3       # wait 3 seconds before capturing
waytator --screenshot --screen DP-1   # capture that screen straight away

Bind these to keys in your compositor to capture and annotate in one step. On some desktops, the first screenshot asks for permission.

Run waytator --help for every option, including overriding shortcuts for one launch.

Running in background

To keep Waytator running in the background as a GLib application service ("daemon"), run:

waytator --gapplication-service

This will keep Waytator loaded in memory, allowing it to load faster in subsequent command invocations.

Desktop-specific notes

Screenshots are tested on niri and GNOME.

niri

Keybinds that capture and annotate in one step:

// in your config.kdl, in the binds section
Print { spawn "waytator" "--screenshot"; }
Shift+Print { spawn "waytator" "--screenshot" "screen"; }
Ctrl+Print { spawn "waytator" "--screenshot" "--notify"; }

To keep niri's own screenshot UI instead, bind your screenshot key to scripts/screenshot-to-waytator.sh. Screenshots you save or copy there then open in waytator:

// in your config.kdl, in the binds section
Print { spawn <path-to-screenshot-to-waytator.sh>; }

Floating waytator windows work best:

// in your config.kdl
window-rule {
    match app-id=r#"^dev\.faetalize\.waytator$"#
    open-floating true
}

GNOME

Taking a screenshot opens GNOME's own screenshot tool, and waytator edits the result. --screen doesn't work there.

License

GPL-3.0-or-later.