FramewellDownload

Framewell · Screenshot and annotation app for the Mac

Screenshots, annotated in place.

Press a shortcut and the screen freezes. Draw on the capture right where it sits, then send it on. Native, offline, and in your menu bar.

Download for Mac
Follow the install guide
Version 1.0.0.dmg · 2.7 MBmacOS 14 Sonoma or later · Apple silicon

Framewell is not notarized by Apple, so macOS stops it the first time you open it. That's expected and takes a minute, once. Step 2 walks you through it.

Framewell annotating a capture in place: a window on the desktop is selected, with numbered steps, a rectangle, a text label, an arrow and a mosaic drawn on it, and the toolbar and style bar right underneath.

  • In place

    The capture stays where it is while you annotate it.

  • Offline

    No account, no network connection, no analytics.

  • Light

    About 4 MB on disk, ~20 MB of memory, no CPU while idle.

  • Every display

    Capture on any screen. The others stay usable while you edit.

⌜ Features ⌟

Six things it does well. Each a keystroke away.

Capture

Every display freezes. Drag an area, click a window, or click the desktop for the whole display.

  • Windows keep their shadow on a transparent background. Shift-click several to capture them together.
  • A pixel magnifier follows the crosshair. Press C to copy the color as HEX, RGB, rgba, NSColor, UIColor or SwiftUI Color.
  • Size in points, pixels, millimetres or inches. Lock the ratio, type an exact size, nudge with arrow keys.
Framewell while an area is being selected: the area is bright, the rest of the window is dimmed, a label shows 352 × 238 pt and a magnifier shows the pixel under the pointer.

Annotate

Nine tools, right on the capture. Every mark stays editable, even with another tool active.

  • Rectangle
  • Ellipse
  • Line
  • Arrow
  • Pencil
  • Mosaic
  • Text
  • Numbered steps
  • Highlight
  • Numbered steps count themselves and can carry notes, added as a column next to the image.
  • Highlight dims everything except the areas you mark. Undo and redo up to 200 steps.
  • Each tool has a letter and a number key: R or 1 for rectangle, A or 4 for arrow.
A capture being annotated: numbered steps 1 to 3, a rectangle around a chart, a text label, an arrow pointing at a button and a mosaic over a key, with the Framewell toolbar and style bar underneath.

Pins

Float a capture, the clipboard image or a file above every other window, including full-screen apps.

  • Drag to move. Scroll or pinch to zoom from 10 to 400 %.
  • Option-scroll for opacity. Optional click-through.
Two pinned captures floating above a window: a small chart, and a checklist that is slightly see-through.

Scrolling capture

Scroll yourself, or let Framewell scroll for you. The frames become one long image, up to 40,000 pixels tall, opened in the editor.

  • Sticky headers and footers are kept once.
  • It captures downward only, and video or animation inside the area can confuse the stitching.
Framewell's editor window showing a long page that was stitched together from a scrolling capture, zoomed out to fit.

Text recognition

On-device, with Apple's Vision framework. English and Russian by default; other languages macOS supports in Settings.

  • Quick mode. Drag over text and it is on the clipboard.
  • Select mode. Click Recognize Text in any capture and select words like in a document.
Recognized text marked on a capture, with one sentence selected. A bar under the toolbar says "12 words selected" and offers Select All, Copy and Done.

Save and share

Return, Space or ⌘C copies. ⌘S saves. Preview, the share menu, a pin or the editor window are one click away.

  • PNG, JPEG or HEIC, at native Retina resolution or 1×, named from a template.
  • Optionally keep the unedited original alongside.
  • The editor window annotates existing files or the clipboard image, with crop and zoom.
The Output tab of Framewell's Settings: the save folder, the file name template, the PNG, JPEG and HEIC formats, and the options for 1× resolution and the color profile.

⌜ Shortcuts ⌟

Two fingers on ⌥⇧. One key for the rest.

All shortcuts can be changed in Settings → Shortcuts.

  • Capture an area, a window or a display
  • Capture the display under the pointer
  • Scrolling capture
  • Recognize text in a region
  • Capture the last region again
  • Pin the image on the clipboard
  • Annotate an image file

⌜ Privacy ⌟

Your screenshots go only where you send them.

  • No networking code.The app is fully offline.
  • No account.Nothing to sign in to, nothing collected.
  • Your folder.Saves to Pictures/Framewell by default.

⌜ Install guide ⌟

macOS will stop it once. Here's how to get past.

Framewell is not notarized by Apple, so macOS will stop it the first time you open it. This is expected and takes a minute to get past, once. Open this page on your phone and tick off each step as you go.

The pictures are real screenshots, taken on macOS 26. Earlier versions look a little different.

Tap a number to tick off a step

  1. Download and open the file

    Download Framewell-1.0.0.dmg and open the downloaded file.

  2. Drag it into Applications

    Drag Framewell into the Applications folder. Do this before opening it.

    The opened disk image: a window with the Framewell app on the left and the Applications folder on the right.
    The window that opens. Drag the icon on the left onto the folder on the right.

  3. Open it the first time

    The steps depend on your macOS version. Check it in Apple menu → About This Mac.

    macOS 15 Sequoia and later

    1. Double-click Framewell. macOS warns that it could not verify the app.
    2. Click Done, not Move to Trash.
      macOS dialog: “Framewell” Not Opened. Apple could not verify “Framewell” is free of malware that may harm your Mac or compromise your privacy. Two buttons: Move to Trash, which is highlighted, and Done.
      The first warning. Move to Trash is the highlighted button, so do not press Return.
    3. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and scroll down to Security.
    4. Click Open Anyway next to the message about Framewell.
      The Security section of Privacy & Security in System Settings. Under “Allow applications from” it says: “Framewell” was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button next to it.
      The bottom of Privacy & Security. If the message is missing, open Framewell again to bring the warning, and this button, back.
    5. In the dialog that follows, click Open Anyway again, then confirm with your password or Touch ID.
      macOS dialog: Open “Framewell”? Apple is not able to verify that it is free from malware. Three buttons: Move to Trash, which is highlighted, Open Anyway and Done.
      The second dialog. This time the button you want is in the middle.

    Alternative for either version. If you are comfortable with Terminal, run this, then open the app normally:

    xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Framewell.app

  4. Find it in the menu bar

    Framewell now sits in the menu bar at the top right of the screen. It has no Dock icon and no window. Click its menu bar icon, corner brackets with a pointer, for the menu and Settings.

    Framewell’s menu bar icon with its menu open: Capture, Capture Fullscreen, Scrolling Capture, Recognize Text, Capture Last Region, the pinning and annotation commands, Grant Screen Recording, Settings and Quit Framewell.
    The icon and its menu. Grant Screen Recording… stays in the list until step 5 is done.

  5. Allow screen recordingRequired

    Without it, macOS only lets the app see an empty desktop.

    1. Press for a first capture. macOS asks for permission: click Open System Settings.
      macOS dialog titled Screen Recording: “Framewell” would like to record this computer’s screen and audio. Grant access to this application in Privacy & Security settings. Two buttons: Open System Settings and Deny.
      The request. If you dismissed it, choose Grant Screen Recording… in Framewell's menu, then Open System Settings.
    2. In Screen & System Audio Recording (called Screen Recording on macOS 14), switch Framewell on.
      System Settings, Screen & System Audio Recording: the heading of the list, and the Framewell row with its switch turned on.
      System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording. Your other apps in the list are left out of this picture.
    3. Quit and reopen Framewell so the change takes effect. The Framewell Permissions window, which opened along with the request, has a Relaunch Framewell button for this.
      The Framewell Permissions window. Screen Recording: required, not granted, with the buttons Open System Settings and Relaunch Framewell. Accessibility: optional, not granted, with the buttons Request Access and Open System Settings.
      Framewell's own window. The same controls are in its Settings → Permissions.
    4. On macOS 15 and later, the system may ask again from time to time whether Framewell may keep this access. Choose to keep allowing it.

  6. AccessibilityOptional

    Only the auto-scroll option of scrolling capture needs it. Framewell asks the first time you switch auto-scroll on (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility).

    macOS dialog titled Accessibility Access: “Framewell” would like to control this computer using accessibility features. Two buttons: Open System Settings and Deny.
    The request, should you want auto-scroll. Everything else works without it.

  7. Launch at loginOptional

    Switch on "Launch at login" in Framewell's Settings → General.

    Framewell’s Settings window on the General tab. The first switch is Launch at login.
    Framewell's Settings, opened from its menu.

⌜ Troubleshooting ⌟

If something looks off.

macOS says the app is damaged or can't be opened.

The download is still quarantined. Follow step 3, or use the Terminal command.

Captures show only the wallpaper or are black.

Screen recording is not allowed yet, or Framewell was not reopened after allowing it. Repeat step 5.

The shortcut does nothing.

Another app may use the same shortcut. Change it in Settings → Shortcuts.

Where is the app? There is no window.

It is in the menu bar, at the top right of the screen.

Does it work on Intel Macs or macOS 13?

No. It needs Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later.

Does it send my screenshots anywhere?

No. It has no network access at all.

How do I update?

Download the new version and replace the app in Applications. If captures come out empty afterwards, switch the screen recording permission off and on again.

How do I uninstall?

Quit Framewell from its menu and move it from Applications to the Trash.

Press ⌥⇧A. Draw. Done.

For Macs with Apple silicon, running macOS 14 Sonoma or later.

Download for Mac

First launch needs one extra step. Install guide