Can AI replace Shotomatic?
KINDA · weekend projectA personal timed screenshot loop is a realistic weekend build. Matching reliable capture across Mac apps, permission recovery, website batches, guide editing, and polished exports is a much larger product.
Build me a local macOS screenshot automation app covering Shotomatic's basic loop. Requirements: - Use SwiftUI and ScreenCaptureKit in a native macOS 14+ app with no third-party packages. - Provide a source picker for one display or one visible window, with thumbnail previews. - Let me set an interval in seconds and stop after a screenshot count or elapsed duration. - Show a three-second countdown, live running status, captured count, and a clear Stop button. - Save every capture as PNG or JPEG in ~/Pictures/Capture Sessions/<timestamp>/. - Keep a local session list with thumbnails; open a session in Finder or delete it with confirmation. - Add one optional keypress after each capture using CGEvent so paged content can advance. - Check Screen Recording and Accessibility permission before starting; explain how to grant each. - Never upload files, add accounts, or collect telemetry. The app must work fully offline. - Handle a display or window disappearing mid-session without losing images already captured. - Include a small unit-tested state machine for idle, countdown, running, stopping, and failed states. - Include a README with build, permission, and signing notes plus a manual smoke-test checklist. - Out of scope: custom-area capture, website batches, guide editing, annotations, PDF/ZIP/MP4 export. - Produce an Xcode project that builds and runs, then run the unit tests before finishing.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter) or copy it raw
prompt copied. want to know what dies next week?
new verdicts + top votes, weekly. free. one-click out.
They want repeatable capture across Mac apps without maintaining native permission handling, automation edge cases, session history, and several export pipelines themselves.
xpolished display, window, and custom-area selection
xreliable macOS permission setup and recovery
xAction Capture guide editing and annotations
xbatch website capture with per-URL settings
xintegrated PDF, ZIP, and MP4 export workflows
Can AI replace Shotomatic?
Kinda. The core of Shotomatic is buildable in a weekend with the prompt on this page, but there are real gaps: polished display, window, and custom-area selection, reliable macOS permission setup and recovery. Read the honest list above before committing.
How much does Shotomatic cost?
Shotomatic costs about $7.99/month (Pro Monthly, checked 2026-07-30), which is $95.88 per year.
What do I lose by replacing Shotomatic?
Honestly: polished display, window, and custom-area selection; reliable macOS permission setup and recovery; Action Capture guide editing and annotations; batch website capture with per-URL settings; integrated PDF, ZIP, and MP4 export workflows. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Shotomatic?
Yes — Flameshot (mature cross-platform screenshot capture, but not a timed Mac automation workflow). Using prior art is also a valid exit; the prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.