App Screenshots

Systematically capture every view/screen of an application for marketing, product sites, README assets, and documentation.

Workflow

1. Discover all views/screens in the app
2. Build + launch the app (if not already running)
3. Navigate to each view and screenshot it
4. Save named screenshots to output directory
5. Generate a manifest (summary.md)

Step 1: Discover Views

Analyze the project to enumerate all distinct views/screens. Methods by project type:

Swift/SwiftUI macOS apps: Grep for View structs, WindowGroup, Window, Settings, sheets, popovers, menu bar panels. Check for multiple window types, onboarding flows, settings tabs.

Web apps: Check routes (React Router, Next.js pages, Express routes). Each route = one screenshot minimum. Also check for modals, drawers, settings panels.

Electron apps: Check BrowserWindow creation, route handlers, IPC window openers.

Present the discovered view list to the user for confirmation before proceeding:

Found 8 views:
1. Main window (default state)
2. Settings > General
3. Settings > Appearance
4. Settings > Shortcuts
5. Popdown menu
6. Onboarding wizard
7. Empty state
8. Active session state

Proceed? Any views to add/skip?

Step 2: Build + Launch

Build and launch the app if it's not already running. If it is, skip this step.

Step 3: Capture Each View

Navigate to each view and capture it. Sequential only -- one view at a time.

macOS Native Apps (Swift/SwiftUI)

# Get window ID for the app
WINDOW_ID=$(osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to get id of first window of (first process whose name is "AppName")')

# Screenshot specific window (no shadow, no sound)
screencapture -l $WINDOW_ID -o -x "$OUTPUT_DIR/view-name.png"

For views that require navigation (settings tabs, popovers):

• Use AppleScript or accessibility APIs to click/navigate
• Or instruct the user: "Please open Settings > Appearance, then press Enter"
• Wait, then capture

For menu bar apps:

# Activate the menu bar item first
osascript -e 'tell application "AppName" to activate'
sleep 1
screencapture -l $WINDOW_ID -o -x "$OUTPUT_DIR/popdown.png"

Web Apps

Use Puppeteer or Playwright to navigate each route and screenshot:

for (const route of routes) {
  await page.goto(`${baseUrl}${route.path}`, { waitUntil: 'networkidle2' });
  await page.screenshot({ path: `${outputDir}/${route.name}.png` });
}

For modals/drawers, click the trigger element first, wait for animation, then capture.

Multiple Viewport Sizes (Optional)

If user wants responsive shots (common for marketing):

viewports:
  - { name: "desktop", width: 1920, height: 1080 }
  - { name: "laptop",  width: 1440, height: 900  }
  - { name: "tablet",  width: 768,  height: 1024 }
  - { name: "mobile",  width: 375,  height: 812  }

Step 4: Output

Default output directory:

{project-dir}/screenshots/{YYYY-MM-DD}/

Override with any user-specified path.

Naming Convention

{output-dir}/
  01-main-window.png
  02-settings-general.png
  03-settings-appearance.png
  04-popdown-menu.png
  05-onboarding.png
  ...
  summary.md

Number prefix keeps order. Slug from view name.

Step 5: Summary

Generate summary.md:

# {App Name} - Screenshots
**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Build**: {git hash or version}

| # | View | File | Notes |
|---|------|------|-------|
| 1 | Main Window | 01-main-window.png | Default state |
| 2 | Settings - General | 02-settings-general.png | |
| ... | | | |

Rules

• Always confirm the view list with user before starting captures
• Number screenshots for consistent ordering
• Include app version or git hash in summary for traceability
• If a view requires user interaction to reach (e.g., login, specific data state), ask the user to navigate there and confirm
• Use whatever capture method fits the project -- don't force a specific tool
• For dark/light mode apps, offer to capture both variants
• For apps with multiple states (empty, loading, error, populated), capture each distinct state