A screenshot by itself asks a reviewer to infer the important part. A sentence by itself asks them to find the screen that sentence describes. Snapdown keeps the two together: capture the region, write the finding, anchor a numbered marker, then export a bundle whose Markdown and annotated images agree.
The system mental model
The product has four durable ideas. Once those are clear, the rest of the interface follows from them.
A capture is evidence
Trigger capture, freeze the current screen, and select the smallest region that proves the point. Snapdown can detect the window or control under the cursor, and the pixel loupe helps you place an edge exactly.
A finding is an observation plus its evidence
Write what is wrong, what should happen instead, and any condition needed to reproduce it. The note belongs to the selected image region; it is not a detached ticket title.
A marker is a stable visual reference
Place marker 1, 2, or 3 beside the relevant detail. Numbering starts at 1 on every finding, and each marker becomes the numbered note with the same number under that finding, so the image and the prose carry the same reference.
A bundle is a hand-off snapshot
Select related findings to form a bundle. Copy its Markdown to the clipboard, copy a single image with or without the annotations burned in, or export the bundle as a PDF. A bundle records what you reviewed at that moment; it is not a cloud project, live board, or account-bound workspace.
Core workflow & interface
The desktop editor has three working surfaces:
- Toolbar: seven tools: Marker, Shape, Callout, Blur, Arrow, Text, and Crop. Click an icon to pick a tool; the active tool is highlighted.
- Canvas: hold Ctrl and turn the mouse wheel to zoom around the cursor; without Ctrl the wheel scrolls the canvas, and dragging draws with the selected tool. Escape deselects or cancels, Delete removes the selected annotation, and Ctrl+Z undoes the last change.
- Findings list and note inspector: review captured findings, edit their notes, and copy a bundle's Markdown to the clipboard from its row menu in the Library.
Local-first architecture
| Layer | What it does | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop application | Native Rust application with a Slint user interface. Capture happens on an explicit action, never continuously in the background. | Your Windows 11 session |
| Library | SQLite index of findings, markers, timestamps, and references to image files. | %APPDATA%\com.wiradelta.snapdown\library.db |
| Image vault | Stores capture and annotation image files. Its location can be changed in Settings. | %USERPROFILE%\Pictures\SnapdownVault\ |
| Output | Copies a bundle's Markdown or a single image to the clipboard, or exports the bundle as a PDF. The Markdown is plain text whose image links point to files in your vault. | The clipboard, or a location you choose for a PDF |
| Update check | On by default. Asks for the latest version every 24 hours with one unauthenticated HTTPS request that carries the Snapdown version, Windows version, and processor architecture, and no account, device identifier, or telemetry. Switch it off in Settings > About. | wiradelta.com |
Snapdown is read by the agent, not controlled by it. It runs no MCP server and no local API, so an agent cannot start a capture or ask Snapdown for data. You decide what leaves the app, through the clipboard or an exported PDF.
Start where your work starts
Getting Started
Install with the Setup installer or Scoop; learn the first-run path, storage locations, update policy, and data reset.
ReadFeatures & Shortcuts
Capture precisely, annotate without ambiguity, protect sensitive values with blur, control image sizes, and export.
ReadAgent Workflow
Give Claude Code, Cursor, or Windsurf a Markdown bundle with a request that is specific and reproducible.
ReadPrivacy and security
Read what Snapdown stores, what the optional update check contacts, and the limits of its access.
ReadGlobal capture hotkeys
Snapdown registers two global hotkeys: Alt+Shift+S starts a region capture with the pixel loupe, and Alt+Shift+E brings the Snapdown editor to the front. You can rebind either one or turn it off in Settings. If you prefer the PrintScreen key, first turn off the Windows option that opens Snipping Tool with it (Windows Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard), then set PrintScreen as your capture shortcut in Snapdown.
Found a bug or want a feature? Open an issue on the releases repository. For anything else, read Snapdown help.