Shutter is a feature-rich screenshot app for Linux that can capture a selected area or the desktop, keep multiple captures in a session, and open screenshots in its built-in Drawing Tool for quick annotations. This guide shows the current installation methods and the four core workflows most people need.
One important caveat: Shutter works best on X11/Xorg. Upstream still describes its Wayland support as limited, and recent releases may hand capture control to the desktop's XDG Desktop Portal instead of Shutter's own selector. The project's current release history is available in the official Shutter release notes.
Shutter is packaged by several major distributions, so you usually do not need to build it from source. The exact version depends on your distro; upstream's latest tagged release is 0.99.7, while stable distribution repositories may ship an older build.
On current Ubuntu releases, Shutter is available from the Universe repository. Debian also ships it in its regular package archive. Install it with:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install shutterIf an Ubuntu system does not offer the version you need, Shutter also maintains an official PPA. The project's download page lists the supported PPA method. You can also verify package availability on the official Ubuntu Packages and Debian Packages sites.
Arch Linux currently provides Shutter in the Extra repository, while Fedora provides packages for supported releases:
# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S shutter
# Fedora
sudo dnf install shutterSee the official Arch package page or Fedora package page if you want to check the version before installing.
Open Shutter from your application menu, then choose Selection. Drag a rectangle around the area you want to capture. Depending on your preferences and Shutter version, you can confirm the selection with Enter, double-click it, or use the option that captures when you release the mouse button.
The screenshot is added to Shutter's current session, where you can preview it, copy it, rename it, save it elsewhere, or send it to the Drawing Tool.
To capture the whole desktop, click Desktop in Shutter's toolbar. If you need time to open a menu or arrange a window first, set a delay before starting the capture. You can also choose whether the mouse pointer should be included when that option is available.
On multi-monitor setups, the result can depend on the desktop environment and display server, so check the preview before closing Shutter.
Select a screenshot in the session, then open Edit or the Drawing Tool. The editor can add arrows, text, highlights and shapes, crop the image, and pixelate parts of a screenshot. When you finish, save the edited image to the location you want.
For passwords, account numbers, private keys, or other secrets, cropping the sensitive content out or covering it with an opaque shape is safer than relying on blur or pixelation alone.
If Selection or Window is disabled, or the capture dialog looks different from Shutter's normal interface, check whether your session is using Wayland. Upstream documents only rudimentary Wayland support through XDG Desktop Portal, where the compositor may present its own capture UI. Shutter 0.99.6 also documented a broken window-capture function, and the 0.99.7 release notes do not list a window-capture fix.
For a single window when Window mode is unavailable, use Selection to draw around that window. If Shutter's capture buttons do nothing on Wayland, confirm that the correct portal backend is installed for your desktop environment or use your desktop's native screenshot tool for the capture, then open the resulting image in Shutter for annotation.
Capture Linux desktop audio in Audacity by routing its recording stream to your output device’s monitor source. Follow PulseAudio and PipeWire steps, export tips, and fixes for silent tracks.
Install Dropbox on Linux from the official package, sign in, sync a local folder, manage selective sync, and check status from the command line.
Install Inkscape from your Linux distribution’s repositories, the Ubuntu stable PPA, Snap, or Flathub, with current commands and notes for choosing a package source.
Use FSlint to scan selected Linux folders, review duplicate groups, and safely delete redundant files or learn when hard-link merging is appropriate.
Install SABnzbd on Ubuntu or Debian, or run it in Docker on another Linux host. Then open the web interface and configure your provider and download folders.
Install the Paper GTK theme from supported Linux repositories, enable it for GTK apps in GNOME Tweaks, and see what the legacy theme can and cannot change.
The old OpenMediaVault Plex plugin is archived. Set up Plex on OMV 8 with OMV-Extras, the Compose plugin, persistent storage, and Plex’s official container.
Clean and speed up Ubuntu with safe APT cleanup, storage checks, and startup controls that help free space and troubleshoot a sluggish desktop.
Install Hiri on Linux with its Snap package or official tarball, add a desktop launcher, and check supported accounts plus a warning about Hiri’s old Snap release.
Use Fastfetch and built-in Linux commands to check your distro, kernel, CPU, memory, graphics, storage, and connected devices, then save a clear report.
