How to Screenshot a Specific Area in Wayland

“A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words” is a rather trite phrase, but I have learned that sending a screenshot can be a much simpler endeavor than trying to describe an issue. Because of this, I configured my system (which uses Wayland and Sway) to provide an easy-to-use screenshot utility. As a result, I use small, easy-to-follow screenshots during informal technical communications over slack or element.

Setup & Usage

This script can be immediately copy & pasted into your .bashrc:

screenshot() {

    exit_status=$(grim -g "$(slurp)" $1.png)

    if [[ $exit_status -ne 0 ]]; then
        printf "Failed taking a screenshot\n"
    fi
}

To use the script, first install the packages grim and slurp. On Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S grim slurp

then, restart the shell and execute:

screenshot path-to-save-screenshot

Personal Note

I personally use a modified version of the script which contains some user-specific configurations and error handling; it can be found in my dotfiles.