Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFor a local desktop screenshot in Go, use github.com/kbinani/screenshot: enumerate active displays, get a display’s bounds, capture the whole bounds or a rectangle within them, then encode the returned image as PNG. The example below lists displays or saves a screenshot from a selected display. It also accounts for displays whose coordinates are negative or do not start at (0, 0).
Install the Go screenshot package
Use the focused github.com/kbinani/screenshot package when your program needs to capture a display or rectangular region without also taking on a broader desktop-automation library. In a Go module, add it with:
go get github.com/kbinani/screenshotThe project README lists Windows, Darwin, Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD among its supported GOOS targets, and describes the implementation as cgo-free except for Darwin. Actual capture still depends on the operating system and session’s permissions and display-server behavior; check the project documentation for the environment you intend to ship on.
Runnable Go program: list displays or capture one
Save this as main.go. With no flags, it prints the active display indices and bounds. Pass -display and -out to save a PNG. Add all three region flags—-x, -y, and -w—plus -h to capture a rectangle; the region must fit inside the chosen display’s bounds.
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package main
import (
"flag"
"fmt"
"image"
"image/png"
"os"
"github.com/kbinani/screenshot"
)
func main() {
display := flag.Int("display", -1, "display index; omit to list displays")
out := flag.String("out", "screenshot.png", "output PNG file")
x := flag.Int("x", 0, "region left coordinate in desktop coordinates")
y := flag.Int("y", 0, "region top coordinate in desktop coordinates")
w := flag.Int("w", 0, "region width; use with -x, -y, and -h")
h := flag.Int("h", 0, "region height; use with -x, -y, and -w")
flag.Parse()
count := screenshot.NumActiveDisplays()
if count == 0 {
fail("no active displays found")
}
if *display < 0 {
for i := 0; i < count; i++ {
fmt.Printf("display %d: %vn", i, screenshot.GetDisplayBounds(i))
}
return
}
if *display >= count {
fail("display index %d is out of range (found %d active displays)", *display, count)
}
bounds := screenshot.GetDisplayBounds(*display)
rect := bounds
if *w != 0 || *h != 0 || *x != 0 || *y != 0 {
if *w <= 0 || *h <= 0 {
fail("a region requires positive -w and -h values")
}
rect = image.Rect(*x, *y, *x+*w, *y+*h)
if rect.Min.X < bounds.Min.X || rect.Min.Y < bounds.Min.Y ||
rect.Max.X > bounds.Max.X || rect.Max.Y > bounds.Max.Y {
fail("region %v is outside display %d bounds %v", rect, *display, bounds)
}
}
img, err := screenshot.CaptureRect(rect)
if err != nil {
fail("capture %v: %v", rect, err)
}
file, err := os.Create(*out)
if err != nil {
fail("create %q: %v", *out, err)
}
if err := png.Encode(file, img); err != nil {
_ = file.Close()
fail("encode PNG: %v", err)
}
if err := file.Close(); err != nil {
fail("close output file: %v", err)
}
fmt.Printf("saved %s (%dx%d)n", *out, img.Bounds().Dx(), img.Bounds().Dy())
}
func fail(format string, args ...any) {
fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, format+"n", args...)
os.Exit(1)
}Run it from the module directory:
go run .
go run . -display 0 -out display-0.png
go run . -display 0 -x 100 -y 100 -w 800 -h 600 -out region.pngThe first command prints bounds such as (-1920,0)-(0,1080) or (0,0)-(1920,1080), depending on the display arrangement. The exact values depend on the machine. Use the printed bounds to choose a region: the -x and -y flags are desktop coordinates, not offsets from the selected display’s upper-left corner. The program intentionally rejects a rectangle outside that display rather than silently clipping it.
How display enumeration and coordinates work
The package’s documented workflow is NumActiveDisplays, GetDisplayBounds(i), then CaptureRect(bounds). Each captured result is an image.Image, which Go’s image/png package can encode to a file. On a multi-monitor desktop, repeat the capture for each index if you want one output image per display; use distinct filenames, such as display-0.png and display-1.png.
The library documents the coordinate origin at the upper-left of the main display, with y increasing downward. A monitor positioned left of or above the main display can have negative x or y coordinates. That is why region coordinates should be based on the rectangles returned by GetDisplayBounds, not an assumed origin of zero. For example, if a display’s bounds begin at (-1920,0), its left edge is x = -1920 in the desktop coordinate system.
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To capture the entire virtual desktop as one image rather than one image per monitor, determine the union rectangle of all display bounds and pass that rectangle to CaptureRect. This is different from capturing one display at a time; monitor gaps or unusual layouts may affect the resulting image. The package README’s example demonstrates multiple displays and nonzero or negative coordinates, but does not establish how every operating-system layout or gap will appear in a combined capture.
Save another image format
The example writes PNG. The capture method returns an image, so the encoding step determines the output format. For JPEG, replace the PNG encoder with Go’s image/jpeg encoder. JPEG has a quality setting and is lossy; PNG preserves pixel values but may produce larger files for photographic content. Check encoder errors and close the output file in either case.
import "image/jpeg"
// After creating file and obtaining img:
if err := jpeg.Encode(file, img, &jpeg.Options{Quality: 85}); err != nil {
_ = file.Close()
return err
}The short snippet above is an encoder substitution, not a separate complete program: keep the capture, file-creation, and error-handling steps from the runnable example. Standard Go’s image encoders are format-specific; do not change the file extension alone and expect the encoded bytes to change format.
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When RobotGo is a better fit
RobotGo bundles screen capture with mouse, keyboard, window, process, image, and bitmap functionality. Its package documentation exposes Capture and CaptureImg, and its screen example demonstrates full-screen or region capture, saving output, and iterating over displays. Consider it when screenshot capture is one part of a larger desktop-automation application. For a capture-only utility, compare its broader scope and platform setup with the focused package above.
RobotGo’s upstream README describes multiple backend and build choices. In Linux Wayland environments, it discusses a wlroots-oriented backend that depends on protocols such as zwlr_screencopy_v1, as well as portal/libei paths and differences across GNOME and KDE. It also says macOS capture requires Screen Recording permission. These details are release- and environment-sensitive: confirm the current RobotGo instructions for your selected version, build tags, compositor, and permission model before relying on a particular backend.
| Consideration | kbinani/screenshot |
RobotGo |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Focused display and rectangle capture. | Capture within a broader desktop-automation library. |
| Capture API | Enumerate displays, get bounds, capture a rectangle. | Package docs expose Capture and CaptureImg. |
| Platform setup | README lists Windows, Darwin, Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD; cgo-free except Darwin, per project documentation. | Backend, build, and permission choices vary; check the upstream README for the target environment. |
Permissions, environment, and reliability
A successful build does not guarantee capture will work in every desktop session. A library can call the operating system’s capture facilities, but the session, compositor, or privacy settings may restrict access. On macOS, the RobotGo README specifically calls out Screen Recording permission. On Linux, distinguish X11 from Wayland and verify that the backend documented for your compositor is available; RobotGo’s README describes these differences explicitly. Do not infer support for a specific setup merely from a broad operating-system label.
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For an application that runs unattended, test under the same user, display server, permissions, and monitor arrangement that production will use. A headless process with no accessible desktop session is not equivalent to an interactive user session, and the cited project documentation does not promise that every headless environment can provide a meaningful desktop image.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshooting common failures
- No active displays:
NumActiveDisplaysreturns zero. Confirm the program is running in a logged-in graphical session with an attached or otherwise active display, rather than assuming an SSH or service process shares the user’s desktop. - Capture returns an error: Check the display index and rectangle first. Then confirm the operating system’s capture permission and, on Linux, the display-server backend and compositor support for the package or RobotGo build you selected.
- Region is shifted or rejected: Compare the requested coordinates with
GetDisplayBounds. Coordinates use the desktop coordinate space; a monitor to the left or above the main screen may begin at a negative coordinate. The sample validates that the rectangle is wholly within the chosen display. - PNG file is missing or empty: Check the output directory and permissions. The sample reports file creation, encoding, and close errors separately; a successful capture does not by itself mean the file was written successfully.
- It works on one machine but not another: Record OS, display server, compositor, library version, build tags, and permissions. Confirm those specifics against the relevant project’s current documentation instead of treating “cross-platform” as a guarantee that all session backends behave identically.
Desktop screenshots versus live screen feeds
This workflow captures a still image and writes it to a file. A live feed means repeatedly obtaining frames and delivering or encoding them as a stream, which introduces timing, synchronization, and video-encoding concerns beyond a one-shot PNG capture. The cited screenshot package documentation establishes still-image capture, not a live-streaming API; do not treat a loop around CaptureRect as a complete, efficient video-capture pipeline without separately addressing those requirements.
Or skip the browser setup
If your actual input is a public webpage URL—not your local desktop—ScreenshotNeo is a URL-based website screenshot API, not a local monitor-capture library. One GET request returns an image or PDF; the following cURL example saves a WebP image. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options.
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curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpScreenshotNeo removes cookie banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; bot checks, blank pages, and failed loads are not billed. Its MCP server lets AI agents take screenshots. The Free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card, and paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots. Sign up for 1,000 free screenshots a month with no card.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the Go program capture a webpage without displaying it on my desktop?
The program shown captures a local display rectangle. Rendering a webpage from a URL without using the local desktop is a separate browser-rendering task; ScreenshotNeo’s URL-based API is one option for that different input.
Does this example capture every monitor into one file?
No. It captures one selected display or a region on that display. To create one file per monitor, run a capture for each display index and give each image a distinct filename.
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