Screen{shot,cast} and perform ImageOps on the command line 🌱 🏞️

menyoki is a screencast and screenshot utility that can also perform various image related operations such as making/splitting GIFs and modifying/analyzing/viewing image files. It aims to be a lightweight command line tool for either helping out on day-to-day life operations or complicated detail-centric issues. Originally it was designed to record/screenshot terminal windows but it can be tweaked easily for other purposes with command line arguments, environment variables, or a configuration file.

Supported Platforms

• [x] Linux
  • [x] X11 (fully supported)
  • [ ] Wayland (no record/capture)
• [ ] Windows (no record/capture)
• [ ] macOS (no record/capture)

menyoki requires a window system implementation of the supported platform for record and capture actions. Other features are expected to work normally since they don't require a window system running (or grabbing a window to operate on). For example, despite the macOS is not listed as a supported platform, menyoki still can perform image operations such as edit, analyze and view if it's compiled on macOS.

Supported Formats

• [x] GIF
• [x] APNG
• [x] PNG
• [x] JPEG
• [x] BMP
• [x] ICO
• [x] TIFF
• [x] PNM
• [x] TGA
• [x] farbfeld
• [x] OpenEXR
• [x] WebP
• [ ] AVIF
• [ ] MP4

Installation

Requirements

• Rust: 1.56.1+
• Dependencies
  • Arch Linux: libx11, libxrandr
  • Debian, Ubuntu: libx11-dev/librust-x11-dev, libxrandr-dev
  • Fedora: libX11-devel, libXrandr

Cargo

menyoki can be installed from crates.io using cargo if Rust is installed.

cargo install menyoki

Use --force option to update.

cargo install menyoki --force

Arch Linux

menyoki can be installed from the Arch Linux extra repository.

pacman -S menyoki

Or if you prefer, you can use an available AUR package for installation.

• Use an AUR helper:

paru menyoki

• Clone the package and compile it with makepkg:

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/menyoki-git.git
cd menyoki-git
makepkg -si

Docker

Docker Hub

Download the orhunp/menyoki image from Docker Hub (see available tags):

docker pull orhunp/menyoki:<tag>

Run a container:

docker run orhunp/menyoki:<tag>

Building an image

After cloning the repository, you can build an image from Dockerfile:

docker build -t menyoki .

Then you can either run a container:

docker run menyoki

or spawn a shell inside the container with running it interactively:

docker run -it menyoki /bin/bash

Manual

From source

1. Clone the repository.

git clone https://github.com/orhun/menyoki.git && cd menyoki/

2. Build the project and install binary.

cargo install --path .

Releases

1. Download the latest archive from releases page and extract it.
2. Move menyoki binary to /usr/local/bin/ (Linux)

Features

• Record an animation
• Split an animation into frames
• Make an animation from frames
• Capture an image
• Edit an image
• Analyze an image
• View an image

Usage

Action
Result

Command line arguments of menyoki are designed to be as intuitive as possible. As a result of that, an action can be performed with a chain of subcommands along with the flags and options. The general prototype for the usage of command line arguments is the following:

menyoki (ACTION) (FORMAT) (OUTPUT)

The subcommand that will indicate the action is mandatory whereas format and output subcommands might be optional (or they might not exist at all). The format subcommand can be one of the supported formats and output basically corresponds to the save subcommand.

The default format is the first listed subcommand if there is not any subcommand given for specifying a format. On the other hand, save subcommand uses the "menyoki" directory in the home (or images if it exists) as the default output directory.

General

Flags and options that will generally affect the execution of menyoki can be set before specifying the main action to perform. Then the main subcommand (action) must be specified.

menyoki [FLAGS] [OPTIONS] <SUBCOMMAND>

Arguments

FLAGS:
    -h, --help       Print help information
    -V, --version    Print version information
    -v, --verbose    Increase logging verbosity
    -q, --quiet      Do not show output

OPTIONS:
    -c, --config <FILE>    Set the configuration file
        --color <HEX>      Set the main color [default: 3AA431]

SUBCOMMANDS:
    record     Record an animation
    split      Split an animation into frames
    make       Make an animation from frames
    capture    Capture an image
    edit       Edit an image
    analyze    Analyze an image
    view       View an image

Examples

Record

menyoki can record an area of a window or the whole screen and encode it as a supported format. Area selection and resize is performed with the key bindings.

A few scenarios that record action might be helpful would be:

• Record a specific area of a window
• Record for a given duration
• Record the output of a command (especially for TUI applications)

Encoding options can be changed using the arguments of the provided format. (See the output of menyoki record gif --help)

menyoki record [FLAGS] [OPTIONS] [COMMAND] [SUBCOMMAND]

Arguments

FLAGS:
    -r, --root          Record the root window
    -f, --focus         Record the focused window
        --select        Select the window to record
        --parent        Record the parent of the window
        --with-alpha    Record with the alpha channel
        --no-keys       Disable the action keys while recording
    -m, --mouse         Select the window with mouse click
    -h, --help          Print help information

OPTIONS:
        --action-keys <KEYS>    Set the action keys [default: LAlt-S,LAlt-Enter]
        --cancel-keys <KEYS>    Set the cancel keys [default: LControl-D,Escape]
    -b, --border <BORDER>       Set the border width [default: 1]
    -p, --padding <T:R:B:L>     Set the record area padding
    -s, --size <WxH>            Set the record area size
    -d, --duration <S>          Set the duration for recording [default: ∞]
    -c, --countdown <S>         Set the countdown before recording [default: 3]
    -t, --timeout <S>           Set the timeout for window selection [default: 300]
    -i, --interval <MS>         Set the refresh interval for window selection [default: 10]
        --font <FONT>           Set the font to use for window selection
        --monitor <NUM>         Set the monitor to record as root window

ARGS:
    <COMMAND>    Set the command to run

SUBCOMMANDS:
    gif     Use the GIF encoder
    apng    Use the APNG encoder
    save    Save the output file(s)

Examples

Pro Tip

Use slop for selecting an area of the root window (fullscreen) with mouse interaction.

menyoki record --root --size $(slop)

Split

menyoki can split an animation into frames (extract images) if the split subcommand is provided and it can save frames as one of the supported formats with the use of trailing format subcommand.

menyoki split [OPTIONS] <FILE> [SUBCOMMAND]

Arguments

FLAGS:
    -h, --help    Print help information

OPTIONS:
    -d, --dir <DIRECTORY>    Set the output directory

ARGS:
    <FILE>    Set the animation file

SUBCOMMANDS:
    png     Use the PNG encoder
    jpg     Use the JPG encoder
    webp    Use the WebP encoder
    bmp     Use the BMP encoder
    ico     Use the ICO encoder
    tiff    Use the TIFF encoder
    tga     Use the TGA encoder
    pnm     Use the PNM encoder
    ff      Use the farbfeld encoder
    exr     Use the OpenEXR encoder

Examples

Make

make subcommand serves the purpose of creating an animation from a set of images. For example, it can be used for making GIFs from given images either via the command line or the specified directory.

menyoki make [FLAGS] [OPTIONS] <FRAMES>... [SUBCOMMAND]

Arguments

FLAGS:
        --gifski     Use the gifski encoder
        --fast       Encode 3 times faster (gifski)
    -n, --no-sort    Use frames in the order given
    -h, --help       Print help information

OPTIONS:
    -f, --fps <FPS>            Set the FPS [default: 20]
    -q, --quality <QUALITY>    Set the frame quality (1-100) [default: 75]
    -r, --repeat <REPEAT>      Set the number of repetitions [default: ∞]
    -d, --dir <DIRECTORY>      Set the directory to read frames
        --format <FORMAT>      Set the animation format [default: gif]  [possible values: gif, apng]

ARGS:
    <FRAMES>...    Set the animation frames

SUBCOMMANDS:
    save    Save the output file(s)

Examples

Capture

menyoki can capture (screenshot) an area of a window or the whole screen and encode it as a supported format. Formats like png, jpg, and pnm have their own flags and options that might be used for changing the default encoding settings. Similar to the record subcommand, area selection and resize is performed with the key bindings. The same flags and options might apply for both record and capture subcommands since the actions are abstractly alike.

menyoki capture [FLAGS] [OPTIONS] [COMMAND] [SUBCOMMAND]

Arguments

FLAGS:
    -r, --root          Capture the root window
    -f, --focus         Capture the focused window
        --select        Select the window to capture
        --parent        Record the parent of the window
        --with-alpha    Capture with the alpha channel
    -m, --mouse         Select the window with mouse click
    -h, --help          Print help information

OPTIONS:
        --action-keys <KEYS>    Set the action keys [default: LAlt-S,LAlt-Enter]
        --cancel-keys <KEYS>    Set the cancel keys [default: LControl-D,Escape]
    -b, --border <BORDER>       Set the border width [default: 1]
    -p, --padding <T:R:B:L>     Set the capture area padding
    -s, --size <WxH>            Set the capture area size
    -c, --countdown <S>         Set the countdown before capturing [default: 0]
    -t, --timeout <S>           Set the timeout for window selection [default: 300]
    -i, --interval <MS>         Set the refresh interval for window selection [default: 10]
        --font <FONT>           Set the font to use for window selection
        --monitor <NUM>         Set the monitor to capture as root window

ARGS:
    <COMMAND>    Set the command to run

SUBCOMMANDS:
    png     Use the PNG encoder
    jpg     Use the JPG encoder
    webp    Use the WebP encoder
    bmp     Use the BMP encoder
    ico     Use the ICO encoder
    tiff    Use the TIFF encoder
    tga     Use the TGA encoder
    pnm     Use the PNM encoder
    ff      Use the farbfeld encoder
    exr     Use the OpenEXR encoder
    save    Save the output file(s)

Examples

Also, see the pro tip about --size argument.

Edit

edit subcommand can be used to edit (manipulate/filter/convert) files in one of the supported formats. Apart from the flags and options that edit provides, other encoding options can be specified via format subcommand.

menyoki edit [FLAGS] [OPTIONS] <FILE> [SUBCOMMAND]

Arguments

FLAGS:
        --convert      Convert image using the given encoder
        --grayscale    Convert image to grayscale
        --invert       Invert the colors of the image
    -h, --help         Print help information

OPTIONS:
        --crop <T:R:B:L>             Apply padding to crop the image
        --resize <WxH>               Resize the image without keeping the aspect ratio
        --ratio <RATIO>              Resize the image proportionally by aspect ratio [default: 1.0]
        --rotate <ROTATE>            Rotate the image (clockwise) [possible values: 90, 180, 270]
        --flip <FLIP>                Flip the image [possible values: horizontal, vertical]
        --blur <SIGMA>               Blur the image [default: 0.0]
        --hue <HUE>                  Adjust the hue of the image [default: ±0]
        --contrast <CONTRAST>        Adjust the contrast of the image [default: ±0.0]
        --brightness <BRIGHTNESS>    Adjust the brightness of the image [default: ±0]
        --filter <FILTER>            Set the sampling filter for scaling [default: lanczos3]  [possible values: nearest, triangle, catmull-rom, gaussian,
                                     lanczos3]

ARGS:
    <FILE>    Set the input file

SUBCOMMANDS:
    gif     Use the GIF encoder
    apng    Use the APNG encoder
    png     Use the PNG encoder
    jpg     Use the JPG encoder
    webp    Use the WebP encoder
    bmp     Use the BMP encoder
    ico     Use the ICO encoder
    tiff    Use the TIFF encoder
    tga     Use the TGA encoder
    pnm     Use the PNM encoder
    ff      Use the farbfeld encoder
    exr     Use the OpenEXR encoder
    save    Save the output file(s)

Examples

Analyze

analyze subcommand serves the purpose of inspecting an image file which is in a supported format and creating a report based on the image details. The report consists of 2 to 3 sections that are file, image, and EXIF information.

menyoki analyze [FLAGS] [OPTIONS] <FILE> [SUBCOMMAND]

Arguments

FLAGS:
        --timestamp    Use Unix timestamp for report dates
    -h, --help         Print help information

OPTIONS:
    -t, --time-zone <TIMEZONE>    Set the time zone of the report [default: utc]  [possible values: utc, local]

ARGS:
    <FILE>    Set the image file

SUBCOMMANDS:
    save    Save the output file(s)

Examples

View

view subcommand can be used to simply view an image from the terminal. It uses the core library of viu.

menyoki view [FLAGS] <FILE>

Arguments

FLAGS:
    -t, --transparent    Display transparent image with transparent background
    -h, --help           Print help information

ARGS:
    <FILE>    Set the input file

Examples

Other

It's possible to change the GIF, APNG, PNG, JPG, and PNM encoding options with specifying flags/options to the corresponding subcommands. Also, save subcommand can be used for changing the default output settings.

GIF/APNG

FLAGS:
        --gifski    Use the gifski encoder         <only in GIF>
        --fast      Encode 3 times faster (gifski) <only in GIF>
    -h, --help    Print help information

OPTIONS:
    -f, --fps <FPS>            Set the FPS [default: 20]
    -q, --quality <QUALITY>    Set the frame quality (1-100) [default: 75] <only in GIF>
    -r, --repeat <REPEAT>      Set the number of repetitions [default: ∞]
    -s, --speed <SPEED>        Set the GIF speed [default: 1.0]
        --cut-beginning <S>    Cut the beginning of the GIF [default: 0.0]
        --cut-end <S>          Cut the end of the GIF [default: 0.0]

SUBCOMMANDS:
    save    Save the output file(s)

(Some options might be only usable with a particular action)

PNG

FLAGS:
    -h, --help    Print help information

OPTIONS:
    -c, --compression <COMPRESSION>    Set the compression level [default: fast]  [possible values: default, fast, best]
    -f, --filter <FILTER>              Set the filter algorithm [default: sub]  [possible values: none, sub, up, avg, paeth]

SUBCOMMANDS:
    save    Save the output file(s)

JPG

FLAGS:
    -h, --help    Print help information

OPTIONS:
    -q, --quality <QUALITY>    Set the image quality (1-100) [default: 90]

SUBCOMMANDS:
    save    Save the output file(s)

WEBP

FLAGS:
    -l, --lossless    Use lossless encoding
    -h, --help        Print help information

OPTIONS:
    -q, --quality <QUALITY>    Set the lossy encoding quality (1-100) [default: 80]

SUBCOMMANDS:
    save    Save the output file(s)

PNM

FLAGS:
    -h, --help    Print help information

OPTIONS:
    -f, --format <FORMAT>        Set the PNM format [default: pixmap]  [possible values: bitmap, graymap, pixmap, arbitrary]
    -e, --encoding <ENCODING>    Set the encoding for storing the samples [default: binary]  [possible values: binary, ascii]

SUBCOMMANDS:
    save    Save the output file(s)

Save

FLAGS:
    -e, --with-extension    Always save the file with an extension
    -t, --timestamp         Add Unix timestamp to the file name
    -h, --help              Print help information

OPTIONS:
    -d, --date <FORMAT>    Add formatted date/time to the file name [default: %Y%m%dT%H%M%S]

ARGS:
    <FILE>    Set the output file

Key Bindings

Key bindings are only used and present while capture or record actions are performed. Essentially key bindings are for selecting capture/record areas and resizing them without any mouse interaction.

There are 3 types of key bindings in terms of performed action:

• Action keys (main action keys such as LAlt-S, can be customized via --action-keys and --cancel-keys options)
• Cancel keys (the keys that will cancel the operation, e.g. LControl-D)
• Miscellaneous keys (the keys that can be used for resizing the selected area such as LAlt-[up])

Configuration

It's possible to override the default command line arguments with a configuration file. It can be specified via --config option or $MENYOKI_CONFIG environment variable. Also, it can be placed to a location where menyoki looks for as default:

• {CONFIG_DIR}/menyoki.conf
• {CONFIG_DIR}/menyoki/menyoki.conf
• {CONFIG_DIR}/menyoki/config

{CONFIG_DIR} can be one of the following depending on the platform:

• Linux: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME or $HOME/.config
  • e.g. /home/orhun/.config
• macOS: $HOME/Library/Application Support
  • e.g. /Users/Orhun/Library/Application Support
• Windows: {FOLDERID_RoamingAppData}
  • e.g. C:\Users\Orhun\AppData\Roaming

Environment Variables

Corresponding environment variables can be set for overriding the command line flags and options. The general prototype of the variables that menyoki checks are the following:

MENYOKI_{SECTION}_{ARGUMENT}=value

Examples

Roadmap

The following are the ultimate goals of the menyoki project.

Accessibility

menyoki should be packaged for other distributions and package managers (such as Nixpkgs and Homebrew) for easy access and installation.

Platforms

Supported platforms list should be extended by implementing the core features of menyoki on different systems. (See #2, #4 and #5)

Formats

All the image formats that image-rs supports for encoding should be implemented in menyoki. Also, the implementation of other image and video formats should be considered for encoding the frames in record/capture action. (See supported formats)

Optimization

Encoding/decoding of some formats like GIF might be optimized for speed and efficiency. Alternative ways and options should be considered depending on the benchmarks in such cases.

Testing

menyoki should be tested against different platforms and bugs must be reported for further development and support.

Resources

About the project

• Code of Conduct
• Implementation Details
• Contribution Guidelines
• Release Instructions
• Changelog

Why "menyoki"?

It's a reference to the author's favorite character from the game Patapon 2.

Menyokki (aka Tree-Pon due to his resembling a tree) is a type of Rarepon introduced in Patapon 2. Its evolved form is Kisuk, and its ultimate form is Moriussoo. These Rarepons are green and resemble plants in various stages of development: Menyokki is a seedling, Kisuk is a sapling and Moriussoo is a full-grown tree.

The Menyokki sprite that is used as the project's logo was originally drawn by OwocekTV for the fan made game Patafour. He is also the creator and lead developer of Patafour and he is working on bringing the long awaited 4th installment of the Patapon franchise to life with the rest of the team.

Thanks to owodzeg for his hard work on Patafour and the help with the menyoki logo. Kudos!

Social Media

Funding

If you like the menyoki and/or other projects on my GitHub profile, consider supporting me on GitHub Sponsors or Patreon!

License

GNU General Public License (v3.0)

Copyright

Copyright © 2020-2024, Orhun Parmaksız