Description: ASNIPP is a free, portable screenshot tool and screen recorder for Windows with OCR, live drawing, pin-to-screen and system audio. Download v1.0.0 now.
⬇️ Download ASNIPP v1.0.0 for Windows · portable ZIP · no installer
ASNIPP v1.0.0 is officially released. It is a free, portable screenshot tool, screen recorder and editor for Windows, with a floating Dynamic-Island style bar. If you want a Windows Snipping Tool alternative that records system audio, extracts text with OCR and lets you draw on screen, download it here, unzip it and run ASNIPP_v1.exe. It is built by Akhouri Systems.
⚠️ Honest notes up front: ASNIPP is Windows only. It is a new, unsigned app, so SmartScreen may warn you on first run. Audio recording depends on the audio libraries inside the app. Details below.
Table of contents
- Why I built ASNIPP
- Features at a glance
- How to take a screenshot on Windows
- How to record your screen with system audio
- Screen recorder with live drawing
- Screenshot editor with OCR
- How to pin a screenshot to the screen
- Color picker and pixel ruler
- Capture library and video editor
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Specs and requirements
- Download and first run
- Privacy and safety
- Comparison with Snipping Tool
- FAQ
- What's next
Why I built ASNIPP
I am Akhouri Anmol Kumar, founder of Akhouri Systems in India. My daily work needed screenshots, short screen recordings, a quick annotation and sometimes a copied color value. With the default Windows tools, that meant several apps and many extra clicks.
So I built one small tool that does all of it from one bar. It is a Python app (PyQt6, OpenCV, mss) and a portable screenshot tool, no install needed. If you are searching for the best Snipping Tool alternative for Windows 11, this is my entry.
Features at a glance
- 📸 Capture: region photo, region video, full-screen shot
- 🔊 Screen recorder with system audio (WASAPI loopback) and optional microphone
- ✏️ Live screen drawing, also while recording
- 🔍 OCR: extract text from any capture
- 📌 Pin screenshot to screen: floating, always on top
- 🎨 Color picker and pixel ruler with a magnifier
- 📚 Capture library with favorites
- 🎞 Video tools: trim, split, join, looks, speed, rotate, fades, aspect ratios
- 📦 Export: PNG, MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV, GIF
- 🖥 Win+Shift+S replacement: reversible from the tray
How to take a screenshot on Windows with ASNIPP
Press Win+Shift+S, Ctrl+Shift+S or PrtScn. The screen freezes. Drag to select an area. Press Esc or right-click to cancel.
Three things happen at once: it saves a PNG to Pictures\ASNIPP Pics, copies the image to your clipboard, and shows a preview in the bar. Click the preview to edit, or tap 📌 to pin it. The Screen button grabs the whole monitor under your cursor.
How to record your screen with system audio on Windows
This is the free screen recorder for Windows with system audio part.
- Pick Video (or press Win+Shift+R) and drag the area to record.
- Toggle 🔊 system audio (on by default) and 🎙 microphone (off by default) on the bar.
- A 3-second countdown starts. A border marks the recording area.
- Pause, restart or stop from the bar. Press Win+Shift+R again to stop.
Details from the code: video records at 30 FPS to MP4 in Pictures\ASNIPP Vid. System audio uses WASAPI loopback through PyAudioWPatch, with a "Stereo Mix" style device as fallback. Audio is mixed after you stop ("Mixing audio…") and embedded with a bundled ffmpeg (AAC, 192k in MP4). Live level meters show what is being captured. It also tries to keep its own bar out of the recording (Windows 10 version 2004 or newer).
If an audio library is missing, a toast tells you and the recording continues without that source.
Screen recorder with live drawing
Press Ctrl+Alt+D to draw on your screen. It works for presentations, and it also works while recording: click the pen on the recording bar and your ink ends up in the video. The drawing toolbar itself is excluded from capture.
| Tool | Key |
|---|---|
| Use screen normally (click-through) | Space |
| Pen / Highlighter | P / H |
| Arrow / Rectangle / Circle | A / R / O |
| Laser pointer / Eraser | L / E |
| 6 colors | 1 to 6 |
| Undo | Ctrl+Z or right-click |
| Clear all ink | Delete |
| Auto-fade ink / Hide-show ink | F / V |
| Brush size (2 to 40) | mouse wheel |
| Exit | Esc |
Screenshot editor with OCR for Windows
Click a preview to open the editor. Tools: pen, highlighter, arrow, rectangle, text (double-click to edit), pixelate to hide sensitive info, crop (Enter applies), color picker and pixel ruler. There are 6 colors and a size slider. Ctrl+Z undoes, Ctrl+S saves a PNG, and Done saves, copies and closes. Ctrl+M shrinks the editor into a mini island.
OCR: click 🔍 and the text is extracted locally. It uses the Windows built-in OCR engine through PowerShell, preferring English and falling back to your other installed OCR languages. Results show in a window you can copy from. You can also change the aspect ratio (16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:5, 4:3). That adds black bars, nothing is stretched.
How to pin a screenshot to the screen on Windows
Tap 📌 on the preview or in the editor. The image becomes a frameless, always-on-top window.
- Drag to move. Mouse wheel zooms (0.15× to 6×). Double-click resets size.
- Ctrl+wheel changes opacity. Right-click for opacity 100/80/60/40%, copy, save or "Edit in ASNIPP".
- Ctrl+C copies. Esc closes the pin.
It is handy for design references, error messages and docs you type from.
Color picker and pixel ruler for Windows
Press Ctrl+Alt+P. The screen freezes and a 15×15 pixel loupe follows your cursor.
- Click copies HEX. Shift+click copies RGB. C copies HEX.
- Arrow keys nudge by 1 pixel, Shift+arrow by 10.
- Tab or M switches to the ruler: drag to measure dx, dy, distance and angle, C copies it.
- Recent colors stay as swatches you can click to copy. Esc exits.
Capture library and video editor
Ctrl+Alt+L opens the library: filters for All, Photos, Videos and Favorites. The index keeps the newest 50 non-favorite captures (files stay on disk). Favorites are never pruned. Deleting sends the file to the Recycle Bin after confirmation.
Open a video and the editor adds a timeline:
- Trim: [ and ] set in and out. Split at the current frame. Join another clip to the end.
- Looks: Original, B&W, Noir, Sepia, Vivid, Warm, Cool, Matte, Invert, Vignette, Sharpen, Soften, plus brightness, contrast and saturation.
- Speed: 0.25×, 0.5×, 1×, 2×, 4×. Reverse, rotate 90°, flip horizontally or vertically. Fade in and out up to 3 seconds.
- Export (Ctrl+E): original, 75% or 50% size, as MP4, AVI (XVID or MJPG), WMV, MOV or GIF. Drawings and text are burned in, audio is kept (not in GIFs).
GIF export needs Pillow. It runs at up to 15 FPS, up to 640 px wide, and refuses output longer than about 30 seconds, so trim first.
⬇️ Want to try it? Download v1.0.0 (ZIP)
Keyboard shortcuts for Windows screenshots and recording
A real Win+Shift+S replacement needs good shortcuts. Global hotkeys:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Win+Shift+S | Photo (needs the takeover, see below) |
| Ctrl+Shift+S | Photo |
| PrtScn | Photo |
| Win+Shift+R | Start video, press again to stop |
| Ctrl+Alt+D | Live screen drawing |
| Ctrl+Alt+P | Color picker and pixel ruler |
| Ctrl+Alt+L | Capture library |
In the video editor: Space play/pause, ←/→ one frame, Shift+←/→ about one second.
Specs and system requirements
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.0.0 |
| Platform | Windows only |
| Install type | Portable ZIP, run ASNIPP_v1.exe, no installer |
| Built with | Python, PyQt6, OpenCV, mss, NumPy |
| Audio libraries | sounddevice (mic), PyAudioWPatch (system audio), imageio-ffmpeg (mixing) |
| Optional | Pillow (GIF export) |
| Images | PNG, copied to clipboard |
| Video | MP4 recording at 30 FPS; export MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV, GIF |
| Audio sources | System audio (WASAPI loopback), microphone |
| Saves to |
Pictures\ASNIPP Pics, Pictures\ASNIPP Vid
|
| App data |
%USERPROFILE%\.asnipp (settings, library index, thumbnails) |
| Account, ads, telemetry | None in the code |
ASNIPP download and first run
- Download the ZIP from the official GitHub releases.
- Extract the ZIP anywhere.
- Run
ASNIPP_v1.exe. If SmartScreen warns, that is because the app is new and unsigned. Check that you downloaded it from the official repo, then choose More info → Run anyway. - The bar appears at the top of your screen and an icon appears in the system tray (the ^ near the clock). Only one instance runs at a time.
First launch, important: about 2.6 seconds in, the app makes itself your screenshot tool. It claims Win+Shift+S, Win+Shift+R and PrintScreen, and switches off Windows' "PrtScn opens screen capture" setting. A dialog tells you this. If Windows refuses, use Ctrl+Shift+S.
Get Snipping Tool back: right-click the tray icon and untick Use Win+Shift+S for ASNIPP. Your previous PrtScn setting is restored.
Start with Windows is opt-in, in the same tray menu. It starts quietly in the tray.
Is ASNIPP safe? Privacy explained
I would rather explain this than ask for trust.
- The keyboard hook. To beat the shell for Win+Shift+S, it installs a Windows low-level keyboard hook. Windows passes key events to the hook, but the code only reacts to S and R while Win and Shift are held. Nothing is logged or stored.
- No network code. The source has no HTTP calls, sockets, analytics or update checker. It works offline, and OCR runs on your PC.
-
What is stored. Your captures in
Pictures, plus settings, a library index and thumbnails in.asnipp. Temporary audio and OCR files go to the Windows temp folder and are removed after use. - Registry. It changes the PrtScn capture setting when you enable the takeover, and writes the startup entry only if you enable Start with Windows. Both are in your user profile (HKCU).
-
PowerShell. OCR runs a short PowerShell script with
-ExecutionPolicy Bypassfor that single call.
ASNIPP vs Windows Snipping Tool
The Snipping Tool has improved a lot: Microsoft documents screen recording with audio, text actions (OCR) and a color picker. This table sticks to what Microsoft documents and what ASNIPP's code does. Check Microsoft's Snipping Tool page for the latest.
| ASNIPP v1.0.0 | Windows Snipping Tool | |
|---|---|---|
| Built into Windows, signed by Microsoft | No, separate unsigned download | Yes |
| Install | Portable ZIP | Included |
| Snip shapes | Rectangle, full screen | Rectangle, window, full screen, freeform |
| Screen recording with audio | Yes, system audio and microphone | Yes |
| OCR | Yes, Windows OCR engine | Yes, Text actions |
| Color picker | Yes, with loupe and HEX/RGB copy | Documented (some features need a Copilot+ PC) |
| Pixel ruler | Yes | Not in Microsoft's docs |
| Live screen drawing, also while recording | Yes | Not in Microsoft's docs |
| Pin screenshot to screen | Yes | Not in Microsoft's docs |
| Video looks, speed, reverse, join | Yes | Not in Microsoft's docs |
| Export formats | MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV, GIF | Check Microsoft's docs |
If you want zero third-party software, keep the built-in tool. If you want the extra tools above, try it.
ASNIPP FAQ
Is ASNIPP free?
Yes. It is free to download, and the code has no accounts, licence checks or ads.
Does ASNIPP replace Windows Snipping Tool?
It replaces the shortcuts, not the app. On first launch it takes over Win+Shift+S, Win+Shift+R and PrintScreen. Snipping Tool stays installed.
How do I get Snipping Tool back?
Right-click the tray icon and untick "Use Win+Shift+S for ASNIPP". Or exit the app from the tray.
How do I record screen with audio on Windows using ASNIPP?
Click Video, keep 🔊 on for system audio, turn on 🎙 for your microphone, drag an area and wait for the countdown. Stop with the bar or Win+Shift+R.
Does ASNIPP work on Windows 11?
It is built for Windows and designed around the Win+Shift+S, Win+Shift+R and PrintScreen behaviour of Windows 11. Hiding its own bar from recordings needs Windows 10 version 2004 or newer.
Is ASNIPP safe?
It makes no network requests and does not log keys. It uses a keyboard hook for Win+Shift+S and Win+Shift+R only. It is unsigned, so download it only from the official GitHub release.
Why does SmartScreen warn about this app?
It is a new app without a code-signing certificate, so Windows has no reputation data for it yet.
Does it need to be installed?
No. It is a portable ZIP. Extract it and run ASNIPP_v1.exe.
Can it extract text from a screenshot (OCR)?
Yes. Open a capture in the editor and click 🔍. It uses the Windows engine on your PC, preferring English.
Where are my files saved?
Photos in Pictures\ASNIPP Pics, videos in Pictures\ASNIPP Vid, settings and library index in %USERPROFILE%.asnipp.
What's next
This is the first public release. I would like to hear what breaks, what is missing and which Windows setups misbehave. Open an issue on GitHub or comment below.
Download ASNIPP
- Download it and try the screenshot, recorder and live drawing.
- Star the repo on GitHub if it saves you time.
- Share feedback in the comments or as a GitHub issue.
More from Akhouri Systems: the website, Akhouri Systems on dev.to, ATLOCK (a desktop security suite) and APIC (an image processing center).
Akhouri Systems thanks @effessdev
Top comments (30)
🥳🎉🎊
🔥🔥🔥☠️
Bro but why does it read like an ad? 🤣
And no actual screenshots
bro I thought real screenshots will look not professional
You can make real screenshots professional...
Increase the scale:
Then put bigger cursor PNGs on top of the actual cursor...
it will take time bro and I thought you were waiting for post for so long so I hurried
Yeah no problem! :D
Also this is not the last post about ASNIPP (we've got plenty remaining right the SEO PDF...)
🥲
yeah @effessdev bro right but we will discuss that SEO stuff in private discord okay?
and yeah this is not last post of ASNIPP it's the beginning declaration
Cool 🥰🙇🏻♀️💥
Do you have windows?
No🙁
hmm, no problem.
by the way do you love image editing?
Yeah!
oh nice, I've built a web image editing tool named APIC WEB
I would love if you will try it: akhouri-anmol-kumar.github.io/APIC...
also if you found any difficulties in UI experience, or in anything just report me here in dev.to I will fix it.
Editing Good 🗽
But
Background remover.... Time taking
for mobile there is light mode too use it, it will be faster.
I use light mode bro!
use it again because APIC WEB downloads AI one time so 1st try takes time but from 2nd times it became fast.
Yes!😮 You are Right!
yeah, now use it
also you've not signed up right? if you will not how would you export your image.
Bro, I’ll just download its app on my dad’s PC. It’ll have more features there, right?
no, APIC desktop has less feature than APIC Web but don't worry APIC desktop v2 will hold more or maybe same feature to APIC WEB
so till v2 is not released keep using APIC Web.
also if you've discord then join Akhouri Systems official discord server
👉 discord.gg/Hb7Mk8vh5
@akhourianmolkumar told me to explain APIC to you @star123
It's privacy first. Meaning your images won't be sent to a server! Everything is processed locally.
ACALCU & ANOTE retired and ASNIPP introduced
Hope there retirement will be meaningful
ASNIPP
An Akhouri Systems Product
"We Build What Others Forgot To Fix"
Download File shorturl.at/OWQSn