CodeShot for Visual Studio

Install CodeShot from the Visual Studio Marketplace or get the latest CI build from Open VSIX Gallery.

Create polished, annotated code screenshots without leaving Visual Studio. CodeShot preserves your editor's syntax colors, gives you tools to call out or redact details, and copies a share-ready PNG in seconds.

CodeShot preview with syntax-colored code ready to share

Turn a selection into a presentation-ready image while staying in your editor.

CodeShot preview with syntax-colored code ready to share

Why CodeShot

Need	What CodeShot provides
Share readable code	VS syntax colors, configurable fonts, line numbers and high-resolution export
Explain an implementation	Rectangles, arrows, expression highlights, line emphasis and text callouts
Protect sensitive details	Opaque redactions baked into the exported image
Capture more than code	Screenshots of visible Visual Studio tool windows and open menus
Fit your destination	Theme, solid, gradient or transparent backgrounds with configurable spacing and scale
Keep code searchable	Optional plain text alongside the clipboard image when no redaction is present

Use CodeShot for documentation, pull requests, release notes, bug reports, presentations and social posts without re-creating your editor appearance in a separate design tool.

Getting started

Select code in the editor.
Choose Tools > Take Screenshot or press Ctrl+Shift+M.
Adjust the preview, then press Ctrl+C to copy or Ctrl+S to save.

Opening CodeShot copies the initial screenshot automatically. A progress indicator remains visible while a screenshot is being prepared. Later selection changes update the preview without replacing the clipboard.

Use the Annotate menu to point at an expression, add a note, highlight an identifier or cover sensitive content. In Select mode, drag an annotation to move it or drag its handles to resize it. Clicking a line without selecting an annotation emphasizes it and dims the surrounding code. Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y undo and redo each annotation change.

Redactions are baked into the exported PNG. When one is present, CodeShot also omits the unredacted plain-text clipboard format.

CodeShot annotations highlighting and redacting parts of a code sample

Explain the important parts and cover sensitive values before the image leaves Visual Studio.

Capture Visual Studio tool windows

Right-click a visible tool window's title bar and choose Take Screenshot. CodeShot copies the screenshot immediately and opens it for cropping, annotation and export. Use Refresh Preview to return to the current editor selection.

Tool-window capture uses the pixels currently visible on screen, including Win32 and WebView content. Keep the window unobscured while capturing it. Other tabs in the same docking group are excluded, and pixels outside the rounded frame remain transparent. Cropping and its undo history are available for tool-window captures; text captures use the editor selection as their natural boundary.

Capture Error List, Test Explorer, Solution Explorer and other visible tool windows.

Capture Visual Studio menus and dialogs

In the CodeShot tool window toolbar, choose Capture Foreground UI in 5 Seconds, then open the top-level menu, context menu, cascading submenu or modal dialog you want while the countdown appears in the tool window. CodeShot captures the topmost Visual Studio surface at the pointer or the foreground modal window, copies the image and opens it for cropping, annotation and export.

Keep the entire surface unobscured during capture. Top-level menus include only the active header and visible cascading submenus. Context menus are trimmed to their visible command surface so background pixels, transparent margins and window shadows are excluded.

Customize and export

The toolbar controls font, size, line numbers, title bar and indentation. Drag the right edge of a text screenshot to resize it; narrower widths wrap long lines, and double-clicking the edge restores the selection's natural width.

Word wrap

The status bar shows the exported screenshot dimensions. Use its slider or Ctrl+mouse wheel to zoom the preview without changing the exported image. Tools > Options > CodeShot > General contains appearance and export settings, all remembered between sessions.

CodeShot appearance and export options in Visual Studio

Follow the editor theme, choose a custom color or gradient, or export with a transparent background.
Configure window title placeholders, controls, corners, shadow, line height, padding and export scale.
Optionally copy searchable plain text alongside the image.
Save directly to a configured folder with a file-name template, or ask where to save each time. Existing files are never overwritten.

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+Shift+M	Take a screenshot of the editor selection
Ctrl+C	Copy the current CodeShot image
Ctrl+S	Save the current CodeShot image
Ctrl+Z	Undo the last annotation or crop
Ctrl+Y	Redo the last annotation or crop
Delete	Remove the selected annotation
Ctrl+D	Start the delayed foreground UI capture
Ctrl+Shift+S	Crop a captured Visual Studio surface
Ctrl+M	Select annotations or highlight code lines
Ctrl+T	Add a text callout
Ctrl+E	Erase an annotation
Ctrl+R	Draw a rectangle
Ctrl+Shift+R	Redact sensitive content
Ctrl+H	Highlight an expression
Ctrl+A	Draw an arrow
Ctrl+mouse wheel	Zoom the preview without changing export size

Shortcuts other than Ctrl+Shift+M apply while CodeShot has focus. They can be rebound under the CodeShot scope in Tools > Options > Environment > Keyboard.

Privacy

CodeShot processes screenshots locally inside Visual Studio. It does not upload source code or images. Redactions are rendered into the exported PNG, and the plain-text clipboard format is omitted whenever a redaction is present.

Get involved

Found a bug or have an idea? Open an issue or pull request on the GitHub repo.

Credits

CodeShot was inspired by the excellent CodeSnap extension.

CodeShot

Mads Kristensen