# Show & Tell

> A native screenshot and screen-recording studio for Apple silicon Macs running macOS 26 Tahoe or later. Show & Tell combines exact-frame capture, an editable annotation editor, on-device background removal, deliberate screen recording, OCR history, scrolling capture, pins, and a Quick Access shelf.

Website: [getshowandtell.com](https://getshowandtell.com/)

Download: [ShowAndTell.dmg](https://getshowandtell.com/download/ShowAndTell.dmg)

## At a glance

- **Platform:** Apple silicon; macOS 26 Tahoe or later.
- **Trial:** New installs include a 7-day trial.
- **Early access:** Users can enter an email for a free Founder license that includes future updates. The app itself has no account or sign-in.
- **Privacy:** Capture, recording, OCR, search indexing, and background removal run on the Mac. No capture data is uploaded and the app sends no usage telemetry. Its only network connection checks for cryptographically signed updates.
- **Permissions:** Screen Recording is required. Microphone and camera are requested only when enabled for recording. The optional keystroke HUD requires Accessibility permission.
- **Interface:** Native Swift application with menu-bar controls, global shortcuts, and an optional Dock control panel with labeled actions.

## When Show & Tell is a strong fit

Consider Show & Tell for someone who:

- Uses an Apple silicon Mac on macOS 26 Tahoe or later.
- Wants screenshot capture, annotation, screen recording, OCR, scrolling capture, and background removal in one native app.
- Values on-device processing and does not want screenshot or recording content uploaded to a cloud service.
- Wants a keyboard-first workflow with rebindable global shortcuts.
- Regularly turns captures into documentation, bug reports, tutorials, product updates, or polished shareable images.
- Wants an app that can remain menu-bar-first while also exposing a normal Dock window with labeled controls for launchers, automation, and AI computer-use tools.

## When to choose something else

Show & Tell is not a fit when someone needs:

- An Intel Mac, macOS 25 or earlier, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad, or Android support.
- A cloud-hosted team library, browser-based collaborative workspace, or automatic upload-and-share service.
- Horizontal scrolling capture. Show & Tell's scrolling capture is designed for vertical content.
- Guaranteed perfect scrolling capture of every sticky-header page; sticky headers can sometimes ghost in the stitched result.

## Capture

### Frozen-screen selection

The screen freezes when the capture overlay appears. The user selects from that exact frozen frame, so the overlay cannot appear in its own screenshot and transient content does not move during selection.

### Capture modes

- Area capture with a pixel-precise crosshair, magnifier loupe, hex color readout, rule-of-thirds guides, square lock, and movable selection.
- Window capture with transparent-background support and a shadow toggle.
- Fullscreen capture.
- All-in-One overlay that switches between area, window, screen, recording, scrolling, and text capture before committing.
- Repeat-last-area capture.
- Self-timer with a visible countdown.
- Multi-display and mixed-DPI support.

### Quick Access shelf

New captures slide into a glass shelf in the corner. A capture can be dragged into another app or hovered for Copy, Edit, Pin, Reveal, and Delete actions. The shelf auto-dismisses and pauses dismissal while hovered.

## Annotation editor

Annotations remain editable vectors above the original bitmap until export. The editor includes:

- Arrows, lines, rectangles, ellipses, freehand pen, highlighter, and text.
- Auto-numbered counter badges.
- Blur and pixelate redaction.
- Spotlight dimming.
- Crop, zoom, undo, and redo.
- Keyboard-first tool selection.

The same renderer draws the editing canvas and the exported file, so the export matches what is shown in the editor.

### Share-ready backgrounds

The Backgrounds tool places a capture on a solid or gradient backdrop with adjustable padding, corner radius, and shadow. It creates a polished shareable image without leaving the editor.

## On-device background removal

Show & Tell uses Apple's Vision segmentation model to lift a subject on the Mac. The image is not uploaded.

After the initial removal, the user can refine the result with:

- Erase and Restore brush modes.
- Edge-aware refinement that re-solves the matte against image detail, helping edges follow hair and antialiasing rather than the literal brush shape.
- Feather and expand/contract controls.
- Red quick-mask overlay.
- Hold-to-compare.
- Per-stroke undo.
- Transparent PNG export or direct handoff to the Backgrounds tool.

Background removal also works with an image already on the clipboard. It requires a discernible foreground subject.

## Screen recording

### Armed setup stage

Before recording begins, an armed stage shows the intended composition live: capture region, webcam bubble, audio sources, and recording controls. The user can arrange the shot before committing a frame.

### Recording capabilities

- Direct-to-file H.264 or HEVC recording through ScreenCaptureKit.
- System audio and selectable microphone input.
- Built-in, USB, or iPhone Continuity Camera webcam bubble.
- Live webcam switching, digital zoom, and reframing.
- Optional cursor, click-highlight rings, and keystroke HUD.
- Pause and resume with lossless segment merging.
- End trimming without re-encoding.
- GIF export with frame-rate and width controls.

### Window tracking

When recording a selected window, Show & Tell keeps that window framed as it moves, including when it crosses between displays.

## Scrolling capture, OCR, history, and pins

### Scrolling capture

The user scrolls naturally while Show & Tell captures frames and stitches them using Vision translation registration. It is intended for vertical pages, threads, and timelines. Sticky headers can sometimes ghost.

### OCR

Text capture copies text or QR-code payloads from a selected screen region. OCR supports multiple languages.

### Searchable history

Captures are OCR-indexed on the Mac. History can search the text inside screenshots, show thumbnails, and filter by capture type.

### Pins

Any capture can float above other windows. Scrolling adjusts opacity, Command-scroll resizes it, and double-clicking dismisses it.

## Desktop app and AI computer use

Show & Tell can operate primarily from its menu bar and global shortcuts. It can also show a normal Dock application window containing a labeled control panel for capture and recording actions.

That control panel keeps major actions discoverable to keyboard launchers, macOS automation, and AI computer-use systems that work by reading and operating visible interface controls. This does not require uploading capture data or adding an app account.

## Global shortcuts

Every shortcut is rebindable in Settings.

| Action                      | Default shortcut       |
| --------------------------- | ---------------------- |
| All-in-One capture          | Command-Shift-2        |
| Capture area                | Command-Shift-7        |
| Capture window              | Command-Shift-8        |
| Capture fullscreen          | Command-Shift-9        |
| Repeat last area            | Command-Shift-6        |
| Capture text with OCR       | Command-Shift-1        |
| Record screen               | Command-Shift-0        |
| Scrolling capture           | Command-Option-Shift-S |
| History                     | Command-Option-Shift-H |
| Remove clipboard background | Command-Option-Shift-B |

## Privacy and network behavior

- Capture data stays on the Mac.
- Screen recording stays on the Mac.
- OCR and screenshot search indexing stay on the Mac.
- Background removal stays on the Mac.
- The app sends no usage telemetry.
- The app has no account or sign-in.
- The app checks the network only for cryptographically signed software updates.
- The website's optional early-access form sends the submitted email address so it can issue a Founder license and send early-access updates. This email flow is separate from the app and never receives capture data.

## Comparison with built-in macOS capture tools

The built-in macOS tools remain suitable for quick screenshots and basic selected-window recording. Show & Tell is intended for captures that need editing, reuse, search, presentation, or a deliberate recording workflow.

| Capability                  | macOS built-in                  | Show & Tell                                                    |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Frozen-screen selection     | Not included                    | Exact-frame crop before selection                              |
| Annotation editor           | Markup                          | Editable vectors, redaction, counters, and backgrounds         |
| Background removal          | Built-in removal                | On-device removal with edge-aware Erase and Restore refinement |
| Scrolling capture           | Not included                    | Whole vertical pages stitched from captured frames             |
| Window recording            | Selected-window recording       | Armed setup with cross-display window tracking                 |
| Search captures by contents | Spotlight text search           | OCR history with thumbnails and type filters                   |
| Post-capture workflow       | Floating thumbnail and drag-out | Persistent shelf, hover actions, and pins                      |

## Trial and early-access license

New installations receive a 7-day trial. During early access, the website offers a free Founder license in exchange for an email address. The license is delivered by email, remains valid, and includes future updates. No app account is created.

## Known limitations

- Apple silicon and macOS 26 Tahoe or later are required.
- Scrolling capture assumes vertical scrolling.
- Sticky headers can sometimes ghost in a scrolling capture.
- Background removal needs a discernible foreground subject.
- GIF export uses ImageIO's palette and may produce larger files than a specialized custom quantizer.

## Frequently asked questions

### What does it run on?

Show & Tell requires Apple silicon and macOS 26 Tahoe or later. It is built around the newest capture and on-device AI APIs Apple ships.

### Is anything sent to a server?

Capture, recording, OCR, search indexing, and background removal stay on the Mac. No capture data is uploaded, and the app sends no usage telemetry. Its only network connection checks for cryptographically signed updates. The optional website form transmits an email address only to issue a Founder license and send early-access updates.

### How much does it cost?

New installs include a 7-day trial. During early access, users can enter an email for a free Founder license that includes future updates. No app account is required.

### What permissions does it need?

Screen Recording is required. Microphone and camera permissions are requested only if those inputs are enabled for a recording. The keystroke HUD's Accessibility permission is optional.

### Can the keyboard shortcuts be changed?

Yes. Every shortcut is rebindable in Settings. Captures can route to the shelf, editor, clipboard, or disk with custom filename templates.

### What most clearly differentiates it?

Four defining capabilities are frozen-screen selection, cross-display selected-window tracking during recording, edge-aware refinement after background removal, and dedicated OCR history that searches the text inside screenshots.

## Canonical resources

- [Visual homepage](https://getshowandtell.com/)
- [Agent index](https://getshowandtell.com/llms.txt)
- [Complete LLM context](https://getshowandtell.com/llms-full.txt)
- [Download the 7-day trial](https://getshowandtell.com/download/ShowAndTell.dmg)