Native on Mac and Windows
hypershot is a native desktop app on both macOS and Windows — not a web page in a wrapper. One codebase, built for each platform, using each operating system’s own capture, text recognition, and sharing services.
How it’s built
Section titled “How it’s built”- C++ and Qt — The app is written in C++ on the Qt framework, with its interface in Qt Quick
- GPU rendering — The editor and overlays are drawn by Qt Quick’s GPU scene graph, on the graphics API your system supports best: usually Metal on macOS and Direct3D on Windows, with others such as Vulkan where they fit. Effects like the Glass reticle, redaction blur, and gradient backgrounds are GPU shaders
Native platform services
Section titled “Native platform services”| macOS | Windows | |
|---|---|---|
| Screen capture | ScreenCaptureKit | Windows.Graphics.Capture (Direct3D 11) |
| Text recognition (OCR) | Apple Vision | Windows.Media.Ocr |
| Share panel | macOS share menu | Windows Share |
| File thumbnails | Quick Look extension in Finder | Thumbnail handler in File Explorer |
QR code and barcode scanning is built into hypershot itself (not an OS feature), so it works the same on both — see QR Code Scanning.
The same on both
Section titled “The same on both”- Same features and editor — Every capture mode, tool, and export option is shared; the interface is the same code on both platforms
- Same file format — A
.hypercapturefile saved on a Mac opens on a Windows PC and the other way around — see Hypercapture Files - One license — The same license key activates hypershot on a Mac or a PC, within your license’s device limit — see Licensing
Where they differ
Section titled “Where they differ”Some things follow each platform’s conventions:
| macOS | Windows | |
|---|---|---|
| Where hypershot lives | Menu bar | System tray |
| Shortcuts | ⌘-based defaults | Ctrl-based defaults — see Keyboard Shortcuts |
| Editor title bar | Zoom control on the right; menus in the macOS menu bar | Zoom control on the left; editor menu and window buttons on the right |
| Resizing a pinned image | Drag its edges or corners | Pick a size from the scale pill’s menu — see Pin to Screen |
| File thumbnails | Turn on the Quick Look extension once — see Quick Look Extension | Work automatically |
| Permissions | Screen Recording permission required — see Onboarding | None needed |
| Text recognition | Always available | Needs a Windows OCR language for one of your Windows languages; OCR features are hidden without one |
System requirements are listed in Preferences.