FlashRecord – 2MB Python-native CLI screen recorder
Hi HN — I built FlashRecord, a tiny (≈2MB) Python-native CLI tool for screenshots and GIF recordings aimed at developers who want automation-friendly, scriptable screen capture without a GUI. ### What it is - CLI-first and importable (import flashrecord) so you can plug it into scripts, tests, CI pipelines, or docs generation. - Outputs GIFs (and screenshots) with a pure-Pillow/NumPy implementation of a CWAM-inspired compression pipeline (multi-scale saliency, temporal subsampling, adaptive scaling). - Cross-platform (Windows/macOS/Linux), zero-config defaults, and…
In plain words
FlashRecord is a lightweight Python CLI tool for capturing screenshots and recording screen activity as GIFs. Designed for developers, it can be used as a command-line tool or imported directly into Python scripts, tests, and CI pipelines. It produces compressed GIFs using saliency-based compression to preserve visually important content while keeping file sizes small. The tool runs cross-platform on Windows, macOS, and Linux with minimal setup and no GUI dependency, making it suitable for automating screen capture in documentation generation, testing, and deployment workflows.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hi HN — I built FlashRecord, a tiny (≈2MB) Python-native CLI tool for screenshots and GIF recordings aimed at developers who want automation-friendly, scriptable screen capture without a GUI. ### What it is - CLI-first and importable (import flashrecord) so you can plug it into scripts, tests, CI pipelines, or docs generation. - Outputs GIFs (and screenshots) with a pure-Pillow/NumPy implementation of a CWAM-inspired compression pipeline (multi-scale saliency, temporal subsampling, adaptive scaling). - Cross-platform (Windows/macOS/Linux), zero-config defaults, and production-ready with tests/docs. --- ### Why it might be interesting - Tiny install and no heavyweight GUI/tooling to manage. - Designed for automation: generate evidence GIFs in CI, attach demo GIFs to PRs, or create tutorial assets from scripts. - Compression focuses on preserving visually important regions while reducing file size dramatically in typical UI demos. --- Repo & license: https://github.com/Flamehaven/FlashRecord — MIT licensed. --- I’m happy to answer technical questions, performance numbers, cross-platform quirks, or walk through the compression pipeline. Feedback, issues, and PRs welcome. What it is CLI-first and importable (import flashrecord) so you can plug it into scripts, tests, CI pipelines, or docs generation. Outputs GIFs (and screenshots) with a pure-Pillow/NumPy implementation of a CWAM-inspired compression pipeline (multi-scale saliency, temporal subsampling, adaptive scaling). Cross-platform (Windows/macOS/Linux), zero-config defaults, and production-ready with tests/docs. Why it might be interesting Tiny install and no heavyweight GUI/tooling to manage. Designed for automation: generate evidence GIFs in CI, attach demo GIFs to PRs, or create tutorial assets from scripts. Compression focuses on preserving visually important regions while reducing file size dramatically in typical UI demos. Quick try (from source) git clone https://github.com/Flamehaven/FlashRecord cd FlashRecord pip install -e . flashrecord @sc # instant screenshot flashrecord @sv 5 10 # 5s GIF at 10 FPS (interactive by default) Repo & license: https://github.com/Flamehaven/FlashRecord — MIT licensed. I’m happy to answer technical questions, performance numbers, cross-platform quirks, or walk through the compression pipeline. Feedback, issues, and PRs welcome.
More dev tools this month
the category →
Open-source GTM skills for technical founders
Dev tools · 29d ago · gtmcofounder.com
OpenTrailPaper is open-source bike computer firmware for the LilyGO T5S3 4.7" E-Paper PRO. It supports offline maps, GPX routes, FIT recording and Bluetooth sensors.
Dev tools · 1d ago · opentrailpaper.com
Launched alongside, October 2025
the whole month →
- SA
I went down the rabbit hole on a side project and ended up building this: Strange Attractors(https://blog.shashanktomar.com/posts/strange-attractors). It’s built with three.js. Working on it reminded me of the little "maths for fun" exercises I used to do while learning programming in early days. Just trying things out, getting fascinated and geeky, and being surprised by the results. I spent way too much time on this, but it was extreme fun. My favorite part: someone pointed me to the Simone Attractor on Threads. It is a 2D attractor and I asked GPT to extrapolate it to…
AI · Oct 2025 · blog.shashanktomar.com
- ASAutism Simulator▲779
Hey all, I built this. It’s not trying to capture every autistic experience (that’d be impossible). It’s based on my own lived experience as well as that of friends on the spectrum. I'm trying to give people a feel for what masking, decision fatigue, and burnout can look like day-to-day. That’s hard to explain in words, but easier to show through choices and stats. I'm not trying to "define autism". I’ve gotten good feedback here about resilience, meds, and difficulty tuning. I’ll keep tweaking it. If even a few people walk away thinking, "ah, maybe that’s why my coworker struggles in those…
Life & fun · Oct 2025 · autism-simulator.vercel.app
