How To Use ShareX: A Practical Guide for Capturing and Sharing Content Fast

ShareX is one of the most capable free screenshot and screen recording tools available today, and most people have no idea it exists. We first stumbled onto it while looking for a way to capture scrolling web pages without paying for a premium tool, and what we found stopped us mid-search. Here is a guide that covers everything from installation to annotation, so you can start saving time from day one.

What Is ShareX and Why It Matters for Busy Professionals

ShareX is a free, open-source screen capture and productivity tool for Windows. It does what paid tools charge monthly subscriptions for, screenshots, scrolling captures, screen recordings, annotations, and automatic uploads to cloud destinations, all in one place.

For founders, marketers, developers, and anyone who documents processes regularly, that matters. Think about how often you grab a screenshot to paste into a Slack message, a client report, or a bug ticket. ShareX turns that grab-and-paste routine into a configurable, repeatable workflow.

The tool is hosted on GitHub, where you can inspect the source code, follow active development, and confirm that no telemetry or hidden processes run in the background. That transparency is rare. It also means the community actively catches bugs and ships improvements.

ShareX handles over 50 capture and workflow actions, including image annotation, QR code generation, color picking, file conversion, and even OCR (optical character recognition). You are not just getting a snipping tool. You are getting a small automation engine for visual content.

If you are comparing it to lighter alternatives, our ShareX review breaks down how it stacks up against other popular options in detail. For now, the short answer is: if you are on Windows and you document anything, ShareX belongs on your machine.

How To Install and Set Up ShareX

Installation takes under three minutes. Here is how to do it.

Step 1: Download ShareX. Go to getsharex.com and download the latest installer. As of early 2026, the stable release is version 16.x. Run the .exe file and follow the prompts.

Step 2: Choose your destination folder. The default install path works fine for most users. If you manage a shared workstation, install it to a user-level folder to avoid permission conflicts.

Step 3: Configure your hotkeys. When ShareX opens for the first time, go to Hotkey Settings. You will see a list of pre-mapped shortcuts. The default capture hotkey is Print Screen, but you can assign any key combination you want. We recommend setting:

• Ctrl + Shift + 1 for region capture
• Ctrl + Shift + 2 for full-screen capture
• Ctrl + Shift + 3 for screen recording

Step 4: Set your default upload destination. Under Destinations > Image Uploader, choose where captured files go automatically. Options include Imgur, Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, and FTP. If you only need local saves, select a folder on your drive.

Step 5: Configure your after-capture tasks. This is where ShareX separates itself. Under After Capture Tasks, you can tell ShareX to annotate the image, copy it to clipboard, upload it, and send a notification, all automatically after a single keypress.

That five-step setup covers the core configuration. You will refine it as your workflow grows, but this gets you capturing and sharing within minutes of install.

How To Capture Screenshots With ShareX

Taking a screenshot with ShareX is fast. Press your hotkey, select your region, and ShareX handles the rest based on your after-capture settings. But the real power is in choosing the right capture mode.

Choosing the Right Capture Mode for Your Workflow

ShareX offers several capture modes. Here is what each one does and when to use it:

Region Capture lets you drag a selection box over any part of the screen. This is the mode you will use most often, for grabbing UI elements, error messages, product images, or sections of a webpage. It also supports annotating before you save, which is a useful twist on the standard workflow.

Fullscreen Capture grabs your entire display in one shot. Use this for documenting full-page layouts or recording system states for IT support.

Window Capture lets you select a specific open application window. It is clean, removes the surrounding desktop, and works well for client-facing documentation.

Scrolling Capture is the feature that originally caught our attention. It automatically scrolls a webpage or document while stitching screenshots into one long image. This is invaluable for capturing full landing pages or long articles without manually assembling a mosaic.

Monitor/Display Capture is useful if you run dual monitors and want to capture a specific screen.

For most day-to-day documentation needs, Region Capture and Scrolling Capture will be your go-to modes. If you use Lightshot for quick captures, you will notice that ShareX’s region capture feels similar but with more built-in options after the shot is taken.

One tip: enable the crosshair magnifier in region capture settings. It snaps to pixel-perfect edges, which makes UI documentation look noticeably cleaner.

How To Record Your Screen With ShareX

ShareX records your screen using FFmpeg, a well-established open-source media encoder. The first time you start a recording, ShareX will prompt you to download FFmpeg automatically. Accept it. The download is small and handled directly within the app.

To start a screen recording:

1. Press your screen recording hotkey (or go to Capture > Screen Recording).
2. Drag to select the region you want to record, or press Enter to record the full screen.
3. A countdown timer appears. Recording starts automatically.
4. Press your hotkey again (or click the tray icon) to stop.

ShareX saves recordings as .mp4 by default, which works for almost every platform. You can change the format to .webm or .gif in Task Settings > Screen Recorder > Screen Recording Options.

The GIF option deserves a special mention. For short process demonstrations, showing a button interaction, animating a UI state, or documenting a workflow step, an auto-generated GIF from ShareX is faster to produce than editing a full video. Paste it directly into a Notion page, a support ticket, or a team chat.

For audio recording, ShareX can capture system audio and microphone input simultaneously. Enable both under Screen Recording Options > Audio source. This is useful for creating walkthroughs without a separate recording app.

If your team also uses video conferencing tools for screen sharing, our guide on using Zoom for screen collaboration covers complementary workflows that pair well with ShareX for async communication.

Screen recording with ShareX is not going to replace a full video editor. But for quick process documentation, support demos, and team tutorials, it covers the essentials without the overhead.

How To Annotate, Edit, and Share Your Captures

Capturing is only half the job. ShareX has a built-in image editor called the ShareX Image Editor (formerly Greenshot Editor integration), and it handles annotations cleanly.

To open the editor after a capture, enable Annotate Image in your After Capture Tasks. The editor opens automatically once the screenshot is taken.

Key annotation tools include:

• Arrow and line tools for pointing to specific elements
• Text boxes for labels and callouts
• Blur and pixelate for redacting sensitive information (names, emails, account numbers)
• Highlight tool to draw attention to specific areas
• Step numbering for sequential process documentation
• Crop and resize for trimming captures before sharing

The blur tool alone is worth installing ShareX for if you share screenshots with clients or in public channels. Redacting information manually in Paint is the kind of task that wastes five minutes you do not have.

Sharing after annotation is direct. Based on your destination settings, ShareX either uploads the file and copies the link to your clipboard, saves it locally, or both. There is no extra step. You annotate, close the editor, and the link is already waiting in your clipboard.

For teams that use Gyazo for quick visual sharing, the workflow will feel familiar, but ShareX gives you more control over where files go and how they are organized.

For developers looking to automate or script ShareX behavior, the Stack Overflow community has documented CLI commands and configuration tricks that extend ShareX into more advanced pipelines.

If your business needs go beyond screen captures, things like building a content-rich site that converts visitors into clients, our web development and SEO services are built around exactly that.

Conclusion

ShareX earns its place on any professional’s machine because it removes friction from a task you already do dozens of times a day. Once you configure your hotkeys and after-capture tasks, the whole workflow, capture, annotate, upload, share, collapses into a single keypress.

Start with region capture and one upload destination. Get comfortable with that. Then layer in scrolling captures, screen recordings, and annotation shortcuts as your needs grow. The tool scales with you.

If you want to see how ShareX compares to other screen capture tools before committing to a full setup, the full comparison in our ShareX review covers the trade-offs clearly.

Frequently Asked Questions About How To Use ShareX

What is ShareX and what can it do?

ShareX is a free, open-source screen capture and productivity tool for Windows. It supports screenshots, scrolling captures, screen recordings, annotations, cloud uploads, OCR, QR code generation, and over 50 workflow actions — all without a subscription. It’s hosted on GitHub, making its development fully transparent.

How do I set up ShareX for the first time?

Download the installer from getsharex.com, run it, then configure your hotkeys, upload destination, and after-capture tasks. A recommended setup includes Ctrl+Shift+1 for region capture, Ctrl+Shift+2 for full-screen, and Ctrl+Shift+3 for screen recording. The entire process takes under three minutes.

How does ShareX’s scrolling capture work?

ShareX’s scrolling capture automatically scrolls a webpage or document while stitching multiple screenshots into one long, continuous image. It’s ideal for capturing full landing pages or lengthy articles without manually assembling separate shots — a feature rarely found in free tools. For quick captures without scrolling, see how Lightshot compares as a lighter alternative.

Can ShareX record screen audio and microphone at the same time?

Yes. ShareX uses FFmpeg for screen recording and supports simultaneous system audio and microphone capture. Enable both inputs under Screen Recording Options > Audio source. This makes it suitable for creating narrated walkthroughs without needing a separate recording application. For collaborative screen sharing, pairing ShareX with Zoom screen-sharing workflows works well for async teams.

How does ShareX compare to Gyazo for visual sharing?

Both tools offer quick screen capture and sharing, but ShareX provides significantly more control — custom upload destinations, built-in annotation, scrolling capture, and automation workflows. Gyazo is simpler and faster to start with, while ShareX scales better for professional documentation. You can explore the full Gyazo workflow guide to compare approaches side by side.

Is ShareX safe to use, and does it collect user data?

ShareX is completely safe. Its source code is publicly available on GitHub, where anyone can audit it for hidden processes or telemetry. The open-source community actively maintains it, catches bugs, and ships updates — a level of transparency rarely offered by commercial screenshot tools. No subscription, no tracking, no background data collection.