Pixel-perfect captures over USB or Wi-Fi — saved to a folder you choose and copied to your clipboard. The screenshot tool Apple never shipped.
TetherShotFeatures
A tiny native agent that lives in your menu bar, captures in a click, and gets out of the way.
Capture modes
The fastest, zero-setup path — just trust the Mac once.
One-time setup, then capture from across the room.
How it works
One npm command builds the native app and drops it in ~/Applications.
Plug in and tap Trust, or set up Wi-Fi once for cable-free captures.
Click the menu-bar icon or hit the hotkey. Saved to your folder, copied to clipboard.
Install
TetherShot builds from source on your Mac, so it launches with no Gatekeeper warning and no notarization needed. You'll need the Xcode Command Line Tools.
# 1 · install the CLI (and build the app) npm install -g tethershot # 2 · ensure the app is in ~/Applications tethershot install # 3 · launch — look for the menu-bar icon tethershot
# tunnel service (asks for admin pw once) tethershot setup-wifi # on the iPhone, once over USB: # · enable Developer Mode pymobiledevice3 lockdown \ wifi-connections --state on
Requirements: macOS 14+ (built on Tahoe 26), Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install), and an iPhone you can trust. Wi-Fi uses pymobiledevice3.
CLI
tethershot # launch the app tethershot install # build & install to ~/Applications tethershot update # update to the latest version tethershot setup-wifi # install the Wi-Fi tunnel service tethershot uninstall # remove the app tethershot version # print the installed version
FAQ
Yes. After a one-time USB pairing and enabling Developer Mode, TetherShot captures over your local Wi-Fi using Apple's developer-services tunnel — pixel-perfect and cable-free, even when the phone is locked.
No. Screenshots are written straight to your local folder and clipboard. No analytics, no account, no server. See the Privacy Policy.
For USB capture, macOS exposes the iPhone's mirrored screen through the AVFoundation (camera) pipeline, so it's gated by the Camera privacy bucket. TetherShot never uses your Mac's camera.
A locally compiled app gets no Gatekeeper quarantine, so it just runs — no “unidentified developer” wall and no paid notarization. The tradeoff is you need the Xcode Command Line Tools.
Not today — TetherShot is iPhone-only by design. Android via adb is a possible future direction.
Free and open source. One command to install.