---
name: "grim"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "grim"
version: "1.5.0-2"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/grim"
---

# grim(1)

grab images from a Wayland compositor

## NAME

grim - grab images from a Wayland compositor

## SYNOPSIS

**grim** \[options...\] \[output-file\]

## DESCRIPTION

grim is a command-line utility to take screenshots of Wayland desktops. For now it requires support for the screencopy protocol to work. Support for the xdg-output protocol is optional, but improves fractional scaling support.

grim will write an image to *output-file*, or to a timestamped file name in **$GRIM\_DEFAULT\_DIR** if not specified. If **$GRIM\_DEFAULT\_DIR** is not set, it falls back first to **$XDG\_PICTURES\_DIR** and then to the current working directory. If *output-file* is **-**, grim will write the image to the standard output instead.

## OPTIONS

- **-h**

  Show help message and quit.

- **-s** \<factor\>

  Set the output image's scale factor to *factor*. By default, the scale factor is set to the highest of all outputs.

**-g** "\<x\>,\<y\> \<width\>x\<height\>"

Set the region to capture, in layout coordinates.

If set to **-**, read the region from the standard input instead.

- **-t** \<type\>

  Set the output image's file format to *type*. By default, the filetype is set to **png**, valid values are **png**, **jpeg** or **ppm**.

- **-q** \<quality\>

  Set the output jpeg's filetype compression rate to *quality*. By default, the jpeg quality is **80**, valid values are between 0-100.

- **-l** \<level\>

  Set the output PNG's filetype compression level to *level*. By default, the PNG compression level is 6 on a scale from 0 to 9. Level 9 gives the highest compression ratio, but may be slow; level 1 gives a lower compression ratio, but is faster. Level 0 does no compression at all, and produces very large files; it can be useful when grim is used in a pipeline with other commands.

- **-o** \<output\>

  Set the output name to capture.

- **-c**

  Include cursors in the screenshot.

- **-T** \<identifier\>

  Set the identifier of a foreign toplevel handle to capture.

## AUTHORS

Maintained by Simon Ser \<contact@emersion.fr\>, who is assisted by other open-source contributors. For more information about grim development, see \<https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/emersion/grim\>.