Windows screenshot manager
Capture the moment. Index the archive.
Light Capture turns screenshots into a searchable local archive with OCR, native AQS search, local AI tagging, and batch processing.
Built for professionals who treat screenshots as working files: evidence, references, UI states, invoices, bugs, research notes, audit trails, and visual memory.
v2026.5.14.358 · Updated May 14th, 2026
96-512 pxthumbnail scale for visual file browsing
AQSadvanced Windows-compatible search syntax
OCRsearch inside existing screenshots
Local AIprivate tagging with Ollama models
vs. Windows built-in tools
Already using Snipping Tool?
That’s exactly who LightCapture is built for.
Snipping Tool captures the moment. LightCapture captures it e makes sure you can find it six months later — by what’s written inside the image, by comment, by date, or by which application was open.
✖ Windows Snipping Tool
- No search. Screenshots pile up with generic auto-generated names.
- Text inside images is invisible — you can’t find a screenshot by what it shows.
- No comments or tags. Context lives in your memory, not with the file.
- No retroactive indexing. Your existing archive stays permanently unsearchable.
- No AI assistance. Every screenshot is equally anonymous.
✓ LightCapture
- AQS search across filename, OCR content, comments, date, source app, and folder.
- OCR indexing — find screenshots by the text written inside them.
- Windows metadata comments stay attached to the file, app-independent.
- Batch OCR retroactively indexes your entire existing archive.
- Local AI with Ollama — private auto-tagging, zero cloud upload.
Cloud tools
Your screenshots can travel through third-party servers.
For legal, expert, audit, and regulated work, a screenshot can contain confidential documents, accounts, contracts, code, or private evidence.
LightCapture local
Neural processing can stay on your machine.
With local Ollama models, AI tagging can run with zero outbound image transfer. Light Capture can detect a local Ollama instance and unlock advanced local AI workflows.
Product workflow
The screenshot is only the beginning.
Most tools stop after capture. Light Capture focuses on what happens next: where the file goes, what it contains, how it is described, and how quickly it can be found later.
Screenshot workflow
Capture modes
Every capture mode. One searchable archive.
From quick region grabs to full-length scrolling captures — all output lands in a structured, OCR-indexed, instantly searchable folder.
Fullscreen
Capture the entire display in one keystroke. Ideal for desktop states, error dialogs, and full-context references.
Region selection
Draw a precise area with crosshair accuracy. The crop lands directly in the archive without extra save dialogs.
Window capture
Capture a specific application window with clean edges. Useful for UI documentation, comparisons, and bug reports.
Scrolling capture
Capture entire web pages, long documents, or extended chat threads as a single stitched image — with full OCR indexing.
Auto-save + naming
Captures land in a configured folder with structured filenames. No save dialogs, no lost files, no naming decisions.
Instant annotation
Add a Windows metadata comment right after capture — before context is lost. Searchable immediately from the archive.
Search that understands your archive
Find the right screenshot without remembering the filename.
Visual browsing
Browse visual files with large thumbnails, jump to fullscreen with the space key, and open metadata or comments from the context menu.
Search dimensions
Four independent layers — all queryable together.
Every word visible inside the image — dialog boxes, error messages, document content, UI labels.
Objects, colors, UI state, scene context — described in your professional vocabulary by a local Ollama model.
Manual or AI-generated notes stored in standard Windows metadata — attached to the file, independent of any app.
Source application, capture date, folder, filename — combined with AQS for precise multi-criteria queries.
All four layers are queryable together in a single AQS search expression.
AQS examples
A search language for real work.
Alternate between business queries such as invoices, urgent errors, source applications, OCR content, and customer folders.
Search demo
Live demo
See AQS search in action.
Real LightCapture session — filtering 82 screenshots by comment and date with a single AQS query.
Query shown: comment:error OR comment:fail AND date:lastmonth — 82 results, instant filtering
Private AI with Ollama
Local AI that understands what your screenshots show.
OCR finds text inside images. AI Vision goes further: Ollama analyzes each screenshot and generates a full description of what it shows — the application, UI state, visible objects, dominant colors, and scene context. That description is written directly into standard Windows metadata.
The key is your prompt and your vocabulary. Configure LightCapture with your professional thesaurus — legal terms, medical codes, product references, project names — and the AI generates descriptions using the exact words you will actually search for later. A lawyer gets descriptions in legal vocabulary. A developer gets UI and error terminology. A researcher gets domain-specific labels.
The result: every screenshot becomes findable by content, object, color, source application, or professional category — even if you captured it two years ago with no annotation at all.
Open standards
Your data stays with your files.
Light Capture does not need to lock comments and tags inside a closed database. Useful information can be written into standard Windows metadata, so if you uninstall the app, your context remains attached to your files.
Already have thousands of screenshots? Batch OCR can retroactively index your entire existing archive in one pass — no manual work, no file reorganization. Your old captures become searchable overnight.
Tool comparison
How LightCapture compares.
Not all screenshot tools are built for the same job. If searchability and archival quality matter, the differences become clear quickly.
| Feature | LightCapture | Snipping Tool | ShareX | Screenpresso | Snagit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AQS / full-text search | ✓ | — | — | — | — |
| OCR content indexing | ✓ | — | — | — | Partial |
| Batch OCR on existing folders | ✓ | — | — | — | — |
| Local AI tagging (Ollama) | ✓ | — | — | — | — |
| Windows metadata (no lock-in) | ✓ | — | — | — | — |
| Scrolling capture | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 100% local / GDPR-safe | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Partial | — |
| Gratis | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Freemium | Paid |
Perfect companion
Light Capture works naturally with Light Image Resizer.
Capture and organize with Light Capture. Resize, convert, compress, watermark, rename, or prepare selected images with Light Image Resizer. Think of it as an add-on workflow for turning large screenshot sets into usable deliverables.
Who it’s for
Professionals who need to find the right screenshot later.
Legale & audit· #legaltech
Lawyers, experts & auditors
A screenshot can become evidence. LightCapture makes every capture permanently searchable by content, comment, date, and source application — without sending anything to a cloud server.
Works alongside existing legal workflows: case folders, audit trails, expert reports, and regulatory submissions.
“Show every screenshot from the Dupont case, January 2025, with ‘contract’ in the image.”
Design & dev
Designers & vibe coders
Capture UI states, AI-generated results, errors, regressions. Retrieve any screenshot by OCR content or tag — instantly.
“Every prompt result tagged ‘approved’ from the landing page sprint.”
Research & ops
Analysts & researchers
Batch-OCR entire archives retroactively. Turn years of accumulated screenshots into a structured, searchable knowledge base overnight.
“Index my 4,000 research screenshots from last year — no manual work.”