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A Little Screenshot Tool I Built (And You Can Too)
Okay, so you know how sometimes you just *need* a really good screenshot? Not just a quick snip, but something that looks polished, professional, ready to use on your website or portfolio? I’ve been there. I was staring at a bunch of awkward screenshots, and it just wasn’t cutting it. So, I decided to build my own little tool. It’s called Moocup, and honestly, it’s surprisingly awesome.
It started really simply. I just wanted something to quickly adjust brightness, contrast, and maybe add a little filter. I wasn’t looking for a full-blown photo editor. Just something quick and easy.
Why Build Something Like This?
I’m going to be honest, a lot of the screenshot tools out there felt… complicated. They were packed with features I didn’t need, and that made them clunky and frustrating to use. I wanted something straightforward. Plus, I was a little curious – seeing how something like this could be built from scratch was kind of fascinating.
For me, it was about showcasing my work. I do a lot of freelance design and writing, and high-quality visuals are *everything*. A blurry or poorly lit screenshot can instantly make a project look amateurish. I wanted to be able to quickly refine my screenshots and make them look their best.
What Is Moocup?
Moocup is essentially a web app. You can use it directly in your browser, or, if you’re feeling fancy, you can deploy it on Railway.dev (which is super simple – basically one click). It’s built using JavaScript, and it’s designed to be really, really easy to use.
Here’s what it does:
- Brightness & Contrast Adjustment: You can drag the sliders to easily adjust the brightness and contrast of your screenshot.
- Simple Filters: There are a couple of basic filters available – a subtle vignette and a slight sharpening filter.
- Save Your Settings: You can save your favorite settings as presets so you can quickly apply them to future screenshots.
It’s not a Photoshop replacement, by any means. But it’s fantastic for quick refinements and getting a professional-looking screenshot without the hassle.
How It Works (The Tech Stuff – Briefly!)
I deliberately kept the code pretty simple. It’s built with HTML for the structure, a little bit of JavaScript for the interactivity, and I used a library called Konva.js for drawing and manipulating the image. It’s not rocket science!
The core idea is that when you upload a screenshot, it’s displayed as an image. You then use sliders to adjust the brightness and contrast, and Konva.js redraws the image in real-time. It’s surprisingly responsive.
Why You Might Find This Interesting
Maybe you’re a freelancer who needs to create visuals for your portfolio. Maybe you’re a student who needs to take screenshots of your projects. Or maybe you just enjoy tinkering and building things. Whatever your reason, Moocup might be a useful tool.
More importantly, I wanted to share this because it’s a good example of how you can solve a small, specific problem yourself, rather than relying on a complex, pre-built solution. It’s a reminder that you don’t always need to build something massive to be useful.
Resources
You can find the code on GitHub. And if you want to deploy it, Railway.dev is a fantastic option: https://railway.live/p/jellydeck-moocup-1
I’d love to hear your feedback! If you have any ideas for features or just want to say hello, you can leave a comment on the Reddit thread where I originally shared it.
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