CoincideFeature
Appshots
An appshot is a picture of the window you’re working in, attached to a chat in Coincide in one keystroke. Press both ⌘ keys in any app, and Coincide comes forward with that window in the composer, ready for your question: “Why is this build failing?”, “What does this dialog mean?”, “Turn this design into SwiftUI.”
Turn it on
- Open Settings › Appshots and turn on “Turn on Appshots”. While it’s off, Coincide watches no keys at all.
- Grant Screen Recording, which lets Coincide capture the frontmost window, and Accessibility if the pane asks for it (see below).
- Switch to any app and press the left and right ⌘ keys together, without other keys.
Coincide plays the screenshot sound (you can turn that off), comes to the front and puts the window’s picture in the composer. If you used a thread in the last minute, the appshot goes to that thread; otherwise it starts a new chat. Nothing is sent until you write your message and send it.
Options
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Take an appshot with | Both ⌘ keys (the default), or a Custom shortcut such as ⌃⌥⌘S. A custom shortcut must use ⌘ or ⌃ with a key. |
| Include the window’s text | Adds the text the app makes available in that window, read through Accessibility, as a card beside the picture. Off by default. |
| Play a sound | Plays the screenshot sound at your alert volume when an appshot is taken. |
Which permissions it needs
- Screen Recording, always: it’s how Coincide captures the window. Appshots never capture the whole screen.
- Accessibility, only for some setups: to notice both ⌘ keys while you use other apps, and to read the window’s text when that option is on. With a custom shortcut and without the window’s text, Accessibility isn’t needed.
macOS permissions explains every permission Coincide can ask for and where to change it.
What gets captured
- Only the frontmost window of the app you’re using: never the whole screen and never other windows.
- Coincide skips its own windows, windows that ask not to be captured, and apps where you’re typing a password.
- Captures are kept on your Mac with Coincide’s other attachments. Like any attachment, an appshot reaches the agent, and through it the agent’s provider, only when you send the message.
Good uses
- An error dialog or a failing test run in another app: send it with “What went wrong and how do I fix it?”
- A design or a web page in another browser: ask the agent to build the same layout in your project.
- A long document or spreadsheet with “Include the window’s text” on, so the agent gets the text as well as the picture.
- Combine it with dictation: take the appshot, then speak the question.
Appshots and Computer Use
An appshot is a one-off picture you choose to share. Computer Use is different: it lets an agent look at and operate apps on its own while it works. You can use either without the other.