A plain text paste of code looks flat, and a screenshot of your editor drags along its whole window and whatever theme you happen to use. A dedicated code image renders just the snippet, highlighted and framed, at a resolution that stays crisp in a blog post, a slide or a tweet.
The code screenshot generator does this in your browser, with live editing and one-click export.
TL;DR: Paste code, choose its language, pick a theme and background, then export a 2x PNG (or an SVG for scaling).
Start with the language
Set the language first. Highlighting is what separates a readable snippet from a gray block, and it only works when the parser knows what it’s looking at. JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Go, Rust, SQL and the other common languages are all supported, with a plain-text option for anything else.
Pick a theme that stays readable
The theme sets the contrast. Dark themes look sharp on social media, while the light paper theme reads better in printed docs. Whatever you choose, check that comments and punctuation are still legible at the size you’ll publish. A theme that looks great on your monitor can wash out once it’s scaled down into a feed.
Frame it without overdoing it
A few settings make the image feel intentional:
- Background adds breathing room around the code. A subtle gradient works for social posts, and the transparent option suits placing the snippet on your own page background.
- Window chrome with a title bar reads as “this is code,” which helps in a mixed article.
- Padding controls how much space surrounds the frame. Too little feels cramped, too much wastes pixels.
Keep the snippet short. A screenshot is for the five lines that matter, not a whole file. If readers need the full source, link to it.
Export at the right size
Export at 2x for normal screens and 3x for retina or print. Choose SVG when the image will be resized a lot, since it scales without blur. The copy-to-clipboard option is handy for pasting straight into a chat or an issue.
Make one now
Open the code screenshot generator, paste your snippet, and export. Working on a link preview for the same post? The Open Graph image generator builds the social card to go with it.