macOS app
Toss, a shake-to-open shelf that hands macOS screenshots to Claude Code
Dragging a macOS screenshot into the terminal gives Claude Code a dead link, because macOS deletes the temporary file right away. In about 10 minutes of my time I built Toss with Claude Code, a native menu-bar app. Shake the mouse, toss a series of screenshots into a black hole, then drag them into the terminal one by one or all at once. I use it every day for 30+ files, without saving screenshots in folders.
10 min of my time to build it with Claude Code
30+ screenshots and files a day
0 macOS permissions needed
MIT free and open source
The task
I work with Claude Code in the terminal every day and show it screenshots all the time. On macOS, dragging the screenshot thumbnail straight into the terminal pastes a path to a temporary file. macOS deletes that file right away, so Claude gets a dead link.
The usual workarounds did not fit. Saving screenshots to a folder clutters the Mac, and the clipboard holds one screenshot at a time. I wanted to take a series of different screenshots, keep them somewhere temporary and drag them into the terminal together.
The idea
My teammate, designer George Novak, showed me a “shake and toss” idea for files that he had seen in an app that did not work well. I saw that, done properly, it solves my screenshot problem. With Claude Code I built my own version in about 10 minutes of my time: a single-file Swift app in the menu bar, using AppKit and Core Animation.
How it works
- Summon: shake the mouse left and right, and a black hole opens. The menu-bar icon opens it too.
- Drop: files, folders, files from Photos and browsers, image data and text. Each one is copied into a stash, spirals into the hole and orbits it as a round thumbnail with its name and file type.
- Take one: drag a thumbnail off the orbit. The orbit slows down near the cursor, so files are easy to grab.
- Take all: drag from the black centre, and every file comes out at once.
- Extras: copy all paths ready to paste, show in Finder, copy as image, remove. Esc closes.
Built to be safe
- Files are copied, not linked, so the path still works after macOS deletes its temporary file.
- The stash is wiped on every launch: no screenshot folders to clean up.
- It needs no macOS permissions.
- Updates are protected: signed commits, a safe-pull script that checks every new commit, and a protected main branch on GitHub.
Result
Toss is in daily use: I toss 30+ screenshots and files a day into the Claude Code terminal, and Claude reads every one. 2–3 other people use it too. The black-hole look and the matching app icon are drawn in code, and the code is public on GitHub.
Tools
FAQ
Why not just save screenshots to a folder or copy them to the clipboard?
I tried both. A folder fills up with old screenshots that need cleaning, and the clipboard holds only one screenshot at a time. Dragging the thumbnail straight into the terminal gives a dead link. Toss keeps a whole series in one place and hands them over together.
How long did it take, and was it worth it?
About 10 minutes of my time, with Claude Code. I now pass 30+ screenshots and files a day through it, so it paid off on the first day.
Does it need special macOS permissions?
No. Shake detection reads the cursor position 60 times a second, which macOS allows without Accessibility or screen-recording access.
Does it keep my screenshots?
Only while you need them. Files are copied into a temporary stash that is wiped every time the app starts, so nothing piles up on your Mac.
How do you keep the code safe to update?
Every commit is signed with a key that lives only on my Mac. A safe-pull script refuses unsigned or rewritten history and flags suspicious lines before anything is applied, and the main branch on GitHub is protected.
Does anyone else use it?
Yes, 2–3 other people use it besides me. The idea came from my teammate George Novak, who had spotted it in an app that did not work well. I rebuilt it around my own screenshot routine so that it works reliably.
Can I install it?
Yes, on a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 13 or newer. Clone the repository and run one build script; it compiles, signs and installs the app into your Applications folder.
Is there a small daily annoyance in your team's workflow that a tool like this could remove? Get in touch.