A small, free and open source macOS app called Tendedero is offering a different answer to a problem many Mac users know well: a Desktop filled with screenshots. According to its project page on GitHub, the app catches each new capture and hangs it on a thin line just above the screen, where it stays out of the way until you need it. The app works on macOS 14 and later, and its source code is published under the MIT licence.
How the line works
By default, macOS places a floating thumbnail in a corner of the screen after every screenshot, and the file is then saved to the Desktop. Over weeks of work, those files can pile up quickly and make it harder to find what matters. Tendedero takes a different route. When you hand it your screenshots, they skip the Desktop completely and appear on the line immediately after you take them.
The interaction is designed to feel light. Resting the pointer in the menu bar makes the line glide down so you can see the captures, and moving the pointer away makes it disappear again. Only the screenshots you drag out of the app are kept as files, which means the rest can simply fade from view without leaving anything behind on your disk.
The project says it keeps the familiar keyboard shortcuts, so users do not need to relearn how to capture the screen. The change is in what happens afterwards, not in how you start a capture.
Recordings and copied images
Screen recordings also land on the line, marked with a play button. To trim a recording, you press and hold it, according to the project's description. This keeps short clips in the same place as still images, so there is no need to hunt through folders for a video you recorded a minute earlier.
Tendedero can also handle images that are not screenshots at all. Holding the Control key while taking a screenshot sends it to the line, and so does copying an image in Preview. A setting called Hang copied images, found in the menu bar, turns this behaviour on. The project notes that the shirt icon fills in while the option is active, which gives a quick visual cue of the current state.
The app is selective about what it grabs. Images copied together with text or a file are left alone, and so is anything a password manager marks as private. That detail matters for anyone who copies sensitive material, because it means the app does not sweep up content that was never meant to be stored in a visual list.
Privacy and installation
The project emphasises privacy as a core design principle. It states that Tendedero requires no account, makes no network connections and collects no analytics. The app runs entirely on the user's Mac, and according to the project, screenshots never leave the machine. For many users, that is the main reason to consider a tool like this, since screenshots often contain personal messages, financial details or work documents.
Installation is straightforward. Users can download a disk image from the latest release on GitHub, open it and drag the app into the Applications folder. Alternatively, the app can be installed through Homebrew. The developer signs the app with a Developer ID and has it notarised by Apple, so it should open without the security warnings that some unsigned tools trigger.
Building from source
Developers who prefer to compile the app themselves need the Swift toolchain. Xcode is optional. The project explains that when only the Command Line Tools for macOS 27 are installed, the build script falls back to the macOS 26 software development kit that ships alongside them, because the newer kit depends on a SwiftUI macro plugin that only Xcode includes. Local builds are signed ad hoc, which means macOS asks again for access to the Desktop after each rebuild.
The interface is available in several languages, including English, Spanish, French, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese. Each language has its own resource folder, and the project includes a script that checks whether any translation strings are missing. The icon and the illustrations on the project page are also generated by code, not drawn by hand, which the developer describes as part of the project's build process.
Why it matters
Tendedero is a small tool with a narrow purpose, but it reflects a broader trend among Mac users who want their desktops to stay tidy. Screenshots have become a routine part of work, from sharing bug reports to saving receipts and recipes. A dedicated place for them, separate from the file system, can reduce the friction of managing a steady stream of captures.
The project's name is also worth noting. Tendedero is a Spanish word for a clothesline or drying area, and the metaphor runs through the whole design. The developer, Alejandro Buján, has also chosen to keep the code under the permissive MIT licence while reserving the Tendedero name and icon, so anyone creating a fork must give it a different identity. That split is a common approach in open source projects that want community contributions without losing control of their branding.
For readers who take many screenshots each day, Tendedero offers a simple experiment: keep captures visible for a short time, then let them go unless you choose to keep them. Whether it becomes a daily habit will depend on how each user works, but the project shows how a small change in where files appear can make a desktop feel noticeably cleaner.
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