macOS menu-bar utility
Beam a screenshot
straight to your server.
Copy a screenshot, press one hotkey, and Hostbeam drops it on the host you choose — then hands your clipboard a paste-ready line for your coding agent. It lives in the menu bar and gets out of the way.
Free for 5 beams a day · macOS 13+ · Apple silicon & Intel
Live demo — press Beam screenshot above.
How it works
Clipboard to remote path in one keystroke.
No window to find, no file to drag, no upload dialog. The whole loop is muscle memory.
Copy a screenshot
Cmd-Shift-4, a snip from any tool — anything that lands a PNG on your clipboard.
Beam it
One hotkey from any app. Hostbeam uploads it to your chosen host over your own SSH.
Paste the line
Your clipboard now holds a ready sentence with the remote path. Paste it into your agent.
Use this screenshot: /tmp/hostbeam/hostbeam-1781652844021.pngcopied for you — paste & goFeatures
Small on screen. Out of your way. Exactly where you need it.
A hotkey from anywhere
Cmd-Shift-7 from any app, full-screen or not. No window to surface, no menu to open — just beam.
Lives in your menu bar
A quiet glyph up top that animates while a beam is in flight. Click for the popover, or never look at it at all.
Paste-ready for agents
It doesn’t just upload — it writes the exact sentence your coding agent needs and copies it. Edit the template to taste.
Knows your ~/.ssh/config
Every host you already have, searchable and ready. Pick a default, switch in a click, beam to any of them.
Privacy
Nothing in the middle.
Your screenshot goes from your clipboard to your server over your own SSH — the same connection you already trust. No Hostbeam account, no cloud bucket, no telemetry. We never see the file, and there’s no “us” in the path.
Pricing
Try it free. Pay once if it sticks.
No subscription, no account. The free tier is yours for as long as you like.
Free
$0
for casual beaming
- 5 beams a day — resets at midnight
- Every feature, no account, fully offline
- All your SSH hosts, paste-ready sentences
License
Pay once$29one-time
for beaming all day
- Unlimited beams, forever
- A year of updates included — the app never stops working
- One license covers 3 Macs
- Renew later for half price, only if you want the new stuff
Your key arrives by email right after checkout — paste it into Preferences and the limit is gone.
FAQ
Good questions.
Where do my screenshots end up?
In /tmp/hostbeam on the host you pick, by default. You can set a different folder per host in Preferences.
Do I need a Hostbeam account?
No. Hostbeam uses the hosts already in your ~/.ssh/config and your existing keys. There’s nothing to sign up for.
Which hosts work?
Anything you can ssh into — entries from your ~/.ssh/config, or a host you type in by hand. If ssh works, Hostbeam works.
Can I change the pasted sentence?
Yes. The template lives in Preferences — keep the default “Use this screenshot: {path}”, or write your own around the {path} token.
What if a beam fails?
Hostbeam tells you why in plain language — host unreachable, key refused, folder not writable — and offers a one-click retry or inline diagnostics.
Is it macOS only?
Yes, for now. Hostbeam is built to feel native to the Mac menu bar.
Is Hostbeam free?
The free tier gives you 5 beams a day, every feature included, counted on your Mac and never sent anywhere. A $29 license removes the limit on up to 3 Macs.
What happens after my year of updates?
Nothing bad — the app keeps working forever on the versions you have. Renew for half price whenever you want another year of new releases. Licensed installs check the key quietly with the license service; that’s the only thing that ever leaves your Mac besides your screenshot.
