Agent skill

techsmith-hello-world

Capture a screenshot with Snagit COM API and produce a Camtasia video. Use when automating screen captures, batch-processing recordings, or building documentation pipelines with TechSmith tools. Trigger: "techsmith hello world, snagit capture, camtasia render".

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Install this agent skill to your Project

npx add-skill https://github.com/jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills/tree/main/plugins/saas-packs/techsmith-pack/skills/techsmith-hello-world

SKILL.md

TechSmith Hello World

Overview

Capture a screenshot with Snagit's COM API and render a Camtasia project to MP4 -- the two fundamental TechSmith automation operations.

Instructions

Step 1: Snagit Image Capture (PowerShell)

powershell
# Create a Snagit image capture object
$capture = New-Object -ComObject Snagit.ImageCapture

# Configure capture settings
$capture.Input = 4          # siiWindow = 4 (capture active window)
$capture.Output = 2         # sioFile = 2 (save to file)
$capture.OutputImageFile.FileType = 4  # sitJPEG = 4
$capture.OutputImageFile.Directory = "C:\Screenshots"
$capture.OutputImageFile.Filename = "capture"

# Enable preview in Snagit Editor
$capture.EnablePreview = $false  # Set $true to open in editor

# Capture!
$capture.Capture()
Write-Host "Screenshot saved to C:\Screenshots\capture.jpg"

Step 2: Snagit Video Capture (PowerShell)

powershell
$videoCapture = New-Object -ComObject Snagit.VideoCapture

$videoCapture.Input = 2       # siiRegion = 2
$videoCapture.Output = 2      # sioFile = 2
$videoCapture.OutputImageFile.Directory = "C:\Recordings"

# Start recording
$videoCapture.Capture()
# Recording starts -- manually stop via Snagit UI or timer

Step 3: Camtasia Batch Production

powershell
# Render a .tscproj to MP4 using CamtasiaProducer
$producer = "C:\Program Files\TechSmith\Camtasia 2025\CamtasiaProducer.exe"

& $producer `
  /i "C:\Projects\tutorial.tscproj" `
  /o "C:\Output\tutorial.mp4" `
  /preset "MP4 - Smart Player (up to 1080p)" `
  /watermark "none"

Write-Host "Camtasia render complete: tutorial.mp4"

Step 4: Python Automation

python
import win32com.client

# Snagit image capture
capture = win32com.client.Dispatch("Snagit.ImageCapture")
capture.Input = 0       # siiDesktop = 0 (full screen)
capture.Output = 2      # sioFile
capture.OutputImageFile.FileType = 3  # sitPNG
capture.OutputImageFile.Directory = "C:\\Screenshots"
capture.OutputImageFile.Filename = "auto_capture"
capture.EnablePreview = False
capture.Capture()
print("Screenshot captured via Python")

Output

Screenshot saved to C:\Screenshots\capture.jpg
Camtasia render complete: tutorial.mp4

Error Handling

Error Cause Solution
Snagit not running COM requires Snagit open Launch Snagit first
Access denied on capture Screen lock or UAC Run as administrator
Camtasia render fails Missing codec Install required codec pack
Output file exists Overwrite conflict Add timestamp to filename

Resources

Next Steps

Proceed to techsmith-local-dev-loop for development workflow.

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