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XerahS FAQ

Architectural Decisions

Why use SkiaSharp instead of System.Drawing or Avalonia's native Bitmap?

Q: Why are we using SkiaSharp? The original ShareX didn't need it.

A: ShareX (WinForms) and XerahS represent two different eras of .NET development. The decision to use SkiaSharp is driven by cross-platform compatibility, performance, and maintainability.

1. The "Old Way" (Legacy ShareX)

Original ShareX relies on System.Drawing (GDI+) and extensive custom C# algorithms for image processing. To achieve performance, it often bypasses GDI+ limitations by using Unsafe Code:

  • Raw Pointer Arithmetic: It uses LockBits and unsafe blocks to maniuplate pixels directly in memory.
  • Manual Algorithms: Effects like Blur or Edge Detection are implemented as complex $O(N^2)$ loops iterating over pointers.
  • Maintenance Burden: This requires maintaining thousands of lines of low-level C# math that is hard to debug and optimize.
  • Platform Limit: System.Drawing is Windows-only (GDI+).

2. The "New Way" (XerahS)

XerahS is a cross-platform application (Windows, Linux, macOS) running on .NET 8+. We use SkiaSharp, which is a .NET binding for Google's Skia graphics engine (the same engine used by Chrome, Android, and Flutter).

  • Hardware Acceleration: Skia automatically utilizes SIMD (AVX2/Neon) and GPU acceleration where possible.
  • High-Level API: Complex effects are one-liners.
    • Legacy: 50 lines of unsafe pointer loops for a Box Blur.
    • SkiaSharp: paint.ImageFilter = SKImageFilter.CreateBlur(radius, radius);
  • Headless Processing: SkiaSharp allows robust image manipulation (SKCanvas, SKBitmap) without requiring a UI thread or Dispatcher, making it ideal for background "After Capture" tasks.
  • True Cross-Platform: It renders identically on all supported operating systems.

Use SkiaSharp for editing, processing, and saving images.

How is image rendering handled? Is it hardware accelerated?

Q: "Is rendering used for the image editor hardware accelerated? I had issues with image editors struggling to keep stable 60FPS on high res monitors."

A: Yes, XerahS uses Avalonia UI, which is fully hardware-accelerated via Skia/Direct2D/Metal depending on your OS.

  • No more GDI+ Bottlenecks: We do not use legacy Windows GDI rendering.
  • Optimized Pipeline: As of January 2026, we have refactored the image pipeline to use direct memory copies (memcpy) instead of expensive stream-based encoding.
    • Before: Interactions could trigger costly PNG encode/decode cycles.
    • After: Interactions manipulate raw pixel memory directly.
  • Result: Large 4K+ images render and update instantly without stalling the UI thread, maintaining a smooth 60+ FPS even on high-resolution displays.

Why do workflows have unique settings instead of inheriting from a Default?

Q: Why are there no "Default Settings" for workflows like in ShareX?

A: XerahS adopts a "Zero Inheritance" policy for workflows to reduce cognitive load and configuration errors.

  • Simplicity: Each workflow is a self-contained unit. You never need to look elsewhere to understand what a specific hotkey or task will do.
  • No "Inheritance" Confusion: In the legacy model, users often struggled to remember which setting was inherited from "Default," which was overridden by a "Profile," and which was specific to a "Task."
  • Explicit Configuration: All settings are unique to the workflow. Changing a setting in one workflow is guaranteed to never affect another workflow.

macOS: Why don't global hotkeys work?

Q: Hotkeys never fire on macOS. What should I check?

A: macOS requires Accessibility permission for global key monitoring. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and allow the ShareX Ava app (bundle or dotnet run). Restart the app after granting permission. Hotkeys are powered by SharpHook; without Accessibility, it cannot receive events.

How to pronounce XerahS?

Q: How to pronounce XerahS?

A: XerahS is pronounced zeh raks with xe as in Xerox and rax as in the ending sound of relax.