How to Screenshot on a Mac

You take a screenshot on a Mac by pressing a keyboard shortcut, and macOS saves the image for you. The three you will use most are Shift-Command-3 for the entire screen, Shift-Command-4 for a portion or a window, and Shift-Command-5 to open the Screenshot app. It takes only a second, and no extra software is needed.

• A Mac running a modern version of macOS. The Screenshot app requires macOS Mojave 10.14 or later.
• Nothing else. Screenshots are built into macOS, so there is no app to buy and no account to set up.

1. To capture the entire screen, press and release Shift, Command, and 3 together.
2. If a thumbnail appears in the corner of your screen, click it to edit the screenshot, or wait and it saves to your desktop.
3. To capture part of the screen, press and release Shift, Command, and 4 together. The pointer turns into a crosshair.
4. Click and hold your mouse or trackpad button, drag the crosshair over the area you want, then release to take the screenshot. Press Esc to cancel instead.
5. To move the area you have selected without changing its size, press and hold the Space bar while you drag.
6. To capture a window or a menu, press Shift, Command, and 4 together, then press and release the Space bar. The pointer changes to a camera icon.
7. Click the window or menu to capture it. To leave out the window's shadow, press and hold the Option key while you click.
8. To use the Screenshot app instead, press Shift-Command-5, or open the Screenshot app from the Utilities folder inside your Applications folder.
9. In the Screenshot app, click the tool for what you want to capture, then click Capture for the whole screen or a portion, or click a window to capture it.
10. Click the Options menu in the Screenshot app to set a timer, choose where screenshots are saved, decide whether to show the floating thumbnail, include the mouse pointer, or pick a capture format.
11. To copy a screenshot to the Clipboard instead of saving a file, hold the Control key along with the other keys. For example, press Control-Shift-Command-3 instead of Shift-Command-3.
12. To paste a screenshot you copied, press Command-V in the document, image, or email you are editing.

• By default, screenshots save to your desktop with a name like "Screen Shot [date] at [time]." You can change the default save location in the Options menu of the Screenshot app.
• Instead of waiting for the file to save, you can drag the thumbnail that appears in the corner of your screen and drop it somewhere else.
• You can also Control-click the thumbnail and choose Save to Clipboard from the shortcut menu.
• If you hold your mouse pointer over the screenshot thumbnail, it stays onscreen until you act on it or move the pointer away.
• On supported Mac models running macOS Tahoe 26 or later, the Screenshot app lets you choose a capture format: SDR (Most Compatible), which uses the PNG image format, or HDR, which uses the HEIF image format. HDR captures more brightness and colour but needs an HDR display to see the difference.
• Some apps, such as the Apple TV app, may not let you take screenshots of their windows.
• On a MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar, pressing Shift-Command-6 captures the Touch Bar and saves it to your desktop.
• If you prefer the command line, you can use the screencapture tool in Terminal. For example, screencapture -T 10 ~/Desktop/screenshot.png takes a shot after a 10-second delay. You can read more with man screencapture.
• If you want a different file format than PNG, open the screenshot in Preview and save it as JPG, TIFF, PDF, or another format.
• The Screenshot app can also record your screen, not just take still images.

Where do my screenshots go? By default they save to your desktop as PNG files with a name like "Screen Shot [date] at [time]." You can change the save location in the Options menu of the Screenshot app.

How do I screenshot just one window? Press Shift-Command-4, then press the Space bar. The pointer becomes a camera icon, and you click the window or menu you want. Hold Option while you click to leave out the window's shadow.

Can I copy a screenshot instead of saving a file? Yes. Hold the Control key along with the other keys, for example Control-Shift-Command-3, and the screenshot goes to the Clipboard. You can then paste it with Command-V.

How do I take a screenshot after a delay? Open the Screenshot app with Shift-Command-5 and use the Options menu to set a timer. The available options vary depending on whether you are taking a screenshot or a recording.

Can I screenshot the Touch Bar on a MacBook Pro? Yes. Press Shift-Command-6 and the Touch Bar is captured and saved to your desktop.