How to Screenshot on a Mac: Every Shortcut, Tool and Where Files Go

To take a screenshot on a Mac, press Command + Shift + 3 for the whole screen, or Command + Shift + 4 to drag over just the part you need. The screenshot is saved as a PNG file on your desktop a few seconds later. Add Control to either shortcut, and the image goes to the clipboard instead, ready to paste with Command + V.

That's the short answer, and it works on every Mac: MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini and the rest. Below are all six built-in ways to screenshot on a Mac, plus the extra keys that make them more precise. You'll also see where the files go and what to do when you need arrows or blur before you send the image. Shortcuts and menu names match Apple's docs as of October 2026 (macOS 27 Golden Gate). They work the same on macOS Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia and Tahoe. On macOS 12 and earlier, System Settings is called System Preferences.

Key symbols: ⌘ is Command, ⇧ is Shift, ⌃ is Control, ⌥ is Option. Mac menus show shortcuts with these symbols, so ⌘⇧4 means Command + Shift + 4.

Every Mac screenshot method at a glance

Six built-in shortcuts cover everything from the whole screen to a single menu. Find the row that matches what you need.

Our pick: ⌘ + ⇧ + 4 for nearly everything, with Control added when you're about to paste the screenshot into a message. Use ⌘ + ⇧ + 5 when you need a timer or a video. The full list, including the keys that work while you're selecting, is in our Mac screenshot shortcuts cheat sheet.

Method 1: Command + Shift + 3 (the whole screen)

Command + Shift + 3 takes everything on the screen in one press, with nothing to select.

1. Set up the screen the way you want it in the screenshot.
2. Press Command + Shift + 3 together and let go.
3. You'll hear a camera shutter sound (unless your Mac is muted), and a thumbnail appears in the bottom-right corner.
4. Wait a few seconds, or swipe the thumbnail to the right, and the PNG file appears on the desktop.

If you use two or more displays, macOS saves a separate file for each one instead of one wide image. To take only one display, use ⌘ + ⇧ + 4 and drag across it, or see how to screenshot one display on a Mac.

Method 2: Command + Shift + 4 (a selected area)

Command + Shift + 4 is the shortcut most Mac users rely on, because you decide exactly what goes into the picture.

1. Press Command + Shift + 4. The pointer turns into a crosshair.
2. Drag over the area you want. Numbers next to the crosshair show the size of the selection.
3. Let go of the mouse or trackpad button to take the screenshot.

While you drag, a few keys give you more control:

• Hold Space to move the whole selection without changing its size.
• Hold Shift to lock all but one edge, so you only change the width or only the height.
• Hold Option to resize the selection from its center.
• Press Esc to cancel without taking a screenshot.

Tip: On a Retina display, screenshots are saved at the screen's full pixel resolution, which is usually twice the size the selection seems to be. That's why a small selection can look huge when you paste it into a document. More on sharp, right-sized screenshots in our high-quality screenshot guide.

Method 3: Command + Shift + 4, then Space (a window or menu)

To take a single window without selecting it by hand, press Command + Shift + 4 and then tap the Space bar.

1. Press Command + Shift + 4, then press and release Space.
2. The pointer turns into a camera. Move it over a window (or the menu bar), and the window under it lights up.
3. Click to take the screenshot. Press Space again if you want to go back to drawing a selection.

By default, macOS adds the window's soft shadow, which leaves a see-through border around the image. To leave it out, hold Option while you click.

To screenshot a menu, open the menu first. Then press Command + Shift + 4 and drag over the menu items. Or press Space and click the menu to take it on its own. This is handy for how-to guides, where showing the exact menu item saves a paragraph of explanation.

Method 4: Command + Shift + 5 (the Screenshot toolbar)

Command + Shift + 5 opens the Screenshot app, a small toolbar at the bottom of the screen. It has every screenshot mode, plus a timer, a save location menu and screen recording. It's been part of macOS since Mojave.

1. Press Command + Shift + 5.
2. Choose a mode on the left of the toolbar: the entire screen, a window or a selected portion, or one of the screen recording buttons.
3. Open Options to change settings (see below).
4. Click Capture (or Record for video). Press Esc to close the toolbar without taking anything.

The Options menu has the settings the keyboard shortcuts don't:

No keyboard handy, or the shortcut doesn't respond? Open the Screenshot app from the Utilities folder inside Applications, or press ⌘ + Space and type "Screenshot".

Screen recording is in the same toolbar. Pick a recording mode and click Record. Stop with the Stop button in the menu bar or ⌘ + Control + Esc. The video is saved as a .mov file named "Screen Recording [date] at [time]". QuickTime Player's File → New Screen Recording opens the same toolbar.

Method 5: Add Control to copy to the clipboard

Hold Control with any screenshot shortcut, and macOS copies the image to the clipboard instead of saving a file. This is the closest thing a Mac has to the Print Screen key on Windows. It's also the quickest way to get a screenshot into Slack, Messages, an email or a document.

Then paste with ⌘ + V. With Handoff turned on, Universal Clipboard lets you paste the same screenshot on your iPhone or iPad. A clipboard screenshot is replaced as soon as you copy something else, so paste it first.

Method 6: Command + Shift + 6 (the Touch Bar)

On MacBook Pro models with a Touch Bar, Command + Shift + 6 saves a picture of the Touch Bar to the desktop. It's only useful if you're documenting Touch Bar controls. On Macs without one, the shortcut doesn't take a screenshot.

In macOS 27 Golden Gate, Apple also uses ⌘ + ⇧ + 6 for Siri AI (Beta). With Siri AI turned on, the shortcut lets you select part of the screen. Then you can ask Siri about it, search for the image or run a suggested action. As of October 2026, Siri AI is in beta, in English to start, on Macs with Apple silicon.

Edit, share or delete a screenshot right after taking it

After every screenshot, a floating thumbnail appears in the bottom-right corner for a few seconds. It's the fastest way to fix a screenshot before it's saved.

• Click it to open a Markup window. Crop, draw, add shapes and arrows, type text or add a signature, then click Done.
• Swipe it right (or wait) to save it right away.
• Drag it straight into an email, a note, a document or a Finder window.
• Control-click it to save it somewhere else (including the clipboard), open it in another app, show it in Finder or delete it.

The file is only saved after the thumbnail disappears, so screenshots can seem to show up late. If that bothers you, turn off Show Floating Thumbnail in ⌘ + ⇧ + 5 → Options. The file then appears right away.

Two limits worth knowing. Markup has no blur or pixelate tool, so you hide an email address by covering it with a filled shape. And to copy text out of a screenshot, you need Live Text in Preview or Photos. Our guide to copying text from an image on a Mac covers that.

A faster way to add arrows: Sleekshot for Mac (⌘⇧2)

Sleekshot for Mac is a free menu bar screenshot app for macOS 12 Monterey and later. You add arrows, boxes and blur right on the screenshot before you copy or save it. We make it, so here's the plain truth: the built-in tools above are enough for simple screenshots. Sleekshot is worth installing if your screenshots usually need an arrow, a box or a hidden detail before you send them.

1. Install Sleekshot for free from the Mac App Store. There are no in-app purchases and no account. The first time, macOS asks you to allow screen recording. Every app that takes screenshots needs that permission.
2. Press ⌘ + ⇧ + 2, or choose Take Screenshot from the menu bar icon. The screen dims. The shortcut doesn't clash with ⌘⇧3, ⌘⇧4 or ⌘⇧5, and you can change it.
3. Drag over the area you need. A size bar shows the width and height, and you can adjust the edges afterwards.
4. Mark it up with single keys: A arrow, R rectangle, F filled rectangle, E ellipse, B blur (pixelation), L line, P pencil, T text, and C to pick one of 20 colors.
5. Press ⌘ + C to copy, ⌘ + S to save as PNG or JPEG, or ⌘ + ⇧ + C to copy the text in the selection, recognized on your Mac. Esc closes it.

What it doesn't do: the Mac version only takes a selected area. There's no window screenshot, full-screen button, timer or screen recording. It doesn't include the mouse pointer, and it has one arrow style. The app is in English only, and our download page still labels the Mac version as beta. For those jobs, the built-in ⌘ + ⇧ + 5 toolbar is the better tool. More on the Sleekshot for Mac page, and other options in our roundup of the best screenshot apps for Mac.

Where Mac screenshots are saved

Every built-in shortcut saves to the desktop, unless you add Control or change the location. Here's where each one ends up:

On macOS Ventura and later, files are named like Screenshot 2026-10-01 at 10.15.32.png. On Monterey and earlier, they start with "Screen Shot". If you use iCloud's Desktop & Documents sync, your desktop lives in iCloud Drive, so screenshots sync to your other devices too. To move them somewhere tidier, press ⌘ + ⇧ + 5, click Options and choose a folder under Save to. The full walkthrough, including a Terminal command and how to find a screenshot you can't see, is in where screenshots go on a Mac.

Screenshots on a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro or with a Windows keyboard

The shortcuts are the same on every Mac, laptop or desktop. On a MacBook keyboard, Command is right next to the Space bar and Shift is on the left, so ⌘⇧4 is an easy one-hand stretch.

Mac keyboards have no Print Screen key. Apple's own list of Windows equivalents maps Print Screen to ⌘ + ⇧ + 3 (whole screen) and ⌘ + ⇧ + 4 (selected area). If you use a Windows keyboard with your Mac, the Windows key works as Command and Alt as Option, so the shortcut becomes Win + Shift + 4. You can also set your own keys in System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Screenshots. Our shortcut guide shows how.

Switching between computers? On a PC, everything works differently. Here's how to screenshot on Windows.

Mac screenshot not working? Quick fixes

When a shortcut does nothing, the cause is usually a setting or another app, not a fault. Try these in order:

• Shortcut turned off or changed. Open System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Screenshots and make sure the checkboxes are on, or click Restore Defaults.
• Another app took the keys. Screenshot and utility apps can grab ⌘⇧4 or ⌘⇧5. Change the shortcut in that app, or quit it and try again.
• No file on the desktop. Check ⌘⇧5 → Options → Save to. The screenshot may be going to another folder or to the clipboard. Hidden desktop items and desktop Stacks can hide it too.
• Black window in the screenshot. Some apps, like the Apple TV app and DVD Player, block screenshots of protected video on purpose.
• Another app only gets the wallpaper. Give it permission in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording (called Screen Recording on older macOS).

Step-by-step fixes for each case are in Mac screenshot not working. Apple's own reference is the How to take a screenshot on your Mac support article.