Mac Keyboard Shortcuts for Screenshots: The Complete Cheat Sheet

The main keyboard shortcuts for a screenshot on a Mac are ⌘ + ⇧ + 3 for the whole screen and ⌘ + ⇧ + 4 for a selected area. ⌘ + ⇧ + 5 opens the Screenshot toolbar with a timer and screen recording. Add Control to any of them, and the image goes to the clipboard instead of the desktop.

Below is the full list in one table, plus the extra keys that work while you're selecting. You'll also find the Mac versions of Print Screen for people coming from Windows, and how to change or turn off each shortcut. Everything matches Apple's docs as of October 2026 (macOS 27 Golden Gate). It works the same on macOS Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia and Tahoe.

Key symbols: ⌘ Command, ⇧ Shift, ⌃ Control, ⌥ Option. On Mac keyboards, Option may also say "alt".

Mac screenshot shortcuts: the cheat sheet

These are all the built-in Mac screenshot shortcuts. Files are PNG and go to the desktop, unless you've picked another place in the Screenshot toolbar's Options.

Once the image is on the clipboard, paste it with ⌘ + V. If you're not sure where a saved file went, see where screenshots go on a Mac.

Keys that work while you're selecting (after ⌘⇧4)

After ⌘ + ⇧ + 4, the pointer turns into a crosshair, and a few more keys change how the selection works. These are the ones that make ⌘⇧4 precise:

The numbers next to the crosshair show the size of the selection. On a Retina display, the saved file has about twice as many pixels, because macOS saves at the screen's full resolution.

Command + Shift + 5: one shortcut for the rest

⌘ + ⇧ + 5 opens the Screenshot toolbar, which covers what the other shortcuts can't. That includes a 5- or 10-second timer, the mouse pointer in the image, screen recording, and the folder where all screenshots go.

• Pick a screenshot or recording mode on the left, then click Capture or Record. Esc closes the toolbar.
• Options has Save to, Timer, Microphone, Show Floating Thumbnail, Remember Last Selection, Show Mouse Pointer and, on supported models, the HDR or SDR format.
• Save to also changes where ⌘⇧3 and ⌘⇧4 save files.
• To stop a recording, click the Stop button in the menu bar or press ⌘ + ⌃ + Esc.

You can open the same toolbar without the keyboard: open Screenshot from Applications → Utilities. Steps for each mode are in our main guide on how to screenshot on a Mac.

Print Screen on a Mac: the equivalents

Mac keyboards have no Print Screen key. Apple's own table of Windows equivalents maps Print Screen to ⌘ + ⇧ + 3 and ⌘ + ⇧ + 4. If you're used to Windows shortcuts, here's how they translate:

With a Windows keyboard plugged into a Mac, the Windows key works as Command and Alt as Option. So ⌘⇧4 becomes Win + Shift + 4. Going the other way? Here are the Windows screenshot shortcuts.

How to change Mac screenshot shortcuts

You can change or turn off every built-in screenshot shortcut in System Settings. That's how you move a shortcut to keys that suit you better, or free up ⌘⇧4 for another app.

1. Choose Apple menu → System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar (you may need to scroll down).
2. Click Keyboard Shortcuts.
3. Select Screenshots in the sidebar of the window that opens.
4. Make sure the checkbox next to the shortcut is selected. Double-click its current key combination and press the new one.
5. Click Done. Quit and reopen any apps you're using so they pick up the change.

The Screenshots list has separate entries for saving and copying the screen, a selected area and the Touch Bar. There's one more for the Screenshot toolbar (⌘⇧5). A few rules that save time:

• To turn a shortcut off, clear its checkbox. The key combination is then free for another app.
• To undo your changes, click Restore Defaults in the bottom-left corner of the Keyboard Shortcuts window.
• Each type of key can only appear once in a combination, Apple notes: one letter or one function key, plus modifier keys.
• If the new shortcut does nothing, another app or system shortcut probably uses the same keys. macOS usually marks these clashes with a yellow warning triangle in this list.
• On macOS 12 Monterey and earlier, the same list is in System Preferences → Keyboard → Shortcuts → Screenshots.

Command + Shift + 6 in macOS 27 and Siri AI

On MacBook Pro models with a Touch Bar, ⌘ + ⇧ + 6 has always taken a screenshot of the Touch Bar. In macOS 27 Golden Gate, Apple's keyboard shortcut list also assigns it to Siri AI (Beta). With Siri AI turned on, ⌘⇧6 lets you select part of the screen. Then you can ask Siri about it, search for the image or run a suggested action. Apple's Siri AI guide lists ⌘ + ⇧ + Space for doing the same with a whole window.

These don't save a screenshot file. As of October 2026, Siri AI is a beta for Macs with Apple silicon, in English only to start. The classic ⌘⇧3, ⌘⇧4 and ⌘⇧5 shortcuts haven't changed for anyone.

A shortcut where you add arrows as you go: Sleekshot for Mac (⌘⇧2)

The built-in shortcuts take the screenshot first and let you mark it up later from the floating thumbnail. Sleekshot for Mac, our free menu bar app on the Mac App Store (macOS 12 or later), works the other way around. Press ⌘ + ⇧ + 2, and the screen dims. You select an area, draw on it with single keys, then copy or save it. The shortcut doesn't clash with ⌘⇧3, ⌘⇧4 or ⌘⇧5, and you can change it in the app's Settings.

If you'd rather use ⌘⇧4 for Sleekshot, turn off the system shortcut as shown above. The app shows a hint on how to do that.

Know the limits. The Mac version only takes a selected area, with no window screenshots, timer or screen recording. It doesn't include the mouse pointer, and our download page still marks it as beta. For those, keep using ⌘⇧4 + Space and ⌘⇧5. More on the Sleekshot for Mac page.

Screenshot shortcut not working?

If a shortcut does nothing, check these first:

• The shortcut is off or changed: open Keyboard Shortcuts → Screenshots and check the boxes, or click Restore Defaults.
• Another app uses the same keys: screenshot and clipboard tools often grab ⌘⇧4 or ⌘⇧5. Change the key in that app or quit it.
• The shortcut works but there's no file: you may have added Control (clipboard only), or set Save to another folder in ⌘⇧5 → Options.
• A black area in the image: macOS blacks out protected video, for example in the Apple TV app, on purpose.

Full fixes are in Mac screenshot not working, and other apps are compared in the best screenshot apps for Mac.