How to Screenshot on Mac

macOS has had the same screenshot shortcuts since Mac OS X 10.0 in 2001, but Apple keeps adding features (the Screenshot toolbar in 2018, Touch Bar capture, screen recording, and clipboard-only modes). In 2026 you have six core methods that cover every situation: full screen, selection, window, the toolbar, the Touch Bar (on supported Macs), and Continuity-based capture from an iPhone. This guide walks through every shortcut, where files save by default, and how to change defaults — including the trick to copy to clipboard instead of saving a file. All shortcuts work on macOS Sonoma, Sequoia, and macOS Tahoe (15.x).

1. 1
   Capture the full screen

   Press ⌘ ⇧ 3. macOS captures every connected display and saves one PNG per screen to your Desktop. If you have two monitors, you'll get two files.
2. 2
   Capture a selection

   Press ⌘ ⇧ 4. The cursor becomes a crosshair — click and drag to select an area. Release to save. Hold Space while dragging to move the selection. Hold Option to resize from the center.
3. 3
   Capture a specific window

   Press ⌘ ⇧ 4, then press Space. The cursor becomes a camera. Hover any window and click to capture just that window (with a translucent shadow). Hold Option while clicking to remove the shadow.
4. 4
   Open the Screenshot toolbar

   Press ⌘ ⇧ 5. A toolbar appears at the bottom of the screen with five buttons: capture entire screen, capture selected window, capture selected portion, record entire screen, record selected portion. The Options menu lets you change save location, set a delay timer, and toggle the floating thumbnail preview.
5. 5
   Copy to clipboard instead of saving

   Add Control to any shortcut. ⌘ ⇧ Control 3 copies the full screen to clipboard. ⌘ ⇧ Control 4 does the same for selections. No file is saved — you can paste directly into Slack, Messages, or any image-aware app.
6. 6
   Screenshot the Touch Bar

   On MacBook Pros with a Touch Bar (2016-2019 models), press ⌘ ⇧ 6. A PNG of the Touch Bar saves to your Desktop. Newer Apple Silicon MacBook Pros no longer have a Touch Bar, so this shortcut does nothing.
7. 7
   Record your screen as video

   Press ⌘ ⇧ 5 to open the toolbar, then click Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion. The recording saves as a .mov file. To stop, click the stop button in the menu bar or press ⌘ Control Esc.
8. 8
   Change where screenshots save

   Press ⌘ ⇧ 5 and click Options. Under Save to, choose Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages, Preview, or pick a custom folder via Other Location. This setting persists across reboots.
9. 9
   Change the screenshot file format

   Open Terminal and run defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg to switch from PNG to JPG. Valid values are png, jpg, pdf, tiff, and heic. Run killall SystemUIServer afterward to apply.
10. 10
    Use Continuity Camera from your iPhone

    Right-click on the Desktop or in any app's Insert/Import menu, and choose Import from iPhone → Take Photo or Scan Documents. Your iPhone opens the camera and the image flows directly to your Mac. Requires iPhone with iOS 12+ signed into the same Apple ID.