# Where do screenshots go on a Mac?

> Mac screenshots save to your Desktop as PNG files named “Screenshot [date] at [time]”. Press ⇧⌘5 and click Options to save them somewhere else.

URL: https://shelfydock.com/guides/where-do-screenshots-go-on-mac/
Author: Ayesha Gagan (https://shelfydock.com/about/)
Published: 2026-11-04 · Updated: 2026-11-08

## The short answer

By default, every screenshot you take on a Mac is saved to your **Desktop**, as a PNG file named like `Screenshot 2026-11-04 at 10.15.30.png`. The newest one is the one with the latest date and time in its name. If you don’t see them on your Desktop, they’re going somewhere else, and the fastest way to find out where is ⇧⌘5 › Options.

**Good to know:** right after you take a screenshot, a thumbnail appears in the corner of the screen for a few seconds. Drag that thumbnail straight into an email or chat and you never have to find the file at all.

## Every screenshot shortcut

macOS screenshot shortcuts
| Shortcut | What it captures | Where it goes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ⇧⌘3 | The whole screen | A file, on the Desktop |
| ⇧⌘4 | An area you drag out | A file, on the Desktop |
| ⇧⌘4, then Space | One window, with its shadow | A file, on the Desktop |
| ⇧⌘5 | The Screenshot toolbar: screen, window, area or a recording | Wherever Options › Save to says |
| Add ⌃ to any of them | The same, but copied | The clipboard only, no file |

## How to change where screenshots are saved

1.  ### Open the Screenshot toolbar
    
    Press ⇧⌘5. A bar of buttons appears at the bottom of the screen.
    
2.  ### Click Options
    
    It’s on the right of the bar. The top of the menu, under **Save to**, shows where screenshots go now.
    
3.  ### Choose a place
    
    Pick Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages or Preview, or choose **Other Location…** and pick any folder, such as a “Screenshots” folder in Pictures.
    
4.  ### Take a screenshot to check
    
    Press Esc to close the bar, then take a screenshot. It now saves to the place you chose, and macOS remembers it for every screenshot shortcut.
    

### With Terminal instead

If you prefer Terminal, make the folder first, then point macOS at it:

```
mkdir -p ~/Pictures/Screenshots
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Pictures/Screenshots
killall SystemUIServer
```

To go back to the Desktop, run the same command with `~/Desktop`.

## How to find your newest screenshot

-   **Sort by date.** Open the folder screenshots go to in Finder, choose View › Sort By › Date Added, and the newest is first.
-   **Use the thumbnail.** Drag the corner thumbnail into an app within a few seconds of taking the screenshot. (Turn it on in ⇧⌘5 › Options › Show Floating Thumbnail.)
-   **Ask Spotlight.** In Terminal, `mdfind "kMDItemIsScreenCapture == 1"` lists every screenshot on your Mac, wherever it is.
-   **Keep them beside the Dock.** [Shelfy](https://shelfydock.com/) shows your ten newest screenshots and downloads on a strip beside the Dock, ready to drag, and ⌃⌥V pastes the newest one into whatever you’re typing in.

> According to Shelfy, screenshots you copy to the clipboard with ⌃⇧⌘3 or ⌃⇧⌘4 are kept too: the newest twenty, for a week, so a quick capture isn’t lost the moment you copy something else.

— Shelfy’s behavior in version 0.3.0. Unless you turn on its Clipboard History, it never reads or keeps anything else you copy.

## Where do clipboard screenshots go?

Nowhere, until you paste them. A screenshot taken with Control held down lives only on the clipboard, and the next thing you copy replaces it. If you often lose screenshots that way, either drop the Control key so they’re saved as files, or use an app that keeps clipboard screenshots for you.

## Changing the file format and name

Screenshots are PNG files, which keep text sharp but can be large. To save JPEG files instead, run `defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg` in Terminal. You can also change the start of the file name, for example `defaults write com.apple.screencapture name "Capture"`. Both take effect for the next screenshot.

## Questions about Mac screenshots

**Why can’t I find my screenshot on the Desktop?**

Someone may have changed where screenshots are saved. Press ⇧⌘5, click Options and look under Save to: the ticked place is where they go. If Clipboard is ticked, screenshots aren’t saved as files at all until you paste them.

**How do I take a screenshot straight to the clipboard?**

Add Control to the shortcut: ⌃⇧⌘3 copies the whole screen and ⌃⇧⌘4 copies a selection. Nothing is saved to disk; paste it with ⌘V.

**Can I save Mac screenshots as JPG instead of PNG?**

Yes. In Terminal, run “defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg”. New screenshots are then saved as JPEG; use “png” to switch back.

**Where do screen recordings go on a Mac?**

To the same place as screenshots, which is the Desktop unless you changed it in the Screenshot toolbar’s Options menu. They’re saved as .mov files.

**How do I see all my screenshots at once?**

Open Terminal and run: mdfind "kMDItemIsScreenCapture == 1". Spotlight lists every file macOS marked as a screenshot, wherever it’s saved.

**How do I stop screenshots cluttering my Desktop?**

Send them to their own folder with ⇧⌘5 › Options › Other Location, or let an app like Shelfy show your ten newest beside the Dock so you rarely need to look for them.

## Sources

-   [Take a screenshot on Mac, Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102646), checked November 4, 2026
-   [Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac, macOS User Guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/mh26782/mac), checked November 4, 2026