MacPipAnswer
How do I change where screenshots are saved on a Mac?
Press Shift-Command-5, click Options, and choose a place under Save to: Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages, Preview, or Other Location to pick any folder.
The choice sticks: every later screenshot and screen recording goes there, from the toolbar and from Shift-Command-3 and Shift-Command-4 too, until you change it again.
Pick a new folder
- In Finder, make the folder you want, for example Screenshots inside Pictures.
- Press Shift-Command-5 to open the Screenshot toolbar.
- Click Options, then Other Location under Save to.
- Choose your folder and click Choose.
- Press Esc to close the toolbar. Take a test shot with Shift-Command-4 to check it lands in the new folder.
The same with Terminal
If the Options menu won’t take a folder, for example on a managed Mac, run this in Terminal (Applications → Utilities). Make the folder first.
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Pictures/Screenshots && killall SystemUIServer- To go back to the desktop:
defaults delete com.apple.screencapture location && killall SystemUIServer
Tips
- Desktop stays clean, and a folder in the Dock opens your shots in one click.
- Clipboard under Save to copies instead of saving a file, see how to take a screenshot without saving a file.
- Recordings go to the same place. A screen recording made from the toolbar is saved wherever Save to points.
- File names start with “Screenshot” or “Screen Recording”, followed by the date and time.
Where Clacky saves (macOS 14 or later)
Clacky’s screenshots have their own folder, Pictures › Clacky Screenshots, whatever macOS’s Save to says. To change it, open Clacky’s Screenshots window, find Saved to at the bottom and click Change…. The arrow button next to it shows the folder in Finder.
Clacky’s recordings (macOS 15 or later) are saved to Movies › Clacky. Nothing is uploaded. Both are listed in where Clacky saves your files.
Where these facts come from
Checked on 5 November 2026.
- Apple: Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac (Options, Save to, Other Location, file names)
- Apple: How to take a screenshot on your Mac (saved to the desktop by default)
Questions
Where do Mac screenshots go by default?
Why do my screenshots not appear on the desktop?
Can I save screenshots as JPEG instead of PNG?
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg && killall SystemUIServer.Facts checked on 5 November 2026.
Related
- Where does Clacky save my screen recordings and screenshots?Recordings go to Movies › Clacky (~/Movies/Clacky) and screenshots to Pictures › Clacky Screenshots. You can change both folders. Nothing is uploaded.
- Take a screenshot without saving a fileAdd Control to the shortcut: Control-Shift-Command-4 copies the shot to the clipboard and saves nothing. Then paste it with Command-V.
- Screenshot a window without the shadowPress Shift-Command-4, then Space, then hold Option as you click the window. The shot has no shadow. A Terminal setting makes it the default.
- ShelfEvery shot slides onto the Shelf beside the editor. Drop in any image, or drag one out to Finder or any app.
- Is the built-in Mac screenshot tool enough?For everyday shots, yes. It has no blur or redact bar, numbered steps, backgrounds or scrolling capture. Here is what it does and when you need more.
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