MacPipAnswer
How do I take a screenshot of a window without the shadow on a Mac?
Press Shift-Command-4, then press Space (the pointer turns into a camera), and hold Option while you click the window: the screenshot is just the window, with no shadow around it.
Without Option, macOS adds a soft shadow and a see-through margin around every window shot. If you always want it off, one Terminal command changes the default.
One shot without the shadow
- Open the window you want and bring it to the front.
- Press Shift-Command-4, then press Space. The pointer becomes a camera and windows light up as you move over them.
- Hold Option and click the window.
- The shot is saved to your desktop as a PNG, or to the place you chose under Shift-Command-5 → Options → Save to.
Turn the shadow off for every window shot
Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities) and run:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true && killall SystemUIServer- To bring the shadow back:
defaults delete com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow && killall SystemUIServer
Why the shadow is there
A window shot keeps the window’s real shape, rounded corners and all, plus its shadow on a transparent margin. On a white page that looks nice. On a dark page, in a document or in a chat it can look like a grey smudge, and the extra margin makes the picture bigger than the window.
If you want a shadow, but your own, add it later in an editor that draws one around the window on a background.
With Clacky (macOS 14 or later)
Clacky’s window shot, ⌥⇧⌘5 (Option-Shift-Command-5), keeps the macOS shadow like the built-in one. Its polished shot, ⌥⇧⌘6, captures the window without the macOS shadow and draws its own, using your last look, then copies it.
In the editor’s Polish look, set Shadow to Off, Soft or Deep, and pick a background, including Transparent. Polish also adds padding and picks a background colour from the shot. For a polished frame in your browser, try the free Screenshot Frame tool.
Where these facts come from
Checked on 5 November 2026.
- Apple: How to take a screenshot on your Mac (Shift-Command-4, Space, hold Option to exclude the shadow)
- Apple: Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac (PNG, Save to)
Questions
Does the Option trick work with the Shift-Command-5 toolbar?
Why does my window screenshot have a transparent border?
How do I screenshot a menu?
Facts checked on 5 November 2026.
Related
- Put a screenshot in a MacBook or iPhone framemacOS can’t add device frames. Use Apple’s free product bezels in a design app, or a screenshot tool with frames, like Clacky’s Showcase up to 8K.
- Change where screenshots are saved on a MacPress Shift-Command-5, click Options and pick a place under Save to: Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages, Preview or Other Location.
- PolishA background picked from the shot (or your own colour, picture or brand), padding and a soft shadow. ⌥⇧⌘6 takes a polished shot straight away.
- Screenshot framePut a screenshot in a Mac window, a MacBook or an iPhone frame on a soft background. Sizes for X, Instagram and stories. Free, in your browser.
- 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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