Keyboard Shortcuts Mac Screenshot and Screen Recording

Mac includes powerful built-in screenshot and screen recording tools that work entirely from the keyboard. You can capture the full screen, a specific window, or a custom region — and record video of your screen — without installing any third-party software.

The Three Core Screenshot Shortcuts

  Cmd + Shift + 3   → Capture the ENTIRE screen
  Cmd + Shift + 4   → Capture a CUSTOM REGION (drag to select)
  Cmd + Shift + 4, then Space → Capture a SPECIFIC WINDOW

Cmd + Shift + 3 — Full Screen

  Press Cmd + Shift + 3
  → Screen flashes briefly
  → Screenshot saved as PNG to Desktop automatically
  → Filename: "Screenshot YYYY-MM-DD at HH.MM.SS.png"

  TO COPY TO CLIPBOARD INSTEAD OF SAVING:
  Add Ctrl:  Cmd + Ctrl + Shift + 3
  → Screenshot goes to clipboard (paste with Cmd + V)
  → Nothing saved to Desktop

Cmd + Shift + 4 — Custom Region

  Press Cmd + Shift + 4
  → Cursor turns into a crosshair (+)
  → Click and drag to draw a rectangle around the area to capture
  → Release mouse → screenshot saved to Desktop

  DURING SELECTION (before releasing mouse):
  Hold Space          → move the entire selection box
  Hold Shift          → lock to one axis (horizontal or vertical)
  Hold Option         → resize from center outward
  Esc                 → cancel without capturing

Cmd + Shift + 4 + Space — Capture a Specific Window

  Press Cmd + Shift + 4
  Then press Space
  → Cursor becomes a camera icon
  → Hover over any window — it highlights in blue
  → Click to capture that window only (with drop shadow)

  RESULT: Clean window screenshot, no other windows visible,
  with a subtle drop shadow around the window edges.

  Add Ctrl:  Cmd + Ctrl + Shift + 4 → Space → Click
  → Copies window to clipboard instead of saving to Desktop

Screenshot Toolbar — Cmd + Shift + 5

macOS Mojave and later include a unified screenshot and recording toolbar.

  Cmd + Shift + 5  → Opens the screenshot toolbar at the bottom

  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │ [■■] [▣] [⊡]  [⏺] [⏺▣]   [Options] [Capture]      │ 
  │  ↑    ↑   ↑    ↑    ↑                               │
  │ Full Sel Win Record RecordWin                       │
  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

  Buttons (left to right):
  Full screen screenshot
  Selected region screenshot
  Selected window screenshot
  Record entire screen (video)
  Record selected window (video)
  Options (save location, timer, show cursor)
  Capture / Record button

Screen Recording

  Cmd + Shift + 5  → Open toolbar → click Record button
  → Click anywhere on screen to start recording
  → Menu bar shows a stop button (click it to stop)
  → Recording saved as .mov file to Desktop

  TO STOP RECORDING:
  Click the stop icon in the menu bar
  OR press Cmd + Ctrl + Esc

  RECORD WITH MICROPHONE:
  Cmd + Shift + 5 → Options → Microphone → select your mic
  → Records system audio + your voice simultaneously

Screenshot Timer (Delay)

  Cmd + Shift + 5 → Options → Timer → 5 seconds
  → Click Capture → you have 5 seconds to set up the screen
  → Tool captures automatically after the delay

  USE CASE: Capturing a dropdown menu or tooltip that
  disappears the moment you click elsewhere.

Where Screenshots Are Saved

  DEFAULT LOCATION: Desktop
  CHANGE IT: Cmd + Shift + 5 → Options → Save to → choose folder

  OTHER SAVE OPTIONS:
  Desktop (default)
  Documents
  Clipboard (no file saved)
  Mail (opens directly in a new email)
  Messages (opens directly in a new message)
  Preview (opens in Preview app for annotation)

Quick Reference

  ACTION                           SHORTCUT
  ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Capture full screen              Cmd + Shift + 3
  Capture full screen to clipboard Cmd + Ctrl + Shift + 3
  Capture custom region            Cmd + Shift + 4 → drag
  Capture custom region to clip.   Cmd + Ctrl + Shift + 4
  Capture specific window          Cmd + Shift + 4 → Space → click
  Open screenshot toolbar          Cmd + Shift + 5
  Start/stop screen recording      Cmd + Shift + 5 → Record
  Stop recording                   Cmd + Ctrl + Esc

Cmd + Shift + 4 is the screenshot shortcut most Mac users rely on every day. The crosshair lets you precisely capture exactly the portion of the screen you want, and the saved PNG appears on the Desktop immediately. Add Ctrl to any screenshot shortcut to copy to clipboard instead of saving a file — useful when pasting screenshots directly into emails, messages, or documents.