To take a screenshot on a Mac, you have several options depending on what you want to capture: Capture the entire screen
- Press Shift + Command (⌘) + 3 simultaneously.
- The screenshot will be saved to your desktop.
- A thumbnail may appear in the corner for quick editing
Capture a portion of the screen
- Press Shift + Command (⌘) + 4 simultaneously.
- The cursor changes to a crosshair. Click and drag to select the area you want to capture.
- Release the mouse or trackpad button to take the screenshot.
- The screenshot will be saved to your desktop
Capture a specific window or menu
- Press Shift + Command (⌘) + 4, then press the Space bar.
- The cursor changes to a camera icon.
- Click the window or menu you want to capture.
- To exclude the window shadow, hold the Option key while clicking.
- The screenshot will be saved to your desktop
Use the Screenshot app (macOS Mojave and later)
- Press Shift + Command (⌘) + 5 to open the screenshot toolbar.
- You can choose to capture the entire screen, a window, or a selected portion.
- The toolbar also offers options for screen recording and setting a timer or save location
Additional tips:
- Adding the Control key to any shortcut (e.g., Control + Shift + Command + 3) copies the screenshot to the clipboard instead of saving it as a file, so you can paste it directly into another app
- On MacBooks with a Touch Bar, Shift + Command + 6 captures the Touch Bar screen
These methods work on all modern Macs, including MacBook, iMac, Mac Mini, and Mac Studio
