# Where Mac screenshots are saved > Mac screenshots made with the keyboard shortcuts are saved to the desktop by default. How the file is named, and how to find one that is not there. Canonical: https://www.notchstar.com/tips/where-mac-screenshots-are-saved/ Last updated: 2026-11-04 Published 2026-11-04. A Mac saves screenshots to the desktop by default. Apple's support article says a screenshot "saves to the desktop" if no thumbnail is clicked, and the Mac User Guide says captures made with the keyboard shortcuts go to the desktop. Checked on 4 November 2026. ## How to find one 1. Look on the desktop. Recent files have names that start with "Screenshot" followed by the date and time. Older Apple pages write "Screen Shot". 2. Screenshots are `.png` files. Screen recordings are `.mov` files with names that start with "Screen Recording". 3. If the desktop is empty, check whether you changed the save location. Press `Shift-Command-5`, click **Options** and look at the **Save to** list. The ticked entry is where the Screenshot toolbar sends files. 4. If you pressed `Control` with the shortcut, the image went to the clipboard and no file exists. Paste it with `Command-V`. See [screenshot to the clipboard on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/screenshot-to-clipboard-on-mac/). 5. Search Spotlight for "Screenshot", or sort a Finder folder by Date Added. ## The thumbnail in the corner When **Show Floating Thumbnail** is on, a preview sits in the bottom right corner for a few seconds. Apple says you can click it to edit, drag it somewhere else before it saves, or swipe it right to save at once. So a screenshot can take a moment to appear in its folder. If you want it to arrive faster, read [how to turn off the screenshot preview](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/turn-off-mac-screenshot-preview/). ## One caveat The Mac User Guide says the **Save to** setting applies to captures from the Screenshot toolbar, and describes shortcut captures as going to the desktop. Apple's support article says to use the **Options** menu to change the location. If you changed it and a shortcut still lands on the desktop, take a test screenshot with `Shift-Command-5` and check again. Do not assume which one applies without testing, because Apple's pages do not spell the difference out. ## Where it does not go Screenshots are not saved in a library or in the Photos app. They are ordinary files. If you move one to the Trash and empty it, it is gone. To move future screenshots to a tidier folder, follow [how to change where Mac screenshots are saved](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/change-mac-screenshot-save-location/). For the keys themselves, see [how to screenshot on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/how-to-screenshot-on-mac/). NotchStar's [Screenshot Tray](https://www.notchstar.com/features/screenshot-tray/) shows recent screenshots under the notch for five minutes. It never moves the file, so it stays in the folder macOS saved it in. ## Quick answers. ### Where do screenshots go on a Mac? To the desktop by default for the keyboard shortcuts, as PNG files named Screenshot plus the date and time. You can change the location in the Options menu of the Screenshot toolbar. ## Keep reading. - [Screenshot Tray: your screenshots wait under the notch](https://www.notchstar.com/features/screenshot-tray/): Every screenshot lands in a tray under your Mac notch. Drag it into a chat, an email or a folder, or send several at once. - [How to change where Mac screenshots are saved](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/change-mac-screenshot-save-location/): Press Shift, Command and 5, open Options and pick a folder under Save to. How to choose Other Location, what the list means and how to check it worked. - [How to screenshot on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/how-to-screenshot-on-mac/): Press Shift, Command and 3 for the whole screen, 4 for a selection, 5 for the Screenshot toolbar. Steps checked against Apple's guides for macOS 13 to 26. - [How to turn off the screenshot preview on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/turn-off-mac-screenshot-preview/): Press Shift, Command and 5, open Options and untick Show Floating Thumbnail. What it changes and how to save the screenshot at once. ## More in Screenshots. - [How to screenshot on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/how-to-screenshot-on-mac/): Press Shift, Command and 3 for the whole screen, 4 for a selection, 5 for the Screenshot toolbar. Steps checked against Apple's guides for macOS 13 to 26. - [How to screenshot on a Mac running macOS Sonoma](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/screenshot-on-mac-sonoma/): Screenshot shortcuts and the Screenshot toolbar on macOS Sonoma 14, with the Options menu, the floating thumbnail and how to copy to the clipboard. - [How to screenshot on a Mac running macOS Sequoia](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/screenshot-on-mac-sequoia/): Take screenshots and recordings on macOS Sequoia 15: shortcuts, the Screenshot toolbar, every Options menu item and where the files go. - [How to screenshot on a Mac running macOS Tahoe 26](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/screenshot-on-mac-tahoe/): Screenshot shortcuts on macOS Tahoe 26 plus what is new: the HDR or SDR Capture Format and recording a selected window. Checked against Apple's guides. - [How to screenshot on a Mac running macOS Ventura](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/screenshot-on-mac-ventura/): Screenshot shortcuts and the Screenshot toolbar on macOS Ventura 13, with Options, the floating thumbnail, copying to the clipboard and recordings. - [How to change where Mac screenshots are saved](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/change-mac-screenshot-save-location/): Press Shift, Command and 5, open Options and pick a folder under Save to. How to choose Other Location, what the list means and how to check it worked.