Where Mac screenshots are saved

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.
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.

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. For the keys themselves, see how to screenshot on a Mac.

NotchStar’s 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.