Reference

Mac screenshot keyboard shortcuts

The short answer: ⌘⇧3 captures the whole screen, ⌘⇧4 captures a selected area, ⌘⇧4 then Space captures a window, and ⌘⇧5 opens the toolbar with recording. Add the Control key to copy to the clipboard instead of saving a file. The full reference — plus ShotScreen's hotkeys — is below.

Built-in macOS shortcuts

Shortcut	Action	Notes
`⌘⇧3`	Capture the entire screen	Every connected display, saved as a file on the Desktop.
`⌘⇧4`	Capture a selected area	Drag a crosshair to select a region.
`⌘⇧4, then Space`	Capture a window or menu	Click the window; includes a drop shadow (hold Option to drop it).
`⌘⇧5`	Open the Screenshot toolbar	Capture options, on-screen controls, timer, and screen recording.
`⌘⇧6`	Capture the Touch Bar	Only on Mac models that have a Touch Bar.
`Add ⌃ (Control)`	Copy to the clipboard instead of saving	e.g. ⌃⌘⇧4 copies the selection rather than writing a file.

Modifiers while you drag a selection

Key	Action	Notes
`Space (while dragging)`	Move the whole selection	Reposition the box without resizing it.
`Shift (while dragging)`	Lock all edges but one	Constrain the selection to a single direction.
`Option (while dragging)`	Resize from the centre	The box grows symmetrically around its centre.
`Esc`	Cancel the capture	Dismiss the crosshair without taking a shot.

ShotScreen shortcuts

ShotScreen adds capture modes macOS has no shortcut for — scroll capture, one-tap text recognition, window capture and screen recording. These are the defaults, and every one is configurable in Settings.

Shortcut	Action	Notes
`⌘⇧4`	Area capture	Pixel-perfect crosshair with a magnifier loupe.
`⌘⇧W`	Window capture	Overlay highlights every window; click to grab one.
`⌘⇧3`	Scroll capture	Stitch a long, scrolling page into one tall image.
`⌘⇧T`	Text recognition (OCR) + QR	Copy on-screen text, QR codes and barcodes to the clipboard.
`⌘⇧6`	Screen recording	Record area, window or screen to MP4 with audio.

FAQ

What is the shortcut to screenshot the whole screen on Mac?

Press ⌘⇧3 to capture the entire screen. Add the Control key (⌃⌘⇧3) to copy it to the clipboard instead of saving a file to the Desktop.

How do I copy a screenshot to the clipboard instead of a file?

Hold Control together with any screenshot shortcut. For example, ⌃⌘⇧4 lets you drag a selection straight to the clipboard so you can paste it, with no file written to disk.

Can I change the screenshot shortcuts?

macOS lets you tweak them in System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Screenshots. ShotScreen ships its own defaults (⌘⇧4, ⌘⇧W, ⌘⇧3, ⌘⇧T, ⌘⇧6) and every one of them is configurable in Settings.

More than the built-in shortcuts

ShotScreen is free to use, with 5 popup-free screenshots a day. Scroll capture, OCR and recording come with their own configurable hotkeys.

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