Finding specific things

Where Mac screenshots go

Updated 2026-07-31 · 4 min read

Screenshots pile up faster than any other file type, and their names are all but identical. Here is how to find the one you want and stop them landing on the Desktop.

The default location and name

Screenshots go to the Desktop, named like:

Screenshot 2026-07-31 at 09.41.12.png

The date and time are in the name, which makes them easy to find by date and impossible to tell apart by name.

Finding them

Because the name always begins the same way, searching Screenshot in Finder finds all of them. Sort by Date Created and use Quick Look (space bar) to flip through — much faster than opening each.

If they are no longer on the Desktop, someone changed the save location, or they were moved. Search This Mac rather than the current folder.

Changing where they are saved

Press ⇧⌘5 to open the screenshot toolbar, then Options → Save to and pick a folder.

Or from the Terminal:

mkdir -p ~/Pictures/Screenshots
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Pictures/Screenshots
killall SystemUIServer

Other useful screenshot defaults

Save as JPEG instead of PNG, which is much smaller for photos:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg
killall SystemUIServer

Remove the drop shadow from window captures:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true
killall SystemUIServer

Revert any of these with defaults delete com.apple.screencapture <key>.

Clearing out old ones

Screenshots are usually the largest count of unwanted files on a Mac. Sorting by date and deleting anything older than a few months is safe for most people — they are, by nature, disposable. Searching by name plus a date filter (screenshot with a "before" date) makes that a single operation.

Common questions

Why are my screenshots not on the Desktop any more?

The save location has been changed, most likely via ⇧⌘5 → Options. Check there first.

Can I change the screenshot filename prefix?

Yes: defaults write com.apple.screencapture name "Shot" then killall SystemUIServer.