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Snipping Tool for Mac: what to use instead

Snipping Tool is a Windows app, and there's no Mac version. You don't need one. Every Mac has its own screenshot tool built in, and it does nearly everything Snipping Tool does. Press Cmd+Shift+4 and drag to grab part of the screen. Press Cmd+Shift+5 for the full toolbar, with a timer and screen recording.

Jordan Gibbs September 25, 2026 7 min read
ImageOCREditable text
Optical character recognition reads the words inside an image and turns them into selectable, copyable text.

Is there a Snipping Tool for Mac?

No. Microsoft only makes Snipping Tool for Windows. The Mac equivalent is the Screenshot app, which opens when you press Cmd+Shift+5. For quick grabs, most people skip the app and use the shortcuts: Cmd+Shift+4 for part of the screen and Cmd+Shift+3 for all of it. Add Control to any of them to copy the picture instead of saving a file.

Everything below was checked against Apple’s guide for macOS Tahoe 26 in September 2026. Apple writes these shortcuts as Shift-Command-4 and so on. They’re the same keys.

The shortcuts to learn first

If you only learn one, make it Cmd+Shift+4. It does what Win+Shift+S does on a PC. The pointer turns into a crosshair, you drag over what you want, and you let go.

  • Cmd+Shift+3: the whole screen, straight away.
  • Cmd+Shift+4: drag to pick an area. Press Esc to cancel. Hold the Space bar while dragging to move the box without changing its size.
  • Cmd+Shift+4, then Space:the pointer becomes a camera. Click a window or a menu to capture just that. Hold Option as you click if you don’t want the window’s shadow in the picture.
  • Cmd+Shift+5: opens the Screenshot app, with buttons for every kind of capture and recording.
  • Cmd+Shift+6: captures the Touch Bar, on the older MacBook Pro models that have one.

The Space bar step is easy to miss, even though Apple’s screenshot help page spells it out. It gives you a clean shot of one window with nothing around it. No cropping afterwards.

Copy a screenshot instead of saving it

Hold Control as well. Control+Cmd+Shift+4 puts the area you drag on the clipboard, and no file lands on your desktop. Paste it with Cmd+V into an email, a chat or a document. Control+Cmd+Shift+3 does the same with the whole screen. Use it when you only need to paste the picture once and don’t want another file to clean up later.

Already took one the normal way? Control-click the little thumbnail in the corner of the screen and choose Save to Clipboard.

Snipping Tool features and their Mac equivalents

Here’s where each thing you know from Snipping Tool on Windows lives on a Mac.

On WindowsOn a Mac
Open the snip overlayWin+Shift+SCmd+Shift+4, or Cmd+Shift+5 for the toolbar
Rectangle snipRectangle modeCmd+Shift+4, then drag
Window snipWindow modeCmd+Shift+4, press Space, click the window
Full screen snipFull screen modeCmd+Shift+3
Freeform snipFreeform modeNo
Whole screen to the clipboardPrint ScreenControl+Cmd+Shift+3
DelayDelay, 1 to 5 secondsCmd+Shift+5, then Options > Timer
Record the screenWin+Shift+R, or RecordCmd+Shift+5, then a Record button
Copy text out of a snipText actionsOpen it in Preview and select the text
Draw on itSnipping Tool editorClick the thumbnail to mark it up

Freeform is the one mode with no Mac match. If you need an odd shape, take a rectangle around it. Copying text works a little differently too. Snipping Tool puts a Text actions button right on the snip, with a Copy all text option. On a Mac it takes one extra step, covered further down.

Using the Screenshot app (Cmd+Shift+5)

Cmd+Shift+5 brings up a small toolbar near the bottom of the screen. You can also open it from Spotlight, or find Screenshot in the Utilities folder inside Applications. The first buttons take pictures of the whole screen, a window or a part of the screen. The next ones record video.

For a part of the screen, drag the frame to move it, or drag its edges to resize it. Then click Capture.

The Options menu is where most of the settings live. From it you can:

  • Set a timer, so you have a few seconds to open a menu before the shot is taken.
  • Choose where files are saved.
  • Turn the floating thumbnail on or off.
  • Show or hide the mouse pointer.
  • Pick a microphone for recordings.
  • Keep the last area you picked for next time, with Remember Last Selection.

On supported Macs, macOS Tahoe 26 also adds a Capture Format choice. SDR saves a normal PNG. HDR saves a HEIF file with more brightness and color, which only looks different on an HDR screen. Leave it on SDR if you’re sending the picture to other people.

Where do screenshots go on a Mac?

To your desktop, by default. Each file is a PNG, and its name starts with “Screenshot” followed by the date and time. Screen recordings are .mov files named “Screen Recording” with the date and time.

To send them somewhere else, press Cmd+Shift+5, click Options, and choose a place under Save to. Other Location lets you pick any folder. A Screenshots folder inside Documents keeps the desktop clear.

If a screenshot you just took is missing, check whether you held Control. Those go to the clipboard and never become a file.

Mark up a screenshot from the thumbnail

After each shot, a thumbnail floats in the bottom-right corner for a few seconds. It’s the fastest way to do something with the picture before it’s saved.

  • Click it to open a window where you can mark it up or share it. For a recording, the same window lets you trim it.
  • Drag it straight into an email, a note, a document or a Finder window.
  • Swipe it to the right to save it right away and get it out of the way.

Hold the pointer over it and it stays put until you move away. If the thumbnail annoys you, turn off Show Floating Thumbnail in the Options menu. Screenshots then save the moment you take them.

How do you record your screen on a Mac?

Press Cmd+Shift+5 and pick one of the record buttons: the entire screen, a selected portion, or a selected window. Apple’s recording help page notes that recording a single window is new in macOS Tahoe 26. On older versions you get the whole screen or an area.

Want your voice on it? Choose a microphone under Options first. Then click Record. To stop, click the stop button in the menu bar or press Cmd+Control+Esc. The recording saves as a .mov file, and a thumbnail pops up so you can trim it.

QuickTime Player has File > New Screen Recording too. Depending on your Mac, that opens the same toolbar or QuickTime’s own recording window.

Taking a screenshot from Preview

Preview has its own capture menu too. Choose File > Take Screenshot, then From Selection, From Window or From Entire Screen. The picture opens in Preview as a new image called “Untitled”, ready to mark up and save wherever you like. It suits people who would rather click through a menu than remember key combinations.

How do you copy text from a screenshot on a Mac?

Open the screenshot in Preview. Hold the pointer over the words and drag to select them. Then Control-click the selection and choose Copy Text. Apple calls this Live Text. If the pointer won’t select anything, choose Tools > Text Selection and try again. Live Text isn’t offered in every language or region.

This is the Mac’s version of Text actions. It works on any image, including photos and scans. Our guide to extracting text from a screenshot covers the same trick on iPhone, Android and Windows. For photos of signs and printed pages, see how to copy text from a picture.

Change the screenshot shortcuts

Every one of these shortcuts can be changed. Open the Apple menu > System Settings, click Keyboard in the sidebar, click Keyboard Shortcuts, then click Screenshots. If your hands keep reaching for a PC-style combination, set one here that feels closer to it.

Other shortcuts move around in the same way. Cmd does the job Ctrl does on Windows, and how to copy and paste on a Mac has the full list.

Should you buy a screenshot app instead?

Most people shouldn’t bother. The built-in tools cover what Snipping Tool does, apart from freeform. The case for paying is a few specific extras. You might want to capture a long web page that scrolls, keep a history of past captures, copy text with one hotkey, or get a share link for a screenshot.

CleanShot X is the full-featured pick. It adds scrolling capture, a capture history, text recognition, a video editor and cloud links for sharing. As of September 2026 the Basic planis $35 once, with a year of updates, and it needs macOS 13 or newer. There’s no free trial, but there is a 30-day money-back guarantee. It’s also part of the Setapp subscription.

Shottr is small and cheap. It does scrolling screenshots, text recognition, pixelating private details, pinned screenshots and on-screen measuring. You can use it for free, and after 30 days it starts asking you to upgrade. The Basic license is a one-time $12, and you need it for commercial use.

Try the built-in tools for a week first. For everyday snipping, Cmd+Shift+4 and the Control trick are usually enough.

Finding a screenshot you copied last week

Copying screenshots with Control keeps your desktop clean. But the clipboard holds one thing at a time. Copy anything else and the screenshot is gone. Relic is our app, and on a Mac it keeps everything you copy, screenshots included. It reads the words inside each image, so you can find a screenshot later by searching for text that was in it. It doesn’t take screenshots itself. Keep using the Mac’s shortcuts for that.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Is there a freeform snip on a Mac?

No. The Mac's built-in tools capture a rectangle, a window, a menu or the whole screen. There is no mode for drawing a loose shape around something. Take a rectangle that covers it instead.

Why isn't my screenshot on the desktop?

Two common reasons. You held Control while taking it, so it went to the clipboard and never became a file. Or someone changed the save location. Press Cmd+Shift+5, click Options and look under Save to. The one with a checkmark is where your screenshots go.

Can I take a screenshot on a MacBook without the keyboard?

Yes. Open the Screenshot app from the Utilities folder inside Applications, or search for it in Spotlight. Its toolbar has buttons for every kind of capture. Preview also has File > Take Screenshot in its menu bar.

Does Win+Shift+S work on a Mac?

No. A Mac keyboard has no Windows key, and the Mac uses Cmd+Shift+4 for the same job. If you want a different combination, change it in System Settings under Keyboard, then Keyboard Shortcuts, then Screenshots.

Written by
Jordan GibbsFounder, Relic

Jordan Gibbs is the founder of Relic, an end-to-end encrypted, permanent, searchable memory for everything you copy. He writes widely about AI, agents, and practical tooling on Medium, where he is read by tens of thousands, and builds privacy-first software. Here he covers how everyday tools like the clipboard actually work, and how to use them without handing your data to someone else.

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