Change where screenshots save on Mac

By default every screenshot lands on your Desktop. After a few busy sessions that's dozens of files cluttering your workspace. Here's how to redirect them to a dedicated folder — using the built-in Screenshot app, a Terminal command, or Mainspring.

The easiest way: the Screenshot app

macOS Mojave and later include a Screenshot toolbar that surfaces this setting without any Terminal work.

1. Press ⌘⇧5 to open the Screenshot toolbar.
2. Click Options in the toolbar.
3. Under "Save to," choose from the preset locations (Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages, Preview) or click Other Location… to browse to any folder.
4. Select your folder and click Choose. The toolbar closes — your choice is saved immediately.

From now on every screenshot (region, window, or full screen) saves to that folder. The setting persists across restarts.

Change the location via Terminal

If you prefer Terminal, or want to set this in a script, the setting lives in com.apple.screencapture:

# create the folder first if it doesn't exist
mkdir -p ~/Pictures/Screenshots

# change the screenshot save location
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Pictures/Screenshots
killall SystemUIServer

You can use any absolute or tilde-expanded path. If your folder name contains spaces, wrap it in quotes:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture location "~/Pictures/My Screenshots"
killall SystemUIServer

Reset to the Desktop

To go back to the default Desktop location:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Desktop
killall SystemUIServer

Or simply open the Screenshot toolbar (⌘⇧5 → Options → Save to Desktop).

Does this setting persist?

Yes. The com.apple.screencapture location preference sticks across restarts, software updates, and new logins. The only way it changes is if you explicitly update it (via Terminal, the Screenshot app Options menu, or Mainspring).

A good folder to use

~/Pictures/Screenshots is the most common choice — it keeps screenshots off the Desktop, inside the Pictures folder where macOS expects image files, and out of iCloud by default (unless you sync Pictures). Some people use a folder inside Dropbox or a project folder when they're doing a lot of work-specific capturing. Whatever you pick, the key is having a dedicated place so you can find and clean up screenshots easily.

Combine with other screenshot tweaks

This is most useful paired with a few other defaults:

• Remove the date/time from filenames so they're easier to sort — see Remove the date from screenshot filenames.
• Save as JPG instead of PNG if file size matters — see Change screenshot format to JPG.
• Turn off the floating thumbnail so nothing interrupts your flow — see Disable the screenshot thumbnail.