1. Screen Capture and Recording Settings (Beginner-Friendly)

We will use a simple keyboard shortcut to quickly change where screenshots are saved on macOS from the screen capture and recording toolbar.

  1. Go to your desktop and minimize all apps to minimize distraction.
  2. Press Cmd + Shift + 5 on your keyboard. It will open the screenshot and screen recording toolbar near the bottom side of the screen. Click on Ŏptions here. Note: If the keyboard shortcut is not working for you, go to Settings > Keyboard > Screenshots > Shortcuts and check Screenshot and recording options there.
  3. Click on Other Location from the flyover menu. Bonus Tip: You can also directly send a screenshot to Message and Mail apps by tapping on the corresponding options from the list. Plus, if you just wish to copy the screenshot to the clipboard, you can do so by clicking on Clipboard button. You can also hide and show the mouse pointer in screenshots by clicking on Show Mouse Pointer option.
  4. A new pop-up window will open. Navigate to the desired location by clicking on the left side of the window. For example, we’re going with the Pictures folder. Now click on New Folder to create a folder just to save screenshots.
  5. Give a name to the new folder and click on Create. For example, we’ll be naming it Screenshots so we can identify it easily later.
  6. Now click on Choose to confirm the folder for new screenshots. And that’s it, now whenever you take a new screenshot, it’ll be saved directly in this folder (or the location you chose on your Mac).

2. From Terminal App (Advanced Users)

Working with the Terminal app can be disorienting for some users. It requires typing commands. If you don’t prefer this, then go for the above method.

  1. Press CMD + Space to open Spotlight, search for Terminal and open it.
  2. Once the Terminal is open, copy-paste the command below.
  3. Now type the directory of the location where you want to save the screenshots, followed by the command you just pasted/typed. And please make sure that there’s a space after the word “location” of the above command. For example, we’re going to type the directory of the “Screenshots” folder that we just created in the 1st method.
  4. Once you’re done typing the directory, press Enter/Return key on your keyboard to run the command.
  5. After this, restart your MacBook. If you don’t want to restart MacBook, type the below command in the Terminal but note that it may close all open apps so do save work.
  6. Now press Enter/Return key. Now all your future screenshots will be saved in the new designated folder.

Screen Test

So there are two ways to change the default location of where screenshots are saved on your MacBook. One from the settings and the other from the Terminal. In a nutshell, if you’re not familiar with the Terminal then go with the first method. If you’re a front-end developer, then Terminal one would be easy for you. Do you know how to take and highlight a screenshot on your MacBook? macOS has many interesting annotation tools. There are many different screenshot apps for MacBook if you don’t like the default method which can be limiting for pro users.