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How to take a screenshot on Mac with SnipIt

Capture the whole display or exactly the area you need, then copy, save, annotate, or share it.

Usman Ali QureshiProduct builder with experience in QA, WordPress, and customer support · Updated August 1, 2026 · 4 min read

SnipIt lives in the macOS menu bar, so it stays ready without keeping a large window open. For a first capture, decide whether you need the whole display or only one part of it.

Before your first capture

macOS must allow SnipIt under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording. SnipIt will guide you there if access is missing.

The real SnipIt Beta 9 menu showing its capture, recording, Vault, update, and preferences actions
The current SnipIt Beta 9 menu shows the active shortcuts beside New Snip, Select Area, Scroll Snip, and Record Screen.

Choose a capture mode

New Snip

Capture the full display when the entire screen provides useful context.

⌘ ⌃ C

Select Area

Drag around a precise region when you want a cleaner, more focused image.

⌘ ⌃ X

Scroll Snip

Capture content that continues below the visible window as one tall image.

⌘ ⌃ S

Paste Snip

Open an image already on your clipboard directly in SnipIt’s editor.

Take your first snip

1

Open the SnipIt menu

Choose the SnipIt icon in the macOS menu bar. Select New Snip or Select Area. You can use the shortcuts above from any app.

2

Frame the useful information

For Select Area, drag from one corner of the content to the opposite corner. Include enough context to make the screenshot understandable, but leave out unrelated windows and private information.

3

Choose what happens next

Quick Access appears with Copy, Save, and Annotate. Signed-in users can also Upload; otherwise the fourth action opens sign-in. Your capture is kept in Capture Vault for later.

The real SnipIt Quick Access popup with Copy, Save, Annotate, and Upload actions
Quick Access keeps the four most useful post-capture actions together without opening a full window.

Which Quick Access action should you use?

  • Copy when you want to paste the image into a message, ticket, or document.
  • Save when you need a file on your Mac.
  • Annotate when the image needs arrows, text, steps, highlighting, cropping, blur, or pixelation.
  • Upload when you are signed in and want a shareable SnipIt link.
A privacy-safe view of a selected screenshot and its actions in the real SnipIt Capture Vault
Capture Vault keeps the selected image, metadata, and next actions available after Quick Access closes.

If capturing does not start

Open the SnipIt permissions guide and confirm the SnipIt switch is enabled for Screen & System Audio Recording. If you changed a permission while SnipIt was open, quit and reopen the app once.

If a shortcut belongs to another app, open SnipIt Preferences → General → Keyboard Shortcuts and choose a different combination. The menu always shows your current shortcuts.

Make the screenshot explain itself

Next, learn how to annotate the capture without cluttering it.

Open the editor guide Download macOS beta