How to Change where Mac Screen Shots are Saved

By default, everything goes to your Desktop. Here is how to clean it up.

1. The Easy Way

1. Press Cmd + Shift + 5.
2. Click Options.
3. Under the “Save to” section, select Other Location.
4. Choose a folder (like one inside your Pictures folder) and click Choose.

2. The Terminal Way

If you want to be precise, open Terminal and type: defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Pictures/Screenshots (Replace the path with your own). Then type: killall SystemUIServer

3. Why This Matters

Keeping your desktop clean isn’t just for looks—macOS works harder to render icons on a cluttered desktop, which can actually slow down your system!