Command + Shift + 5: the toolbar and screen recording
Every capture mode, a timer, screen recording, and the settings panel that controls all the other shortcuts. Most people never open it.
The short answer
- Cmd + Shift + 5Open the capture toolbar
- Options › Save toChange where every capture goes
- Cmd + Ctrl + EscStop a recording in progress
What the toolbar contains#
A floating bar appears near the bottom of the screen with five capture buttons, plus Options and Capture:
- Entire screen — click a display to capture it
- Selected window — click a window
- Selected portion — drag a box, with draggable handles you can adjust before committing
- Record entire screen — video of everything
- Record selected portion — video of a region you draw
The third one is worth a note. Unlike Cmd+Shift+4, where releasing the mouse takes the shot, here you draw a box and then adjust it — drag the edges, reposition it, check it — and only press Capture when it's right.
The Options menu is the real feature#
Everything here applies to the plain keyboard shortcuts too, which is why it's worth opening once even if you never use the toolbar again.
Save to. Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages, Preview, or Other Location. Setting this to a dedicated Screenshots folder is the single best change you can make. Changing format and location
Timer. None, 5 seconds, or 10. For capturing hover states, tooltips and anything that needs both hands.
Microphone. Off by default for recordings, which means people finish a five-minute walkthrough before noticing there's no narration. Check it before you start.
Show Floating Thumbnail. The preview in the corner. Turning it off makes captures save instantly with no five-second wait.
Remember Last Selection. On by default. Keeps your region between captures, which is what makes Return work to repeat a selection.
Show Mouse Pointer. Off by default. Turn it on when the whole point of the screenshot is where you're clicking.
Screen recording#
Pick a record mode, click Record, and a stop button appears in the menu bar. Click it or press Cmd+Ctrl+Esc to finish. The result is an MP4 on your desktop. ChromeOS handles screen recording rather differently, capturing system audio without extra software.
Two limitations worth knowing before you rely on it:
- It records system audio only if you route it there. Straight out of the box you get microphone audio or nothing. Capturing the sound your Mac is making needs a virtual audio device.
- Protected video is blacked out, same as with still captures.
For a long recording, check the free space on your drive first — screen recording at Retina resolution runs to hundreds of megabytes a minute.
Trimming a recording without another app#
Open the finished MP4 in QuickTime Player, press Cmd+T, drag the yellow handles to the part you want, click Trim, then Cmd+S. Enough for cutting the dead air at the start and end, which is the only editing most recordings need.
The toolbar controls the settings behind every other macOS shortcut, all of which are listed on the MacBook page.
Questions people actually ask
Can I record just one window?
Not directly — the region recorder takes a rectangle, not a window. Draw the region around the window's edges. If the window moves during recording, the frame stays where you put it.
Why is there no sound in my screen recording?
The microphone is off by default and macOS doesn't capture internal audio at all without help. Set the microphone in Options before recording, and use a virtual audio driver such as BlackHole if you need the Mac's own sound.
Does the toolbar appear in my screenshots?
No. macOS hides it from the capture automatically, same as the crosshair cursor.