Take a screenshot

Press ⇧⌘2 to capture part of your screen, a single window or the whole screen. Every screenshot is copied, ready to paste, and saved as a file at the same time.

Take a screenshot#

1. Press ⇧⌘2, or click the catu icon in the menu bar and click “Take Screenshot”.
2. The screen dims and the pointer becomes a crosshair. Then choose what to capture:
   • An area: drag a rectangle over it. Its size is shown as you drag. The screenshot is taken when you let go.
   • A window: press Space, move the pointer over the window so it is highlighted, then click it.
   • The whole screen: press Return. catu captures the screen the pointer is on.
3. Press ⌘V wherever you want the screenshot.

A hint at the top of the screen reminds you of the keys. To cancel, press Esc or right-click anywhere.

The screen is frozen the moment you press ⇧⌘2. Open menus, tooltips and hover effects stay in the picture, even if they would normally close when you move the mouse.

catu's own windows, such as Settings or the editor, are captured like any other app's, so you can take a screenshot of catu itself. Only what catu shows while capturing (the dimmed screen, its notices and cards, the dictation card and catu's menus) stays out of the picture. The catu icon in the menu bar is left out too.

In window mode, press Space again to go back to dragging an area. If you leave the screen untouched for a minute, catu cancels the screenshot.

What happens next#

Every screenshot is handled the same way:

1. It is copied to your clipboard, so ⌘V pastes it straight away.
2. It is added to the top of your clipboard history.
3. It is saved as a PNG file in your screenshots folder.
4. A small card with a preview slides in at the bottom-right of the screen.

The catu icon in the menu bar briefly shows a green tick to confirm.

There is no setting to only copy or only save: you always get both. If you do not need the file, you can ignore it or delete it later.

The capture card#

The card stays for six seconds, or for as long as the pointer is over it. It lets you do something with the screenshot straight away:

On the card	What it does
The preview	Click it to open the screenshot in the editor. Drag it into any app, such as an email, a chat or a Finder window, to drop the file there.
Edit (pencil)	Opens the screenshot in the editor.
Copy share link (link)	Uploads the screenshot and puts a link on your clipboard. Hold ⌥ while clicking to add a password. Needs the Web app plan: see Share a capture as a link and Plans and billing.
Dismiss (×)	Appears when you hover over the card. Closes it.

Closing the card does not undo anything: the screenshot is still on your clipboard, in your history and in the folder.

Repeat the last area#

When you capture the same part of the screen again and again, for example while checking a design change, catu can skip the selection:

1. Take one screenshot of an area with ⇧⌘2.
2. Next time, press ⌥⇧⌘2, or click “Repeat Last Area” in the catu menu.

catu captures exactly the same area on the same screen, straight away.

“Repeat Last Area” remembers areas and whole screens, not windows. It is greyed out until you have captured an area since catu started.

Capture a whole scrolling page#

Scrolling capture makes one tall image of something longer than the screen, such as a web page, a chat or a document.

1. Press ⌃⇧⌘2, or click “Scrolling Capture” in the catu menu.
2. Drag over the part of the window that scrolls. You can also press Space and click a window.
3. A dashed frame marks the area, and a small bar appears next to it. Scroll down slowly with your trackpad or mouse.
4. When you reach the end, click “Done” or press Return.

The bar shows how tall the image is so far. catu stops by itself at 20,000 pixels. Headers and footers that stay in place while you scroll appear only once in the result.

To throw the capture away, click “Cancel” or press Esc.

The finished image is copied, added to your history and saved, just like any other screenshot, and the capture card appears.

If the bar says “Lost track: scroll back up a little”, you scrolled too fast or the page jumped. Scroll back up until the message goes, then carry on more slowly.

Where screenshots are saved#

Screenshots are saved in the catu screenshots.noindex folder inside your Pictures folder. Each file is named with the date and time, the same way macOS names its own, for example Screenshot 2026-10-12 at 14.03.22.png.

To open the folder:

1. Click the catu icon in the menu bar.
2. Click “Open Screenshots Folder”.

You can also open it from “Settings…” › Capture › Screenshots, with “Show in Finder”.

The “.noindex” ending keeps the folder out of Spotlight, so your screenshots don't show up in Spotlight searches.

Edit your last screenshot#

Missed the capture card? Click the catu icon in the menu bar and click “Edit Last Screenshot…”. It opens your most recent screenshot in the editor. You can also hover over any image in your history and click “Edit”.

If something doesn't work#

• catu says “Allow Screen Recording for catu, then try again”. catu needs permission to see your screen. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen & System Audio Recording, turn on catu, then quit and reopen catu. See Install catu and give it permission.
• ⇧⌘2 does nothing, or catu says “Shortcut taken by another app: ⇧⌘2”. Another app is using the same shortcut. Change it in that app, or use “Take Screenshot” in the catu menu.
• “Repeat Last Area” is greyed out. Take a screenshot of an area with ⇧⌘2 first. Window screenshots don't count.
• Scrolling capture says “Select a larger area to scroll”. The area you dragged was too small. Drag over more of the scrolling part.
• A scrolling capture has gaps or repeats. Pages with moving content, such as videos or animations, can confuse it. Scroll more slowly, or capture a quieter part of the page.