CleanShot X 5.0.2 — Mac build

CleanShot X serves the Mac user who takes screenshots and recordings regularly and wants one tool to handle both. It sits alongside your existing workflow, replacing the need for separate capture and editing apps.

Taking Screenshots

Capture the full screen, a window, or a region. Before you shoot, hide desktop icons or set a background to a solid color or an image. You can pin a screenshot so it stays above other windows while you reference it.

Recording the Screen

Record your screen with or without audio. During recording, disable desktop notifications to keep the footage clean. The built-in video editor lets you trim and polish without leaving the app.

Annotating and Sharing

Mark up captures with arrows, text, and highlights. Everything is positioned as a Mac-native toolkit, so it feels at home next to the apps you already use.

I've been using CleanShot X daily for a few months now, and certain scenarios keep coming up where it saves time. One that stands out is when I need to document a bug report for a client. I capture a scrolling window of a long settings page, hide the desktop icons first, then drop an arrow and a text note right on the image. No second app needed. That one-two-three flow is the reason I reach for it over the built-in Mac tool.

Capture, annotation, and video recording in one window

People usually wonder whether CleanShot X is just another screenshot tool or something more substantial. It is the latter. It handles capture, annotation, and video recording in one window. You do not need to export to a separate editor unless you want to.

Another common question is whether it works on Apple Silicon Macs. Yes. It runs natively on both Intel and ARM architectures, so M1, M2, and later machines are fine. The system requirement is macOS 11 or later, which covers nearly every Mac in active use today.

Some users ask if the video editing is limited to trimming. It is not. The built-in editor lets you cut, combine clips, and add annotations. For a tool that starts with screen capture, that is more than enough for most tutorial or demo work.

A few people worry about the app interfering with other screenshot shortcuts. CleanShot X lets you assign its own hotkeys, so you can keep Apple's default shortcuts for other things. The app sits in the menu bar and does not change system behavior unless you ask it to.

Set a timer for menus that disappear when you click away

CleanShot X starts with sensible defaults, but a few settings make it work better for daily use. Set a timer if you need to capture menus that disappear when you click away. A two or three second delay gives you time to open the menu before the shutter fires.

Turn on the option to hide desktop icons. It cleans up the capture area without you having to manually move files to the trash. This is useful for tutorial screenshots where the desktop wallpaper should be the focus.

If you record video regularly, enable the feature that mutes notifications during recording. It prevents Slack or email popups from appearing in the middle of a demo. The recording stays clean without extra editing later.

Switch between Retina and standard resolution if you are capturing for a presentation that will be displayed on a non-Retina screen. The standard option avoids the extra sharpness that can look blurry when scaled down.

Start with the capture area tool and learn the hotkey quickly

Start with the capture area tool for most shots. It is the quickest way to grab exactly what you need without cropping later. After a few uses, you will know the hotkey without thinking about it.

Use the pin feature when you reference a screenshot while typing. Pin a capture of a settings panel, then keep it visible while you adjust your own app. It saves alt-tabbing back and forth.

Try the scrolling capture on a long web page or chat log. It stitches the image together automatically. If the result is too tall, use the built-in editor to trim the top and bottom.

Record your first video with audio to test the microphone level. The app records from your system input, so check the level in the preferences before you record something important.

Content creators cut down on other tools for tutorials and walkthroughs

Content creators who produce tutorials or walkthroughs will use CleanShot X heavily. The combination of capture, annotation, and video editing in one app cuts down on the number of other tools they need to open. They can record a feature, mark it up, and export a final clip without leaving the app.

Productivity users who write documentation or create internal guides also benefit. Scrolling capture and the ability to hide desktop icons mean cleaner images with less preparation. The annotation tools let them add context directly to the capture instead of writing separate notes.

Designers and QA testers who need to report visual bugs or design inconsistencies will find the annotation tools useful. They can drop arrows and text notes on a capture and send it to a developer without a third-party editor. The pin feature also helps when comparing two windows side by side.

Anyone who simply wants a single tool for screenshots and screen recording will get value from it. The Mac-native feel means it does not fight the operating system, and the feature set covers the gaps that Apple's built-in tools leave open.

A designer's daily scenario with CleanShot X

A UI designer I know works on a Mac and sends feedback on mockups several times a week. Her routine goes like this: she opens a design file, captures a specific panel with the area tool, drops an arrow pointing to the spacing issue, adds a text note with the suggested padding value, then pins the screenshot to the side of her screen. While she writes the email, the pinned capture stays visible. She never opens Preview or a separate annotation app. The scrolling capture also comes up when she reviews long prototype flows in a browser. She captures the full flow, crops the top and bottom in the built-in editor, and sends it as a single image. That workflow alone saves her about ten minutes per feedback round.

Questions that come up before the first install

People often ask if CleanShot X replaces the macOS screenshot toolbar entirely. It can, if you set it as the default capture tool. The app does not remove the system tool, but you can assign hotkeys that override the default combinations. The system toolbar stays available if you prefer it for quick captures.

Another question is whether the video editor handles multiple clips. It does. You can record several takes, import them into the editor, and arrange them on a timeline. The editor supports trimming and combining clips, which is enough for most tutorial content without needing iMovie or Final Cut.

Some users ask if the app saves screenshots to a specific folder by default. It saves to a location you choose in preferences. You can set it to save to the desktop, a dedicated folder, or the clipboard. The default location is easy to change before you take the first shot.

A few people ask whether CleanShot X interferes with cloud storage apps like Dropbox or Google Drive. It does not. The app saves files locally, and those files sync through whatever cloud service you use. No conflicts with folder watchers or sync agents.

Settings worth adjusting before your first capture

Open the preferences and set the save location to a folder you check regularly. The desktop works for quick access, but a dedicated Screenshots folder keeps things organized if you take many captures daily.

Assign a hotkey for the area capture tool. The default combination is fine, but changing it to something you can reach without moving your hand from the keyboard makes the tool faster to use. I use a three-key combination that does not conflict with other apps.

Enable the option to show the cursor in screenshots if you record tutorials or walkthroughs. It helps viewers see where you click. Disable it for documentation captures where the cursor adds visual noise.

Set the screenshot format to PNG for quality or JPEG for smaller file sizes. PNG is the default and works for most use cases. Switch to JPEG only if you need to email captures frequently and file size matters.

CleanShot X 5.0.2 fix is live. The developer's release notes detail what changed — head to cleanshot.com for the full list.

• macOS 11 or later
• Apple Silicon or Intel 64-bit