CleanShot X Keyboard Shortcuts: The Complete Guide for Mac
Master CleanShot X with this complete keyboard shortcuts guide for Mac. From capturing screenshots to annotating and recording your screen, become a screenshot pro.
CleanShot X is one of the best built screenshot and screen recording tool for macOS, offering over 50 features that make it a must-have for professionals. Mastering these keyboard shortcuts will transform how you capture and share your screen.
Capture shortcuts
These are the core shortcuts for capturing screenshots and recordings.
| Action | Default Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Capture Area | ⌘ + ⇧ + 4 |
| Capture Fullscreen | ⌘ + ⇧ + 3 |
| Capture Previous Area | ⌘ + ⇧ + 6 |
| Capture Window | ⌘ + ⇧ + 5 |
| Scrolling Capture | ⌘ + ⇧ + 7 |
| Capture with Self-Timer | ⌘ + ⇧ + 8 |
| Text Recognition (OCR) | ⌘ + ⇧ + 2 |
| Record Screen (Video) | ⌘ + ⇧ + 9 |
| Record GIF | ⌘ + ⇧ + 0 |
Pro tip: All capture shortcuts are fully customizable in CleanShot X preferences.
During area selection
While selecting an area to capture, these modifiers give you precise control.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Move Selection | Space (hold and drag) |
| Lock Aspect Ratio | ⇧ (hold while resizing) |
| Resize from Center | ⌥ (hold while resizing) |
| Cancel Capture | Escape |
| Confirm Selection | Return |
| Cycle Through Displays | Tab |
Quick Access Overlay
After capturing, the Quick Access Overlay appears with these shortcuts.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Save to Desktop | ⌘ + S |
| Copy to Clipboard | ⌘ + C |
| Open in Editor | ⌘ + E |
| Pin to Screen | ⌘ + P |
| Upload to Cloud | ⌘ + U |
| Close Overlay | Escape |
| Save and Close | Return |
Pro tip: You can drag the screenshot directly from the overlay into any app—perfect for quick sharing in Slack, email, or design tools.
Annotation tool shortcuts
When the annotation editor is open, these shortcuts let you work faster.
| Tool | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Arrow | A |
| Line | L |
| Rectangle | R |
| Ellipse / Circle | E |
| Text | T |
| Highlight | H |
| Blur | B |
| Counter (Numbering) | N |
| Pixelate | P |
| Crop | C |
| Emoji | ; |
Annotation editing
Fine-tune your annotations with these editing shortcuts.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Undo | ⌘ + Z |
| Redo | ⌘ + ⇧ + Z |
| Delete Selected | Delete or ⌫ |
| Select All | ⌘ + A |
| Duplicate Selection | ⌘ + D |
| Bring to Front | ⌘ + ⇧ + ] |
| Send to Back | ⌘ + ⇧ + [ |
| Increase Stroke Width | ] |
| Decrease Stroke Width | [ |
| Toggle Fill | F |
Color shortcuts
Quickly switch annotation colors while editing.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Color 1 (Red) | 1 |
| Color 2 (Orange) | 2 |
| Color 3 (Yellow) | 3 |
| Color 4 (Green) | 4 |
| Color 5 (Blue) | 5 |
| Color 6 (Purple) | 6 |
| Color Picker | ⌘ + ⇧ + C |
Screen recording controls
Control your recordings efficiently.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Start/Stop Recording | ⌘ + ⇧ + 9 |
| Pause/Resume Recording | ⌘ + ⇧ + P |
| Toggle Webcam | ⌘ + ⇧ + W |
| Toggle Microphone | ⌘ + ⇧ + M |
| Toggle System Audio | ⌘ + ⇧ + A |
| Show/Hide Mouse Clicks | ⌘ + ⇧ + K |
Pin and preview
Manage pinned screenshots on your screen.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Zoom In Pinned | ⌘ + + |
| Zoom Out Pinned | ⌘ + - |
| Increase Opacity | ⌘ + ] |
| Decrease Opacity | ⌘ + [ |
| Close Pinned Screenshot | Escape |
| Close All Pinned | ⌘ + ⌥ + Escape |
Desktop and background
Manage your workspace for clean captures.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Hide Desktop Icons | ⌘ + ⇧ + H |
| Restore Desktop Icons | ⌘ + ⇧ + H |
CleanShot Cloud
Quickly share via CleanShot Cloud.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Upload to Cloud | ⌘ + U |
| Copy Cloud Link | ⌘ + ⇧ + L |
Global menu access
Access CleanShot features from anywhere.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Open CleanShot Menu | Click menu bar icon |
| Show All Shortcuts | ? (in any CleanShot window) |
Customize your shortcuts
One of CleanShot X's strengths is its deep customization. To change any keyboard shortcut:
- Click the CleanShot X icon in your menu bar
- Select Preferences
- Navigate to the Shortcuts tab
- Click on any shortcut and press your desired key combination
You can also set up shortcuts that don't conflict with macOS defaults or other apps you use frequently.
Why CleanShot X?
CleanShot X isn't just a screenshot tool—it's a complete screen capture workflow. Key features include:
- Quick Access Overlay for instant saving, copying, and sharing
- Scrolling Capture for long web pages and documents
- Powerful Annotation tools that rival dedicated apps
- Screen Recording with webcam, audio, and click highlighting
- CleanShot Cloud for instant link sharing
- OCR Text Recognition to copy text from images
- Pin Screenshots to keep references visible
- Background Tool for beautiful social media posts
- Hide Desktop Icons for clean captures
It's trusted by professionals and has a 4.9-star rating. Get CleanShot X and transform how you capture your screen.
Show your shortcuts on screen
Creating tutorials or demonstrating CleanShot X to others? KeyScreen displays your keystrokes beautifully on screen so viewers always see exactly what shortcuts you're pressing—perfect for professional screen recordings and live demonstrations.