Fix and reset your Mac's native screen capture

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To fix and reset your Mac’s native screen capture functionality, try these steps in order:

  1. First, reset the screenshot settings to default:
defaults delete com.apple.screencapture
killall Dock

  1. Make sure you’re using the native macOS screenshot tool by checking keyboard shortcuts:

    • Shift+Command+3 (capture entire screen)
    • Shift+Command+4 (capture selected portion)
    • Shift+Command+5 (screenshot options panel)

  2. If you suspect another app is hijacking your screenshots, check for third-party screenshot utilities in:

    • Menu bar (look for screenshot-related icons)
    • Applications folder
    • Login Items (System Settings > General > Login Items)

  3. Reset screenshot location to default (Desktop):

defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Desktop
killall Dock

  1. Check for system permissions issues:

    • Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording
    • Make sure no unwanted apps have permissions

  2. Restart your Mac to completely reset all UI services

After completing these steps, try taking a screenshot with Shift+Command+3 and check if it creates a file on your Desktop with the default naming pattern “Screenshot [date] at [time].png”.