How to Take a Scrolling Screenshot on Mac
macOS can't capture anything taller than your screen on its own. Here's how to take a scrolling screenshot on a Mac — of a long webpage, a chat thread, or a document — and stitch it into one tall image.
Can you take a scrolling screenshot on a Mac?
macOS's built-in screenshot tools (Shift + Cmd + 3 / 4 / 5) only capture what's visible on screen — there's no built-in scrolling or full-page screenshot. To capture a long page you either use a browser trick or a dedicated app like Shotstrix that scrolls and stitches automatically.
The browser-only workaround
In Safari you can open the Web Inspector, right-click the top <html> element, and choose Capture Screenshot — or use File → Export as PDF. Chrome and Firefox have similar full-page capture in their dev tools or via an extension. The catch: these only work for web pages, not a chat app, a document, or anything outside the browser.
The easy way: scrolling capture with Shotstrix
Shotstrix (free) captures any scrollable area, not just browser pages. Pick the region and it auto-scrolls, capturing as it goes, then stitches every frame into one seamless tall PNG — with smart overlap detection so there are no visible seams. It works on webpages, Messages threads, Notes documents, and long lists.
How to take a scrolling screenshot with Shotstrix
- 1 Start a scrolling capture
Trigger scrolling capture from the Shotstrix menu bar item or its shortcut.
- 2 Select the scrollable area
Drag to choose the region you want to capture top to bottom.
- 3 Let it scroll
Shotstrix scrolls and captures automatically, stitching the frames into one image.
- 4 Edit and save
The full-length screenshot opens in the editor to annotate, crop, or save.
Get Shotstrix — free
Shotstrix is a free screenshot and screen-recording tool for macOS — scrolling capture, OCR, annotation, blur, GIF recording, and share-ready backdrops, with no account and no watermark.
Free · Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel) · macOS 14 Sonoma or later
Frequently asked questions
Does macOS have a built-in scrolling screenshot? +
No — the built-in tools only capture the visible screen. You need a browser trick (web pages only) or an app like Shotstrix for everything else.
Can I take a scrolling screenshot of something that isn't a webpage? +
Yes, with Shotstrix. It captures any scrollable area — a Messages thread, a Notes document, a long list — not just browser pages.
Is scrolling capture free? +
Yes. Shotstrix is a free screenshot tool for macOS with scrolling capture, OCR, annotation, and screen recording built in.