How to take a timed or delayed screenshot in macOS

mac screenshot timed
(Image credit: Apple)

Taking a screenshot in macOS really couldn’t be simpler. What you can’t do, at least by default, is take a screenshot on delay -- for those times you’d really like to complete an action (like hitting a play button, for example) before snapping the screen grab.

Though not accessible by default -- aside from using Quicktime to create a screen recording video and then taking a still image from it -- you can achieve what you’re looking for with a Terminal command. This command, when executed, allows you to screenshot anything with a five or 10 second delay. 

To achieve what you’re looking for, just tweak the time (T15=15 seconds), the file name, and location to your liking.

Allow access to record screen

1) Click the apple icon to open the menu.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

2) In the menu, select System Preferences.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

3) In the System Preferences, select Security & Privacy.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

4) In the left pane, scroll down to find Screen Recording.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

5) In the Privacy tab, select Terminal

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Run the command to record screen

1) Click the Finder icon to open a Finder window.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

2) In Applications, search Terminal.

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3) In the search results, select Terminal.

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4) In the Terminal window, type screencapture -C -T15 Desktop/ScreenCap.png.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

5) Press Enter to run the command.

Note: Minimize the Terminal window so that the screenshot does not capture it.