How to take a scrolling screenshot on Mac

Short answer: the Mac's own screenshot tool (⇧⌘5) only captures what fits on the screen. For a web page, your browser can save the whole page for free (methods 2 to 4). For anything else, such as a chat, a document, or a long list in an app, or when you want to mark the result up right away, use a screenshot app with scrolling capture, such as KelpShot (method 1).

Why the built-in screenshot tool can't do it

macOS captures the screen, a window, or an area exactly as it looks at that moment. It has no scrolling mode, so anything below the edge of the window is left out. A scrolling screenshot needs a tool that scrolls, takes a frame at each step, and stitches the frames together without seams or repeated rows.

1. Any app: KelpShot

1. Download KelpShot (free for 30 days) and allow Screen Recording when macOS asks.
2. Open what you want to capture and scroll to where the screenshot should start.
3. Press ⌃⌥⌘L (Control-Option-Command-L), or choose File ▸ Scrolling Capture, and select the part of the window that scrolls.
4. Scroll down slowly. The panel counts the frames as KelpShot joins them.
5. Click Finish in the panel, or press ⌃⌥⌘L again. The tall image opens in the editor, where you can add arrows, redact private details, copy the text, or save it as a PNG.

Let it scroll for you: Auto ↓ in the panel scrolls at Slow, Normal, or Fast and stops at the end of the page; any key or mouse movement stops it. Or keep dragging your selection to the bottom edge of the screen, and the page scrolls underneath until you let go. Both need Accessibility, which KelpShot asks for only when you use them, and both are new and still experimental.

For a clean result:

• Scroll slowly. Each frame has to overlap the last one, and if KelpShot isn't sure where they match, it stops and keeps what it has so far instead of guessing.
• Sticky headers and menu bars at the top of a page appear once, not on every frame.
• The limit is 20,000 pixels tall or 40 megapixels. Anything longer is kept up to the limit and marked as partial.
• Not supported: sideways scrolling, video or large animations, and see-through or blurred sticky bars.
• Scrolling capture has been tested most in Safari. If another app gives you trouble, tell me.

2. Web pages in Safari: Export as PDF

1. Open the page and choose File ▸ Export as PDF…
2. Safari saves the whole page as one long PDF page.
3. To get an image, open the PDF in Preview, choose File ▸ Export…, pick PNG, and raise the resolution.

Free and built in, but the result can look a little different from the screen, and images that load only as you scroll may be missing.

3. Web pages in Chrome, Edge, Brave, or Arc: developer tools

1. Press ⌥⌘I to open the developer tools.
2. Press ⇧⌘P, type screenshot, and choose Capture full size screenshot.
3. The PNG lands in your Downloads folder.

Free and pixel-accurate for most pages. It doesn't work outside the browser, and some pages with their own scrolling area come out cut off.

4. Web pages in Firefox: Save full page

1. Right-click the page and choose Take Screenshot.
2. Click Save full page, then Download or Copy.

The easiest free option if you already use Firefox.

Which one should I use?

Swipe to see every column →

If you only need a web page now and then, a browser method is enough. If you capture long chats, documents, or app windows, or want to hide private details before you share, KelpShot saves the extra steps.

Questions

Comparing apps? KelpShot vs CleanShot X · KelpShot vs Shottr · KelpShot vs Snagit · all apps side by side

Updated 24 October 2026. Browser menus can change between versions; if a step looks different, tell me.