You’re staring at a long Slack thread, a messy legal contract, or a recipe that seems to go on forever. You hit Command + Shift + 4, drag the cursor, and... nothing. You’ve only captured a tiny slice of the screen. It’s annoying. Honestly, it’s one of those weird gaps in macOS that makes you wonder what the engineers at Apple are actually doing all day. While iPhones have had the "Full Page" PDF option for years, getting a scrolling screenshot on Mac still feels like you’re trying to solve a puzzle from 2005.
The truth is that macOS doesn’t have a native, one-click button for this. Not really. You can capture a window, a selection, or the whole desktop, but the "auto-scroll" feature is notably absent from the standard screenshot utility.
The Safari "Secret" Method
If you’re just trying to grab a website, you might not need extra software. Most people don’t realize that Safari has a built-in way to save a whole page, though it’s hidden behind the Export menu. It’s not technically a "screenshot" in the PNG sense; it’s a PDF.
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Go to File, then Export as PDF.
Boom. You have the whole page. But wait—there’s a catch. PDFs are clunky. If you try to upload that PDF to a Discord chat or a Trello board, it looks like a document, not an image. It’s not glanceable. If you specifically need an image file, you have to go into the Web Inspector. Right-click anywhere on the page, hit Inspect Element, find the <html> tag at the very top of the code, right-click it, and select "Capture Screenshot."
This works. It’s a bit nerdy. It’s also the only way to get a high-resolution, full-page PNG without installing a single third-party app.
Why Chrome Users Have it Easier
Google Chrome (and Brave or Edge) makes this slightly more intuitive, though it’s still buried in the developer tools. You press Command + Option + I to open the inspector. Then, you hit Command + Shift + P to open the command menu. Type "screenshot" and you’ll see an option for "Capture full size screenshot."
It’s fast. It’s pixel-perfect.
But what if you aren't in a browser? What if you're trying to capture a long list of files in Finder or a sprawling conversation in Spotify or WhatsApp? That's where the native tools completely fall apart.
Third-Party Saviors (Because Apple Won't Help)
If you find yourself needing a scrolling screenshot on Mac more than once a week, stop struggling with the developer tools. It’s a waste of time. There are three main players in this space that actually work.
CleanShot X is the gold standard. It isn't free. It costs about $29, but if you work in design, QA, or project management, it’s basically mandatory. It has a "Scrolling Capture" mode where you click a button, scroll down manually, and the app stitches the images together in real-time. It’s like magic. It even hides your desktop icons automatically so your shots look professional.
Then there is Shottr. Shottr is incredible because it’s tiny, fast, and for a long time, it was completely free (now it has a very fair "pay what you want" model). It’s optimized for Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3 chips), so it doesn't hog RAM. You just hit a hotkey, and it scrolls the window for you.
For the budget-conscious, there is Capto. It’s a bit older, a bit clunkier, but it’s reliable for video creators who need to record their screen and take long screenshots simultaneously.
The "Stitch It Yourself" Nightmare
Some people suggest taking five separate screenshots and dragging them into Photoshop or a free online stitcher.
Don't do this.
Your time is worth more than that. Plus, the alignment is always slightly off. You’ll see a double-line of text or a chopped-off logo where the images overlap. If you’re desperate and refuse to download an app, use Tailor on your iPhone (transfer the shots via AirDrop) or just use the Safari Inspect method mentioned above.
Technical Limitations and Retina Displays
One thing to keep in mind: Retina displays have a high pixel density. When you take a scrolling screenshot on Mac, the resulting file can be massive. We’re talking 20MB or 50MB for a single image if the webpage is long enough.
This creates problems.
Slack might compress it until the text is unreadable. Your email provider might block it as an attachment. If you're using Shottr or CleanShot, check the settings to "Scale down 2x." This keeps the dimensions the same but reduces the file size so you aren't sending 100-megapixel images to your coworkers.
Screen Recording as an Alternative
Sometimes a screenshot isn't the best way to convey information. If you're trying to show how a navigation bar sticks to the top of a page as you scroll, a static image is useless.
Apple’s built-in tool (Command + Shift + 5) lets you record a specific portion of the screen.
Record your scroll. Save it as a MOV. If you need it to be more shareable, use a tool like Gifox to turn that recording into a GIF. GIFs loop. They play automatically. They are often better for bug reports than a 5000-pixel-tall screenshot that requires someone to zoom in 400% just to read the font.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that there is a "secret" keyboard shortcut like Command + Shift + 6 that does this. There isn't. People search for this constantly, hoping Apple snuck it into a macOS Sequoia or Sonoma update. They haven't.
Another mistake? Using "Full Page" browser extensions from the Chrome Web Store that haven't been updated since 2018. Many of these extensions are basically spyware. They ask for permission to "Read and change all your data on the websites you visit."
Think about that.
Do you want a random screenshot extension having access to your bank portal or your private emails just so you can save a recipe? Stick to the built-in developer tools or reputable standalone apps like Shottr or CleanShot X. They operate outside the browser and are much safer.
The Browser Extension Exception: GoFullPage
If you absolutely must use an extension, GoFullPage is the only one I’d trust. It has millions of users and a very clean track record. It handles "sticky" headers—those annoying bars that stay at the top of the screen—much better than most other tools. It waits for the page to load, scrolls, captures, and then gives you a clean PNG or PDF.
Actionable Next Steps
If you need a screenshot right this second, do this:
- Open Safari.
- Navigate to the page.
- Go to File > Export as PDF.
- If you need a PNG, use the Inspect Element trick (Right-click > Inspect > Right-click
<html>> Capture Screenshot).
For a long-term solution, download Shottr. It’s the most "Mac-like" experience you can get without paying for a premium suite. Set the shortcut to something memorable, like Option + S, and you’ll never have to worry about the "scroll gap" again.
Lastly, check your storage. If you start taking full-page captures regularly, your "Screenshots" folder will quickly balloon into gigabytes of data. Set a reminder to clear out old captures every month. Most of these long-form screenshots are temporary—you send them, the person sees them, and then they just sit there taking up space.
Keep it clean. Keep it fast. Stop overcomplicating a problem that a $0 app can solve in three seconds.