Screenshots and recording
Capture an area, a window or the whole screen as a picture, a movie or the text in it, and look through your camera, all from the bar or a hotkey.
Before you start
Screenshots, recordings and Copy Text from Screen need the Screen Recording permission. The first time you use one, the bar shows the Permissions screen with that row selected; press ↵ to grant it. Nothing is asked of macOS until you do. See Install and permissions.
Every command on this page can have its own hotkey (none are set until you choose one), so you can use them without opening the bar. Most are on the feature's own Settings page; every command, Copy Text from Clipboard Image included, is also listed in Settings → Hotkeys. See Hotkeys and aliases.
Picking what to capture
Take Screenshot, Record Screen and Copy Text from Screen all start the same way: the screen freezes, dims, and a hint at the top says what you're picking for.
- Drag to select an area. Hold Space while dragging to move the selection.
- Click a window to take just that window.
- Press ↵ for the whole screen.
- Press esc to cancel.
Screenshot
Two commands:
- Take Screenshot: pick an area, a window or the screen.
- Screenshot Whole Screen: captures the screen the pointer is on at once.
Screenshots are PNG files named like Screenshot 2026-10-26 at 14.05.12.png, saved to your Desktop unless you choose another folder. macOS treats them as screenshots, as it does its own. A message confirms where it went.
Settings → Screenshot:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Screenshot (switch at the top) | Off: both commands leave search and their hotkeys do nothing. |
| Capture → Take Screenshot / Screenshot Whole Screen | A hotkey for each. |
| Capture → After a capture | Save to the folder (default), Copy to the clipboard, or Save and copy. Copied screenshots are also kept by Clipboard History. |
| Capture → Save to | The folder screenshots go into. ⌘⌫ on the row goes back to the Desktop. |
| Capture → Countdown | None, 3, 5 or 10 seconds before the capture, to open a menu first. |
| Capture → Include the pointer | Draws the pointer into the picture. Off by default. |
| Capture → Save at 1× | One pixel per point, for smaller files from a Retina display. Off by default. |
Screen Recorder
- Run Record Screen and pick an area, a window or the screen. A recorded window is followed as it moves.
- After the countdown (3 seconds by default), recording starts. A small pill shows a red dot, the time and Stop. The pill itself is never recorded.
- Click Stop, or run Record Screen (or its hotkey) again.
The movie is saved as a .mov file named like Screen Recording 2026-10-26 at 14.05.12.mov, on the Desktop unless you choose another folder. Video is HEVC where the Mac can encode the size, otherwise H.264. The Mac's sound and your microphone each get their own audio track.
Settings → Screen Recorder:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Screen Recorder (switch at the top) | Off: Record Screen leaves search. |
| Recording → Record Screen | A hotkey that starts and stops recording. |
| Recording → Save to | The folder recordings go into. |
| Recording → Countdown | None, 3 seconds (default) or 5 seconds. |
| Recording → Frame rate | 60 fps (default) for smooth motion, 30 fps for smaller files. |
| Recording → Show the pointer | Records the pointer as it moves. On by default. |
| Recording → Show the recording in Finder | Opens Finder on the movie once it's saved. Off by default. |
| Sound → Record the Mac's sound | What the Mac plays, without Saiki's own sounds. On by default. |
| Sound → Record your microphone | Your voice. macOS asks for the microphone the first time. Off by default. |
Copy Text from Screen
Run Copy Text from Screen, then pick an area or click a window. Saiki reads the text in it on your Mac and puts it on the clipboard, in reading order. If there's a QR code in the area, its contents are copied instead. A message says what was copied, or "No text found".
If you copy something else while it's still reading, your new copy wins and nothing is overwritten.
Copy Text from Clipboard Image does the same for the picture already on your clipboard, such as a screenshot you copied or an image from a web page. For older pictures, use Copy Text from Image in Clipboard History.
Settings → Quick Tools → Copy Text from Screen:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Copy Text from Screen | A hotkey for the command. |
| Read QR codes first | A QR code in the area is copied instead of the text around it. On by default. |
| Join lines | Copies the text as one paragraph (Chinese and Japanese lines join without spaces). Off by default. |
Camera Preview
Run Camera Preview and the camera's live picture fills the bar, mirrored the way a mirror is. The camera turns on when the preview opens and off as soon as you leave it.
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| ↵ | Take Photo: the picture goes to the clipboard as a PNG (and into Clipboard History), and the bar closes. |
| ⌘M | Mirror or Don't Mirror. Kept while Saiki runs. |
| ⇧⌘S | Switch Camera, when there's more than one. |
| esc | Leave the preview. |
macOS asks for camera access the first time. If it was refused, the preview says so: allow it in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera. Give Camera Preview a hotkey in Settings → Quick Tools → Camera Preview.