Where Do Screen Recordings Go on Mac? (And How to Change It)

Screen recordings on a Mac go to the Desktop by default, as a .mov file named “Screen Recording [date] at [time].mov”. That’s true for recordings made with ⌘⇧5 and with QuickTime Player’s New Screen Recording, which uses the same toolbar. To change the folder, open the toolbar and pick a location in OptionsSave to.

If a recording isn’t where you expect, it’s almost always one of three things: a different Save to folder, the floating thumbnail, or iCloud. Here’s how to check each one.

Where each method saves

How you recorded	Where the file goes
Screenshot toolbar, ⌘⇧5	Desktop, or the folder in OptionsSave to
QuickTime Player, FileNew Screen Recording	Same as the toolbar; QuickTime then opens the recording
Dragged the floating thumbnail	Wherever you dropped it: a Finder window, a Mail message, a document
A third-party recorder	Its own folder, set in the app’s settings

Source: Apple Support and the Mac User Guide. Checked November 2026.

Mac screen recordings don’t go into the Photos library, unlike iPhone screen recordings. They’re files in a folder.

Change where recordings are saved

A good choice is a folder like MoviesScreen Recordings: out of the way of your Desktop, easy to find, and, unlike the Desktop, not part of iCloud’s Desktop & Documents sync. Create it in the Finder first, then pick it with Other Location.

Find a recording you can’t see

Work through these from fastest to slowest.

Spotlight searches use the same syntax as in Apple’s guide, so you can combine terms: Screen Recording kind:movie finds recordings with the default name and skips screenshots.

The iCloud Desktop & Documents trap

This is the one that surprises people. macOS can store your Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud Drive, so they’re the same on every device. When that’s on:

• Your Desktop is moved into iCloud Drive, so every recording saved to the Desktop is uploaded.
• Recordings use your iCloud storage. Screen recordings are large files, so your iCloud plan fills up much faster than with documents.
• Deleting is everywhere. Delete a recording on one device and it’s deleted on every device signed in to the same Apple Account (it stays in Recently Deleted for 30 days).
• With Optimize Mac Storage on, macOS can keep files only in iCloud when the Mac needs space, so an old recording may need to download before it opens.

To check whether it’s on:

You don’t have to turn it off. Pointing Save to at a folder outside Desktop and Documents, like one in Movies, keeps recordings local while everything else keeps syncing. If you do turn it off, Apple notes that your files stay in iCloud Drive and new, empty Desktop and Documents folders are created on the Mac; you move the files back yourself.

Where JustRec saves

Once you’ve found it

A few next steps people usually need:

• Too big to send? See how to make a screen recording smaller on Mac.
• Starts with ten seconds of you finding the right tab? Trim it in QuickTime or from the floating thumbnail.
• Need to send it to a client? Email attachments are limited; our guide to sending a large video to a client compares the options.

And if you’d rather your recordings stayed on your Mac by design, with only a temporary copy online, read why your videos should stay on your Mac.

The short version

Desktop by default. Change it in ⌘⇧5 › Options › Save to. Find lost ones with Spotlight (Screen Recording or kind:movie). And if iCloud syncs your Desktop, save recordings to a folder in Movies instead. For everything else about recording, start with how to screen record on Mac.