Where Does Snipping Tool Save Screenshots?
Snipping Tool screenshot and screen recording save behavior on Windows 11, including the auto-save folder.
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On current Windows 11, Snipping Tool auto-saves screenshots to the Pictures Screenshots folder and copies them to the clipboard. Each snip keeps a timestamped filename.
This auto-save is relatively new. Older behavior was clipboard-only, which is why guides disagree about whether Snipping Tool saves files at all.
Where Windows stores this, by platform
%USERPROFILE%\Pictures\Screenshots
Applies to recent Windows 11 builds with auto-save enabled (toggle in the Snipping Tool settings menu). Screen recordings default to Videos instead. Older versions require manual save per snip.
Frequently asked questions
Snipping Tool never saves files, it only copies. Why?
On older builds and Windows 10, Snipping Tool copies to the clipboard and requires a manual save. The auto-save to Pictures\Screenshots arrived with later Windows 11 updates, so update if it is missing.
Where do Snipping Tool screen recordings go?
Screen recordings from Snipping Tool default to the Videos folder as MP4. Change it per save in the save dialog; there is no persistent recordings path setting.
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