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GUIDE · SCREENSHOTS

How to sort screenshots automatically on a Mac

Screenshots pile up on the Desktop, each named by the second it was taken. Here’s how to send them to one folder, sort them by date or by what they show, and find one later by a word on it.

Step 1: give screenshots their own folder

This is the one automatic sort macOS does by itself. Make a folder, such as Screenshots in Pictures. Then press Shift-Command-5, click Options, and under Save to choose Other Location and pick it. Every new screenshot goes there instead of the Desktop. More on the shortcuts and the Terminal command in where do screenshots go on a Mac.

Step 2: move the ones already on your Desktop

  • In Finder, open the Desktop and search for Screenshot. Choose to search the Desktop rather than This Mac.
  • Sort by Date Created, select them all, and drag them into your Screenshots folder.
  • To keep a live list without moving anything, click Save next to the search to keep it as a Smart Folder.

Step 3: sort them further by rules

  • By month: an Automator Folder Action on the Screenshots folder can move or rename new files as they land, for example by adding the date. Hazel can sort them into subfolders by date with a rule.
  • By name: the same tools can match words in the name, but a screenshot’s name only says when it was taken.

That’s the limit of rules here: a receipt, a boarding pass, and an error message all start with Screenshot and a time. To sort them by what they show, something has to read them.

Sort screenshots by what they show, with Lisorto

Lisorto reads the text on each screenshot on your Mac and proposes where it goes and what to call it. You see the whole plan before anything moves.

Real app · synthetic demo files
  • Their own Space, for free. Screenshots leave the Desktop or Downloads for a Screenshots Space, a plain folder in Finder. Pick the Desktop as the folder Lisorto tidies, or, with Pro, add it next to Downloads.
  • Found by a word on them, for free. Type a booking number, a name, or an error from the menu bar, and the screenshot comes up.
  • Real names and the right place, with Pro. Each screenshot gets a name after what it shows, like Harbor Hotels stay confirmed November 2026.png. A receipt goes to Bills and receipts and a booking to Travel. This needs macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence.
  • As they land, with AutoPilot (Pro). New screenshots in a folder with AutoPilot on are named and filed the moment you take them. Every move is in History, and Undo brings the old name back.

More examples: Lisorto for screenshots.

FAQ

Questions

Can macOS sort screenshots into folders automatically?

It can save all of them to one folder you choose: press Shift-Command-5, click Options, and pick a folder under “Save to”. Sorting them further, by month or by what they show, needs Automator, a rules app such as Hazel, or Lisorto.

How do I rename screenshots on a Mac?

One at a time in Finder: select it, press Return, and type a name. Many at once: select them, Control-click, and choose Rename. Lisorto Pro can name each one after what it shows, read on your Mac.

Do I need Lisorto Pro to sort screenshots?

No. Screenshots get their own Space, and you can search them by the text on them, for free. Naming each one after what it shows, and filing receipts and bookings with your bills and travel, is part of Pro and needs macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence.

Are my screenshots uploaded anywhere?

No. Lisorto reads the text on them on your Mac with Apple’s text recognition, and it stays there. Screenshots that look like they show a password keep their names and stay out of search.

Clear the pile.
Keep your weekend.

Free for Mac, no account needed. Your first 7 days include Lisorto Pro, with AutoPilot keeping your folder tidy in the background. After that, tidying up by hand stays free, and Pro is $29 a year, or pay once from $29.

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