# How to remove the shadow from window screenshots in macOS

> Learn how to remove the drop shadow from macOS window screenshots with a single defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow terminal command.

Author: [Flavio Copes](https://flaviocopes.com/about/) | Published: 2022-05-13 | Topics: [Mac](https://flaviocopes.com/tags/mac/) | Canonical: https://flaviocopes.com/remove-shadow-macos-screenshots/

I take lots of screenshots for my blog posts or courses.

I typically use cmd-shift-4 and then I press the spacebar to screenshot the whole application window.

Like this:

![Browser window screenshot with default macOS drop shadow around the window frame](https://flaviocopes.com/images/remove-shadow-macos-screenshots/Screen_Shot_2022-04-20_at_15.07.24.png)

By default macOS adds that drop shadow which makes it look pretty nice.

If you want you can remove it using this command in the terminal:

```sh
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true ; killall SystemUIServer
```

Here's the same screenshot without drop shadow:

![Same browser window screenshot with the drop shadow removed showing clean edges](https://flaviocopes.com/images/remove-shadow-macos-screenshots/Screen_Shot_2022-04-20_at_15.07.12.png)

Add it back with:

```sh
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool false ; killall SystemUIServer
```