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By default, macOS saves screenshots in the PNG format on your desktop. However, you can change this default file format to JPEG, GIF, TIFF, or PDF using simple Terminal commands.

Supported File Formats

macOS allows you to change the default screenshot file format to the following:

• JPEG
• GIF
• TIFF
• PDF

Changing the Default Format

To change the default screenshot file format, follow these steps:

1. Launch the Terminal app by pressing Command + Space, typing 'Terminal', and hitting Enter.
2. Enter the command to change the default file format by replacing 'jpg' with your desired format (gif, tiff, pdf, or png to revert back to PNG).

Example command to change to JPEG:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg;killall SystemUIServer

The killall SystemUIServer part refreshes the system to apply the changes.

Reverting Back to PNG

To revert back to PNG, use the following command:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture type png;killall SystemUIServer