Minecraft:Screenshot

File:Ore UI - Screenshot Gallery Screen - Screenshot Details Button Screen Menu (Bedrock).png

The "Screenshot details" menu Template:In

Screenshots are images of the player camera view taken while playing the game.

Screenshots can be taken when the player is in the first person or Minecraft:third person camera view.

Java Edition

After taking a screenshot, a message appears in the chat of its filename, where you can click it to open the image file on the computer.

Template:IN, screenshots can be taken in-game by pressing the default Template:Key key,<ref name="screenshot-guide">Template:Mcnet</ref> or the Template:Keys for macOS, some laptops and other keyboards. Screenshots are automatically saved in the "screenshots" directory within the Minecraft:.minecraft directory.

Like other control keys in Java Edition, the screenshot key can be customized by navigating through Template:UI, and select the key binding of "Take a screenshot" under the "Miscellaneous" category.

Storage

Screenshots are saved as Template:W files in the Template:Cd directory, with the file name based on the current date and time in the form Template:Nowrap. The date is specified numerically, all segments are padded with leading zeroes, and the time is always in 24-hour format. For example, a screenshot taken on April 9, 2026, at 8:19:38 AM will be named Template:Nowrap. If multiple screenshots are saved within the same second, a revision number is appended to the file name (e.g., 2026-04-09_08.19.38_1.png is the second screenshot taken at this exact time).

On Windows, the screenshot directory can be accessed by pressing Template:Keys and typing Template:Cd. On Mac, screenshots are stored in Template:Cd, and on Linux, they are stored in Template:Cd.

The screenshots directory can also be accessed by going to "Resource Packs" in the settings menu, clicking on "Open resource pack folder", and going up one level.

Screenshot options

It is possible to change what features are included in the screenshot by pressing control keys. By default, the screenshots look exactly like the screen during regular gameplay.

Control Key	Function
Template:Key	Hides Minecraft:heads-up display elements such as the health bar, hunger bar, experience bar, and any held items. In multiplayer it also hides the server chat and player nametags.
Template:Key	Displays the Minecraft:debug screen. This shows coordinates, entity count, and other various things. Press Template:Keys, Template:Keys or Template:Keys to pull up debug screen with debugging charts.

Bedrock Edition

File:Ore UI - Profile Screen - Screenshot Gallery Button Screen Menu (Bedrock).png

The "Screenshot Gallery" screen shows all of the screenshots the player has taken.

File:Ore UI - Select Screenshot Screen Menu (Bedrock).png

The "Select Screenshot" screen, used to pick screenshots for the Showcase Gallery, featured screenshot, and world thumbnails.

Template:IN, screenshots can be taken in-game by pressing the screenshot button (File:BedrockScreenshot.png) in the game menu. Like Template:El, screenshots can also be taken by pressing the default Template:Key key for computers, or the Template:Keys keys for some laptops and other keyboards; however, it can only be taken in Minecraft:gameplay (while playing in a world), not while in a Minecraft:menu screen. Screenshots always hide the Minecraft:HUD, but name tags from other entities are still shown. An animation and sound play while taking a screenshot.

Screenshots are not available on the game menu for players who are not signed in to Microsoft account.

Usage

File:Ore UI - Manage Showcase Gallery Screen Menu (Bedrock).png

A customizable showcase gallery which are shown to the player's friends.

Once a screenshot is taken, they can be managed in the "Screenshot Gallery" under the "Minecraft:Profile screen", which showcase all of the screenshots the player has taken in the game. They are connected to the player's Microsoft account and can only be viewed while signed in with the matching account.

In the gallery, players can use their saved screenshots to customize certain elements of the game, such as setting their saved Minecraft:world's thumbnail, regardless if the screenshot was not originally from that world. They can also use it to set their profile's featured banner and add up to four other images for the showcase gallery, which are shown to their friends in the profile screen.

The screenshot gallery has various tools for managing, including sort and filter options and multi-select for deleting. A screenshot's details screen can be opened for more information, which allows to open it in full screen. It can also be shared to external using the device's share pop-up.

In Realms, players can share their screenshots to Minecraft:Realms Stories.<ref name="screenshot-guide">Template:Mcnet</ref> Screenshots shared here will also become accessible from the Xbox profile.

Other players can report showcased screenshots or Realms Stories if they contain content that violates Minecraft's Terms of Service.

Storage

Screenshots are saved in the Minecraft:com.mojang/Screenshots/XUID directory, the XUID being the ID of the player's Xbox account. Each screenshot consists of 2-3 files:

UUID.jpeg: The image itself, in JPEG format.
UUID.json: The screenshot metadata, in JSON format.
UUID.mc: 32 byte long file of unknown format and purpose. The game does not appear to be using these files. They are only known to be created on the Android platform, and known not to be created on the Windows platform.

The UUID is a string encoded, version 4, RFC 4122 variant Minecraft:UUID generated for each screenshot.

The metadata JSON file has the following structure:

Template:Nbt: The root object
- Template:Nbt: Time the screenshot was taken at, as seconds since the UNIX epoch

If there are any YYYY-MM-DD_HH.mm.ss[sequence].jpeg files, possibly with corresponding YYYY-MM-DD_HH.mm.ss[sequence].mc files, which was the old naming format used in previous versions, the game renames them to the new format, and creates the metadata file based on the timestamp included as part of the old name, assuming the current system timezone.

Using Xbox alternatives

On Windows, players can screenshot their game by pressing the Template:Keys, opening Xbox Game Bar overlay, and clicking the camera button to take a screenshot under the Capture window.<ref name="screenshot-guide"/> A notification then appears, and when clicked, it opens up the Gallery window, where you can see the screenshot and the location it was saved. The default screenshot directory is Template:Cd. Players can also take screenshots quickly by pressing the Template:Keys keys.

On an Xbox console, press the Xbox button, and press the Template:Xbtn button to take a screenshot, or the Template:Xbtn button to take a video clip. You can upload your screenshot through the Captures app, and download it by visiting your profile page on the Xbox website under the Captures tab, or through the Xbox mobile app.

Minecraft Education

Template:IN, players can take screenshots as a gameplay feature by using the Minecraft:camera item.<ref name="screenshot-edu">Template:Link</ref> When the camera is selected in the player Minecraft:hotbar, players can take a first person view screenshot by right-clicking it.

Camera can also be placed, creating a camera entity that tracks the user, and take pictures from the camera's perspective. Photos that are taken with the camera appear in the Minecraft:portfolio.

Close-up snapshots of an item on the ground can be taken by holding the Template:Key key while right-clicking.

Screenshots are shown as photos in chronological order on the portfolio. Players can type a short caption text under the picture of the photo. These photos then can be exported in Template:W inside a Template:W in the specified directory by clicking the "Export Portfolio" button.<ref name="screenshot-edu"/>

Screenshots can also be inserted into Minecraft:book and quill, and then exported as a Template:W, along with the written text, title and author shown in the filename.<ref name="screenshot-edu"/>

Screenshots taken with the camera are stored in Template:Cd.