screenshot-rename

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Automatically rename macOS screenshots from the verbose default format to a clean timestamp-only name. Instead of Screenshot 2026-04-21 at 14.23.15.png, you get 2026-04-21 14.23.15.png.

Runs as a watcher — when you take a screenshot, it gets renamed immediately. Useful if you accumulate screenshots and want them sorted chronologically without the redundant "Screenshot" prefix cluttering your Desktop.

Quick start

$ screenshot-rename
Watching for new screenshots in: /Users/you/Desktop
Renaming screenshot: /Users/you/Desktop/Screenshot 2026-04-21 at 14.23.15.png -> 2026-04-21 14.23.15.png

By default the script watches the macOS-configured screenshot location (from defaults read com.apple.screencapture location) and falls back to ~/Desktop when that setting isn't configured. Press Ctrl+C to stop the watcher.

Common examples

Watch a custom directory:

$ screenshot-rename --path ~/Pictures/Screenshots
Watching for new screenshots in: /Users/you/Pictures/Screenshots

Use UTC timestamps instead of local time:

$ screenshot-rename --utc

Use a different filename format:

$ screenshot-rename --format "%Y%m%d-%H%M%S"

Naming scheme

The default filename format is %Y-%m-%d %H.%M.%S (dots instead of colons for filesystem compatibility), producing names like 2026-04-21 14.23.15.png. Override with --format (strftime syntax); the .png extension is always appended.

The timestamp is captured at the moment of rename, not extracted from the original filename. If a file with the same timestamp already exists, a counter is appended: 2026-04-21 14.23.15-1.png, 2026-04-21 14.23.15-2.png, etc.

Reference

All options

Flag	Description
`-p, --path PATH`	Directory to watch (default: macOS screenshot location, or `~/Desktop`)
`-F, --format FORMAT`	strftime format for new filenames (default: `%Y-%m-%d %H.%M.%S`)
`-u, --utc`	Use UTC timezone instead of local time
`-h, --help`	Show help

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	Clean shutdown
2	Usage error (unknown argument, missing flag value)
3	Dependency error (`fswatch` missing)

Dependencies

fswatch — file change monitor (install via Homebrew: brew install fswatch)
defaults — macOS-native, used to look up the configured screenshot location