How to copy a screenshot to the clipboard on a Mac and paste it into ChatGPT or Claude
Hold Cmd, Ctrl and Shift, then press 4, and drag a box around what you want. The picture goes to your clipboard, the invisible spot where copied things wait, not your Desktop. Click in ChatGPT or Claude and press Cmd+V to paste it; in Claude Code in Terminal, press Ctrl+V instead.
I'm on a Mac and I use Claude Code in Terminal. Build me a keyboard shortcut: when I press Shift+Cmd+8, I drag a box around part of my screen. Save that screenshot to a temporary folder, not my Desktop. Paste its location into my Terminal window and press Enter so Claude can see it. Delete the screenshot once Claude has read it, or after 10 minutes. Walk me through it one step at a time, including any Mac settings or permissions I need to turn on, and wait for me to say "done" before the next step.
What to expect
You don't have to build anything to start: press Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+4, drag a box, then press Cmd+V in the Claude app or Ctrl+V in Claude Code. The prompt goes one step further and makes one key do all of it: take the picture, paste it, press Enter and delete it afterward. It needs Claude Code, the version of Claude that runs in Terminal. Not set up yet? Start with the Set up Claude Code section. Claude walks you through it one step at a time and waits for you to say "done" before the next one.