Quick Screenshot to Claude or Cursor

AI coding tools like Claude Code and Cursor can read images. You probably knew that. But getting a screenshot into them is quite annoying. I fumble with Finder, drag-and-drop, or tab completing paths and it’s a pain.

Here’s what I dreamed of for a few weeks press a shortcut, select a region, and paste the file path. That’s it. I looked for screenshoting apps, which might do it, but why spend on a subscription.

The Setup

One Alfred workflow. Two nodes. Done in under a minute. (Not using Alfred?)

Trigger: Hotkey set to Cmd+Opt+3
Action: Run this script:

#!/bin/bash

# Create screenshots directory if it doesn't exist
# change this location to your preference
mkdir -p "$HOME/screenshots"

# Generate filename with timestamp
FILENAME="screenshot-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).png"
FILEPATH="$HOME/screenshots/$FILENAME"

# Take interactive screenshot
# If always want full screen, omit the -i
/usr/sbin/screencapture -i "$FILEPATH"

# Check if a file was actually created (user might cancel)
if [ -f "$FILEPATH" ]; then
    # Copy the path to clipboard
    echo -n "$FILEPATH" | pbcopy
fi

That’s it. If you didn’t know, screencapture ships on every Mac.

How It Works

  1. Press Cmd+Opt+3
  2. Draw a selection around whatever you want to capture
  3. The screenshot saves to ~/screenshots/ with a timestamp filename
  4. The full file path is on your clipboard

Now in Claude Code, just paste. It reads the image and you’re off to the races — debugging a UI issue, asking about a design, or showing it an error message you can’t copy as text.

Same deal in Cursor: paste the path into chat and the agent picks it up.

Yes, Claude Code has a Ctrl + v option (or is it Option + v, I can never remember) to paste a image that’s in the clipboard, but these aren’t universal across CLIs.

Why This Matters

The friction of getting visual context into AI tools keeps you from using these features. Every time you have to open Finder, navigate to a file, drag it over, or manually type a path — it’s time and switching context. It breaks your flow, and will keep you from building the next thing.

With this shortcut, sharing a screenshot is as fast as pasting text. Which means you actually do it instead of trying to describe what you’re seeing in words.

Why Not Just Use the Built-In macOS Screenshot?

macOS screenshots (Cmd+Shift+4) save to your Desktop and copy the image to your clipboard, not the file path. Plus you have to either swipe it away or wait the 3-5 seconds while it saves to your desktop. CLI tools like Claude Code need a file path. You’d still have to go find the file and copy its path manually.

Setting It Up in Alfred

  1. Open Alfred Preferences → Workflows
  2. Create a blank workflow
  3. Add a Hotkey trigger, set it to Cmd+Opt+3
  4. Add a Run Script action with the script above
  5. Connect the hotkey to the script

Not using Alfred?

You don’t need Alfred for this. The core is just a bash script and a way to trigger it globally.

Raycast: Create a Script Command with the same bash script. Assign a hotkey in Raycast preferences.

Hammerspoon: Bind a hotkey to run the script via hs.task.new("/bin/bash", nil, {"-c", "/path/to/your/script.sh"}):start().

Shortcuts (macOS Monterey+): Create a new shortcut in the Shortcuts app, add a “Run Shell Script” action with the script above, then assign a keyboard shortcut to it right from Shortcuts settings. No third-party tools needed — this is fully built into macOS.

Automator + System Settings: Create an Automator Quick Action that runs the shell script, then assign it a keyboard shortcut under System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Services.

Plain shell script: Save the script somewhere, make it executable with chmod +x, and alias it in your shell to s. The script does all the real work — the trigger is just plumbing.

Built with Claude Code, naturally.