Mac App Store Screenshot Sizes: Accepted Dimensions and How to Export Them

Mac App Store screenshots are simpler than iPhone and iPad sets in one way and trickier in another. There are fewer sizes, but a Mac window does not come in a fixed screen shape, so most developers have to crop, pad or restage their captures to hit an exact pixel size. This guide lists the dimensions commonly accepted for the Mac App Store, explains the format rules, shows how to capture clean screenshots of a Mac app and walks through resizing and compressing them without uploading your unreleased interface to a third-party site.

The short answer: Mac App Store screenshot sizes

Mac screenshots are landscape and use a 16:10 aspect ratio. The sizes commonly accepted are:

Apple requires at least one screenshot for the Mac app and allows several. Providing the largest size you can produce cleanly and checking how it scales is a sensible approach. If the specification in App Store Connect differs from this table, trust App Store Connect.

Format and content rules

• Accepted file types are typically PNG and JPEG. PNG keeps interface text crisp.
• Do not include transparency. Flatten the image onto a solid background.
• The screenshot must show the app in use. Marketing artwork is fine if it includes real interface, but splash or login screens alone are a common rejection reason.
• Avoid showing other brands' content or private data in a window.
• Keep the aspect ratio exact. A window capture with a different shape must be cropped or padded, not stretched.

Capturing a clean Mac app screenshot

1. Prepare the app

Use demo data, not your real account. Remove personal names and email addresses. Pick a realistic but tidy state: a document open, a list populated, a feature visibly in use. Turn on the appearance (light or dark) that you want to feature, and consider capturing both.

2. Set the window size

The easiest way to hit a 16:10 size is to resize the app window to a known point size and capture at Retina scale. A window of 1440 × 900 points on a Retina display captures as 2880 × 1800 pixels. If your app's window has a minimum size that does not allow this, capture the closest size and then pad or crop.

3. Capture

macOS includes Command-Shift-4 for selecting an area and Command-Shift-5 for a screenshot toolbar with options for capturing a window. Window capture adds a drop shadow around the window by default, which changes the image dimensions and includes transparent areas. Hold the Option key when clicking to capture a window without the shadow, or turn the shadow off in the capture options.

4. Check the pixel size

Open the file in Preview, choose Tools then Show Inspector, and read the image dimensions. Do not assume your capture is the size you wanted.

Resizing: crop, pad or restage

Real captures rarely land on an exact accepted size. You have three options.

• Crop to fill. Scale the image until it covers the target frame and trim the overflow. Works if there is spare margin around the interface, for example a window on a desktop wallpaper background.
• Pad with a color. Keep the entire capture and add a solid background to reach the target size. Works well when you want the whole window visible, and the color can match your product page.
• Restage. Resize the window or change the display scaling, then capture again at the right size. This gives the cleanest result when it is practical.

Never stretch an image to fit. Distortion is visible, and screenshots that do not accurately reflect the app can be rejected.

Use device-agnostic tools for the geometry

The TinyPixels Screenshot Resizer lets you drag, zoom and pad images to an exact size, entirely in your browser. Its presets are built from Apple's iPhone and iPad specification and Google Play's rules. For Mac sizes, check whether your version of the tool lets you set a custom size, or use any local image editor that lets you set exact pixel dimensions, such as Preview, which can resize and crop. The important point is to do the work locally. Unreleased interface should not be sent to a random website for a resize.

Compress the files before uploading

Retina Mac screenshots are big. A 2880 × 1800 PNG of a detailed interface can be many megabytes, and a full set in several languages adds up quickly. Compression does not change the pixel dimensions, so it is safe to run after you have your exact sizes.

TinyPixels compresses PNG and JPEG locally on macOS and Windows. Lossless mode keeps every pixel and shrinks the file by optimizing the encoding. Lossy mode can shrink flat interface screenshots much further, and you can compare the result with the original before upload. Everything happens on your computer, so no image is sent to a server, and Pro is a one-time purchase rather than a subscription.

Dark mode, localization and variations

If your Mac app supports dark mode, consider showing both appearances across your screenshot set rather than only the default. Localized listings need localized screenshots when the interface text changes. Keep file naming consistent, such as language code, sequence number and appearance, so you can find and replace files quickly in a later release.

Workflow checklist

1. Prepare demo data and a tidy window state.
2. Resize the window to a point size that yields an accepted Retina pixel size.
3. Capture without the window shadow.
4. Check exact pixel dimensions.
5. Crop or pad to the accepted size if needed. Do not stretch.
6. Flatten transparency and export as PNG or JPEG.
7. Compress locally and compare against the original.
8. Upload one file first to confirm it passes, then the rest.

Common mistakes

• Leaving the window shadow in, which adds transparent pixels and changes the size.
• Uploading screenshots that contain real customer data.
• Stretching a window capture to a 16:10 frame.
• Mixing styles across the set, such as light and dark without intent.
• Skipping the pixel size check.
• Forgetting that iPhone and iPad sizes are separate sets with separate rules.

How this fits with iPhone, iPad and Google Play

If you ship across platforms, you will produce several sets. Our guides cover App Store screenshot sizes for iPhone, iPad sizes, the fix for the wrong dimensions error and Google Play requirements. The workflow is the same in each case: get exact dimensions, avoid transparency, keep the process local and compress at the end.

Designing screenshots that convert

Sizes get an app past review, but the content decides whether people install. The first one or two screenshots do most of the work, because many users never scroll the gallery. Lead with the core benefit, not a settings screen. Use a short, readable caption if you add text, large enough to read at the smaller size shown on the product page. Show the interface at a believable state, with realistic data, and avoid clutter such as open debug panels or unrelated windows.

Think about the sequence as a story. A common pattern is: the main view that shows the value, a second image that shows a differentiating feature, a third that shows workflow or integration and a final one that reassures, for example privacy or offline use. Keep visual style consistent across the set, including background color, caption position and font, so the gallery looks like one product.

Screenshots for light and dark appearance

If your app looks different in dark mode, decide whether to show one appearance or both. A single consistent appearance across the set looks cleaner. Showing both can communicate polish, but alternating randomly looks sloppy. A good compromise is to use the default appearance for the main set and add one or two dark images deliberately, with captions that mention dark mode support.

Retina scaling in detail

Understanding points and pixels saves time. A Retina display uses two physical pixels for each point in each direction, so a window that measures 1440 × 900 points is 2880 × 1800 pixels. When you capture a window, the file contains pixels, not points. If you want a 2880 × 1800 screenshot of a window, make the window 1440 × 900 points. If your display is set to a scaled resolution, the pixel density of your capture can differ from what you expect, which is why checking the real pixel dimensions in Preview is a habit worth building.

External monitors with different scaling can also change results. If a capture comes out at an unexpected size, try capturing on the built-in Retina display, or change the display resolution temporarily to a setting that gives you a clean mapping.

Keeping the source files

Store your final screenshots in a versioned folder in your repository or shared drive, named by language, appearance and order, and keep the layered source files for any marketing artwork alongside them. Next release, you will update only a few images, and having the originals and the exact export settings means the new ones match the old. Compress only the exports, never the layered sources, and keep the uncompressed exports too if you might need to re-edit them.

Localizing the set

If you localize your listing, each language can have its own screenshots. You are not required to translate every image on day one. Start with the languages that drive most of your downloads, and reuse the default set elsewhere until a translation is ready. When you do localize, keep the layout identical across languages so only the text changes, which makes updates and quality checks quick, and verify that longer translations still fit inside captions without being cut off.

Conclusion

Mac App Store screenshots come down to a 16:10 landscape frame at a handful of accepted sizes, usually delivered as PNG without transparency. Capture at a known window size, avoid the shadow, check pixels, crop or pad rather than stretch and compress locally before upload. Confirm the final size list in App Store Connect, because specifications change.

Frequently asked questions