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Where Steam Screenshots Are Saved on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Steam Deck

Steam’s viewer is the fastest way to locate an F12 capture. Here are the typical screenshot paths by platform, what the numbered folders mean, and how to recover a missing image.
Length5 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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Steam screenshots taken with Steam’s built-in capture tool—F12 by default—are usually stored under <Steam folder>/userdata/<account ID>/760/remote/<game App ID>/screenshots. The quickest way to find one is to open Steam’s screenshot viewer, select the image, and use its folder-opening control if available. The exact menu label and local path can vary by client version, installation, and operating system.

Find a screenshot from Steam’s viewer

  1. Open the Steam desktop client.
  2. Choose View → Screenshots or, in some current client layouts, View → Recordings & Screenshots.
  3. Filter or browse to the game, then select the image.
  4. Choose Show on Disk, Open Folder, or the equivalent folder icon if it appears.

Steam’s screenshots documentation describes the screenshot viewer and its local and online screenshot handling. Valve’s current Game Recording support page uses the combined Recordings & Screenshots name; client layouts and button labels can differ.

This route is usually easier than guessing the Steam installation folder, account directory, or game App ID. It also helps distinguish a local file from an image shown in Steam’s online gallery.

Typical screenshot folders by platform

These paths assume Steam’s usual installation layout. Replace the account ID and game App ID with their numeric directory names. If Steam was installed in a custom location, use that Steam root instead.

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Windows

C:Program Files (x86)Steamuserdata<account ID>760remote<game App ID>screenshots

Steam may be installed on another drive or in a custom folder. The game’s installation library is not necessarily where screenshots are kept: a game installed in a separate Steam library can still have screenshot files under the main client’s userdata directory.

macOS

~/Library/Application Support/Steam/userdata/<account ID>/760/remote/<game App ID>/screenshots

The Library folder in your home folder is normally hidden in Finder. Use Go → Go to Folder, paste the path, and replace the placeholders with the actual numeric folder names.

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Linux

A common native Steam location is:

~/.local/share/Steam/userdata/<account ID>/760/remote/<game App ID>/screenshots

Linux installations can use other Steam roots or packaging layouts, including ~/.steam/steam and Flatpak-managed locations. Treat the path above as typical, not universal; the viewer’s folder-opening action is the safest way to learn the actual location.

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In Game Mode, open the Steam menu and go to Media to view captures. To browse files, switch to Desktop Mode, then use the Steam viewer’s folder-opening control or Dolphin to inspect the typical SteamOS path ~/.local/share/Steam/userdata/<account ID>/760/remote/<game App ID>/screenshots. SteamOS layout and client packaging can vary, so do not assume this path applies to every configuration.

What the numbered folders mean

userdata
└── <Steam account ID>
    └── 760
        └── remote
            └── <game App ID>
                └── screenshots
  • userdata is Steam’s local account-related data area. Valve’s Steam Cloud support page describes platform-specific userdata roots and account/game directory organization.
  • <Steam account ID> identifies an account directory on that device. A computer used by multiple Steam accounts may have several numeric directories; the first or largest number is not necessarily the one you need.
  • 760 is the Steam screenshot system directory, not the game’s App ID.
  • <game App ID> is the separate numeric directory for an individual Steam game.
  • screenshots contains the local image files from Steam’s screenshot system.

The path structure is also documented in this platform path reference and illustrated in a Steam Community troubleshooting example.

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Steam screenshots, game photos, and other captures are different

Capture type Where to look
Steam screenshot (F12 by default) Steam viewer, or the userdata/.../760/remote/.../screenshots folder.
Game photo mode or native screenshot The game’s own photo-mode controls or documentation; possible locations include Documents, Saved Games, AppData, Pictures, or the game’s installation directory.
Operating-system screenshot The location configured by the capture utility—for example, Windows Snipping Tool or Print Screen, macOS Screenshot, or a Linux desktop tool such as GNOME Screenshot or KDE Spectacle.
Steam Game Recording clip Steam’s Recordings & Screenshots viewer and recording controls; it is not an F12 still image.

Being taken while a Steam game is running does not make an image a Steam screenshot. Valve’s Steamworks documentation distinguishes the local screenshot library from screenshots uploaded to a Community profile or game hub. Seeing an image online does not by itself confirm that the local file is in the folder you are checking.

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If the folder is empty or the screenshot is missing

  • Check the account directory. If more than one Steam account has been used on the computer, look in each relevant numeric folder. A fresh test capture while signed in to the intended account can identify the correct one.
  • Check the game directory. Each game has its own App ID folder beneath remote. Use the viewer to identify the game, or compare folder timestamps and image previews rather than guessing the number.
  • Check the Steam root. Steam may be installed elsewhere than its common Windows location, and Linux package layouts vary. Do not search only in the game’s library folder.
  • Confirm how the image was captured. A game’s photo mode or an operating-system capture utility may save outside Steam’s screenshot directory.
  • Separate online from local items. Steam’s viewer can present local and uploaded screenshots together. An online gallery entry is not proof that a corresponding local file is present in the folder you opened.
  • Consider whether Steam saved an image at all. If the Overlay was disabled or the game did not cooperate with Steam’s capture system, there may be no local Steam screenshot.

When a folder contains many files, identify the image by its timestamp, thumbnail, dimensions, or size. File extensions and accompanying metadata can vary; do not rely on one expected extension or filename pattern.

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If F12 does nothing

Steam’s screenshot key is F12 by default, but it can be changed. Steam also states that its screenshot system requires the Steam Overlay. Check Steam → Settings → In-Game for the configured screenshot shortcut and Overlay setting, then launch the game through Steam and test again. If it still fails, try another Steam game; a key captured by another application or a game-specific Overlay issue can prevent the shortcut from working.

Steam’s screenshots documentation also notes that the screenshot uploader may open after quitting a game when captures were taken; that behavior can be disabled in Settings → Cloud.

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Copy or back up the files

For a straightforward backup, copy the entire game-specific screenshots folder to a location outside Steam’s installation directory. That preserves the collection and its existing filenames and timestamps. Use the viewer’s folder-opening command to confirm the source folder before copying; an online gallery is not a substitute for a local copy when you need to edit or manage the image files directly.

For more on the refreshed manager’s local and online views, see Valve’s Steam screenshot manager announcement.

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