How to export your data from CleanShot X

CleanShot X is a local-first macOS app, so most of your 'data' (screenshots, recordings, annotated .cleanshot project files) already lives on disk in PNG, GIF, MP4 or the editable .cleanshot format. The only thing you actually need to pull out before cancelling is content stored in CleanShot Cloud (shared links, hosted videos/screenshots), which you download from the Cloud web dashboard or the in-app Quick Access Overlay.

Formats: PNG, GIF, MP4, .cleanshot (editable project file)Plan: Any CleanShot X license — a CleanShot Cloud account is included free with every license; no separate paid tier is required to view or download your own capturesRole: Individual users can download their own captures anytime; a workspace Admin/Owner role is needed to manage team-wide Cloud settings like SSO/SCIM before offboarding the whole team

✓ Verified against CleanShot X's official documentation, October 2026

Step by step

1Right after capturing, use the Quick Access Overlay pop-up to save, copy, or drag-and-drop the screenshot/recording straight to Finder or another app — this is the fastest way to grab a local copy of a fresh capture.
2Open CleanShot's capture history (menu bar icon) to recover and save out anything captured recently — CleanShot stores up to 1 month of capture history locally.
3For items you already uploaded, log in to your Cloud account at cleanshot.com/cloud.
4In the Cloud dashboard, use search, tags, or transcripts to locate everything you've hosted, since captures are kept in one searchable place.
5Open each hosted screenshot or recording and download the original file (image/video) individually — CleanShot's docs do not describe a single 'export all' or bulk-download wizard.
6If you annotated anything and want to keep it editable later, re-save it as a .cleanshot project file rather than just the flattened PNG/MP4.
7If you're on a team plan with SSO/SCIM, have an Admin review and offboard team members/domains in the Cloud admin settings before cancelling.
8For invoices or license records (e.g., for expense reports), generate them yourself via the License Manager rather than Cloud, since billing and Cloud storage are handled separately.

What the export includes

✓Local screenshots and recordings already saved to your Mac as PNG, GIF, or MP4 files — these were never locked into CleanShot in the first place
✓Annotated screenshots saved as the editable .cleanshot project file format
✓Anything uploaded to CleanShot Cloud: screenshots, 4K videos, and their shareable links
✓Video transcriptions attached to Cloud-hosted recordings
✓Comments/collaboration left on Cloud-hosted items
✓Up to 1 month of local capture history for quick recovery of recent captures

What it doesn't include

✗No documented single-click 'export my workspace/account' tool — downloads from Cloud are per item, not a bulk ZIP/archive
✗No CSV or JSON export of metadata (tags, link settings, comment threads) — only the media files themselves
✗Capture history older than 1 month if it was never manually saved to Cloud or Finder
✗Team/SSO/SCIM configuration itself (roles, domain rules) isn't something you 'export' — it has to be manually reconfigured in whatever tool you move to

Before you start

⚠CleanShot Cloud login isn't required to use CleanShot X at all — it's purely for upload/sharing, so don't assume you need an active Cloud session to keep your local files
⚠Local capture history is capped at about 1 month, so recover anything you need from it before it ages out
⚠There's no vendor-documented bulk export/download-all button for Cloud content — budget time to open and save hosted items one by one, especially for teams with a lot of shared links
⚠Billing/invoices live in the separate License Manager (licenses.cleanshot.com), not in the Cloud dashboard, so don't look for receipts in the same place as your media

Where to take your data

Free and cheaper tools that can take a CleanShot X export. See all CleanShot X alternatives →

Shottr

Shottr doesn't require an import step — just move your exported PNG/GIF/MP4 files into whatever folder Shottr watches, or open them directly; Shottr reads standard image/video files and doesn't lock in CleanShot's .cleanshot project format, so flatten annotations before leaving if you want them preserved as pixels.

Monosnap

Drop your downloaded screenshots/recordings into Monosnap's local library or re-upload them to Monosnap's own cloud; there's no direct CleanShot-to-Monosnap migration tool, so this is a manual file copy.

CloudApp

Re-upload the downloaded screenshots/videos to CloudApp to get new CloudApp share links; old CleanShot Cloud links will stop working once you cancel, so update any embedded/shared links after re-uploading.

Exporting from CleanShot X: common questions

Do I lose my screenshots if I cancel CleanShot X?+

No. Screenshots and recordings saved locally (PNG, GIF, MP4, or .cleanshot) stay on your Mac as regular files regardless of your license status. Only content that exists exclusively in CleanShot Cloud needs to be downloaded first.

Can I bulk-export everything from CleanShot Cloud at once?+

CleanShot's own pages don't document a one-click bulk export or ZIP download. You download hosted screenshots/videos individually from the Cloud dashboard.

What format are my annotated screenshots saved in?+

Annotated screenshots can be saved as the editable .cleanshot project file, in addition to the flattened PNG. Flatten to PNG if the destination app won't understand .cleanshot.

Do I need a CleanShot Cloud account to use the app?+

No — a free Cloud account comes with every license, but Cloud is only used for uploading/sharing and isn't required for core screenshot/recording features.

Where do I get my invoice before cancelling?+

Invoices are generated from the License Manager (licenses.cleanshot.com) via the receipt email, not from the Cloud dashboard.

Will my shared CleanShot Cloud links keep working after I cancel?+

Once you leave, previously shared Cloud links are expected to stop resolving since they depend on an active Cloud account, so re-upload anything you still need to share elsewhere before cancelling.