Free shortcut · The screenshot saver

Take a screenshot, then file it where you'll find it.

A screenshot is usually something you meant to come back to. A recipe, a confirmation number, a date on a flyer. Then it sits in the camera roll between photos of your kids until you can't find it. The screenshot saver gives it a place. Share the screenshot to it, give it a word, tell it where it goes, and it's filed.

What it does

You run it from the share sheet on the screenshot you want to keep. It asks for a word to file the screenshot under, then asks where to file it, and saves it there in Notes.

What you need

An iPhone with the Shortcuts app. This one is built by hand, step by step below.

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Running iOS 27?

Two things look different in Shortcuts. When you create a new shortcut, the first screen asks you to describe it in words. Skip that and tap Edit in the top right to get to the action list the steps below use. Some phones skip the describe screen and land on the action list straight away. And automations no longer have their own tab. The trigger now sits at the top of the shortcut itself, as the first block. The steps below are written for iOS 27, with a short note under each trigger step for iOS 26 and earlier.

If you set up before updating, nothing changes. Your automations moved over on their own. The steps below build everything by hand so everyone gets the same result, whichever version you are on.

The screenshot saver

File a screenshot with one word, then find it later.

What it does: files every screenshot into a note, lets you choose where it lands, and tags it with a word so you can search it later. One tap from the share sheet, and it clears the screenshot off your camera roll.

Build 5 min App Shortcuts Via Share sheet

The steps

1

Open Shortcuts and tap the plus to create a new shortcut. If you see a screen asking what you want the shortcut to do, tap Edit in the top right. If you land straight on the action list, you are already there. Some phones skip the describe screen.

2

Add Get Latest Screenshot, keep it set to 1.

3

Add Ask for Input → Text → ask "What is this screenshot?" This is your searchable word.

4

Add Set Variable, name it Searchable word, set it to the Ask for Input.

5

Add Choose from Menu with two options: Folder and Running note.

6

Under Folder → Create Note → the screenshot and your word → Folder: Screenshots.

7

Under Running note → Append to Note → the screenshot and your word → your Screenshots note.

8

After the menu, add Delete Photos → the screenshot, so it clears from your camera roll.

9

Tap the i, turn on Show in Share Sheet, and name it.

10

To use it: take a screenshot → tap share → tap the shortcut → type your word → pick where it goes.

Fix · it still says "Delete Photos"

This is where most people quit. Tap the blue word in the Delete action and switch it to Latest Screenshots. If it still reads "Delete Photos," the variable is not selected and your camera roll won't clear.

Fix · it is not in the share menu

Show in Share Sheet is off. Tap the i inside the shortcut and turn it on, then it appears under View More when you tap share.

Fix · stuck on step 5, the Choose from Menu part

This is the step most people name. After you add Choose from Menu, tap the grey Prompt line to label it, then tap each option row to type its name, Folder and Running note. If the options look blank, you have not typed them in yet, tap into each one and type the word.

Fix · it asks for text but no keyboard comes up

The Ask for Input step is waiting for you to type. Tap once on the input area near the bottom of the screen and the keyboard opens, then type your word and press Done. If nothing appears, scroll up and tap the input field again so it is selected.

Fix · at the share step I only see shared album

You are looking at the photo's own share options, not the shortcut. Scroll down past AirDrop and the row of apps to the list of actions, and tap the shortcut by its name. If it is not there, open the shortcut, tap the i, and turn on Show in Share Sheet.

Fix · my phone has no Delete latest screenshots option

The action itself is called Delete Photos. Add it, then tap the blue word inside it and choose Latest Screenshots as what it deletes. On older iOS it may be listed as Delete Images, the steps are the same.

Fix · why file into Notes instead of Files

Notes lets you search by the word you typed and syncs across your devices, and the whole thing stays one tap. If you would rather use Files, swap Create Note in step 6 for Save File and point it at a Screenshots folder.

Don't want to build it? There is a one-tap version you install from an iCloud link, no steps to follow. It includes this saver plus a shortcut that clears the thousands of screenshots already sitting in your camera roll.

Get it for $4.99 →

Good to know.

Run it right after you take the screenshot, while you still remember why you took it.

For the screenshots already sitting on your camera roll, Screenshot Cleanup walks you through them ten at a time.

See every free automation in the library →

Screenshot a recipe, and dinner starts there.

In the Automation Kit, a screenshot of a recipe saves itself to a recipes note, and when you pick the week's dinners, the ingredients go on your grocery list.

See the Automation Kit →