Claude Code supports pasting images directly from your clipboard. Great for visual debugging, UI work, and sharing error screenshots.
The workflow on macOS:
- Press Shift + Command + Control + 4 to capture a screenshot to your clipboard (not to a file)
- Select the area you want to capture
- In Claude Code, press Ctrl + V (not Cmd + V) to paste the image
Important: The paste shortcut in Claude Code is Ctrl+V, not the usual macOS Cmd+V. This trips up many users.
Use cases:
- Debug UI issues: Screenshot a broken layout and ask Claude to fix the CSS
- Share error dialogs: Capture an error message from a GUI application
- Reference designs: Paste a mockup and ask Claude to implement it
- Browser DevTools: Screenshot network errors, console output, or element inspectors
Alternative: drag and drop
You can also hold Shift while dragging a file into the Claude Code terminal to reference it directly.
Pro tip: If Claude can’t fetch a webpage or access a URL you need it to see, use Cmd+A to select all the content on the page, copy it, and paste it directly into Claude Code. Works well for content Claude can’t directly access.