Firefox has a built-in screenshot tool that most people don't know about. Here's what it does, where it is, and when to use it over external tools.
The Built-in Firefox Screenshot Tool
Press Shift+F10 or right-click any page → "Take Screenshot."
Or use the keyboard shortcut if you've set one up (covered below).
The screenshot tool offers:
Save visible area — captures exactly what you see on screen in the current viewport.
Save full page — captures the entire page, scrolling to include content below the fold. Generates a single tall image.
Select region — draw a rectangle to capture any part of the page. Hover over elements for smart snapping (snaps to element boundaries).
The output is a PNG. You can download it directly or copy to clipboard.
Accessing It Quickly
The screenshot tool isn't in the default toolbar. To add a button:
- Right-click the Firefox toolbar → Customize Toolbar
- Find "Screenshot" in the panel
- Drag it to your toolbar
Or use the address bar command shortcut — type screenshot in the address bar and press Enter (works if you have the command palette enabled).
Full-Page Screenshots
The "Save full page" feature is the most useful capability. It captures an entire scrollable page as one image, even if it's 10 screens tall.
Use cases:
- Documenting a web page for reference
- Capturing a whole GitHub issue thread
- Preserving a page that might change
- Sharing a complete view of a design or mockup
The full page capture respects the page's actual layout — responsive breakpoints stay at the current window width.
Region Selection and Smart Snapping
When you choose region capture, hovering over elements shows a blue outline — the tool snaps to element boundaries. This makes it easy to capture:
- A specific card or component
- A form
- A section of a page
- A specific chart or table
Click and drag to capture any rectangle.
keyboard shortcut
Firefox doesn't have a global shortcut for screenshots by default. Set one up:
- Go to
about:addons→ Extensions → Screenshot → three-dot menu → Manage Extension Shortcuts - Or:
about:addons→ Settings (gear) → Manage Extension Keyboard Shortcuts
Note: Screenshot is a built-in feature, not technically an extension, so the shortcut path is different — configure via the Customize Toolbar menu or use the Keyboard Shortcuts addon settings.
The cleanest approach: use a system-level screenshot tool (on Linux: gnome-screenshot, flameshot; on macOS: Cmd+Shift+4; on Windows: Win+Shift+S) for global screenshots, and Firefox's built-in for full-page captures.
Where Screenshots Are Saved
When you click "Download" in the Firefox screenshot tool, the file goes to your system's Downloads folder.
The filename format: Screenshot [date] at [time].png
If you choose "Copy" instead of "Download," it copies to clipboard for immediate pasting.
About:Screenshots Page
Firefox has a dedicated page: about:screenshots — shows your recent screenshots (if you've used the tool and saved them to Firefox's own storage, not downloaded).
Note: This is separate from downloaded files. Firefox can store screenshots in a built-in gallery. Depending on your version, this may or may not be enabled.
Comparing to External Tools
| Tool | Best for |
|---|---|
| Firefox built-in | Full-page captures, no install needed |
| Flameshot (Linux) | System-wide screenshots with annotation |
| Greenshot (Windows) | Full-featured with upload options |
| macOS Cmd+Shift+4 | Quick region select |
| Browser DevTools (screenshot cmd) | Precise element capture in DevTools |
For web developers needing to capture specific elements precisely:
In DevTools console:
// Open DevTools → Console → run:
document.querySelector('.your-element').scrollIntoView();
Then use the Firefox screenshot tool with region selection to capture that element cleanly.
The DevTools also has a screenshot command: in DevTools, click the three-dot menu → take screenshot (captures the current viewport).
Firefox's built-in screenshot tool covers most browser-screenshot use cases without installing anything. The full-page capture is the standout feature — no other native browser tool does this as well.
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