How To Find the Steam Screenshots Folder | Skip The Hunt

Steam saves screenshots in per-game userdata folders, and its desktop viewer can open the exact folder with Show on Disk.

Steam hides each game’s captures behind two numeric folders, so digging through userdata by hand is slower than letting the client point to the file. For anyone working out how to find the Steam screenshots folder, the current desktop client gives you the exact location from View > Recordings & Screenshots.

The manual paths below also work when Steam will not open the folder for you. They cover Windows, macOS, Linux, Steam Deck Desktop Mode, and the separate external-copy folder you can choose in Steam’s settings.

Where Does Steam Store Screenshots?

Steam normally stores each game’s screenshots inside your Steam installation under userdata//760/remote//screenshots. The two numbers identify your local Steam account folder and the game whose images you captured.

The easiest method avoids those numbers entirely. Open Steam, choose View > Recordings & Screenshots, select the screenshot you want, right-click it, and choose Show on Disk; your file manager opens the folder containing that game’s local Steam screenshots.

Open The Folder From Steam

Steam’s built-in viewer is the most dependable choice because it jumps to the correct account and game folder without making you identify either number. Use this method first when the screenshot is visible inside Steam.

1. Open the Steam desktop client and sign in to the account that took the screenshot.
2. Select View in the top menu, then choose Recordings & Screenshots.
3. Select the game or screenshot you need so the image is visible in the viewer.
4. Right-click the screenshot and choose Show on Disk.

File Explorer, Finder, or your Linux file manager should open directly to the matching screenshots folder. The image you selected should be visible there as a local file, which confirms you are in the correct per-game directory.

Finding The Steam Screenshot Folder When The Numbers Get In The Way

The numbered folders are easier to read once you know what each level represents. Steam does not name those folders after your profile or game, so opening a screenshot from the client is still simpler when several accounts or games share the same PC.

Inside userdata, each numeric account folder belongs to a Steam account that has local data on that installation. Inside that account folder, 760/remote contains per-game screenshot data, and each folder points to one Steam game.

• userdata holds local data separated by Steam account.
• is Steam’s numeric local account folder.
• 760 is the Steam data directory used for screenshot storage.
• remote separates data into game-specific folders.
• is the numeric Steam app ID for one game.
• screenshots contains the local screenshot image files.
• thumbnails, when present, contains smaller preview images rather than the full screenshots.

Steam Screenshot Locations By System

Steam keeps the same numbered folder pattern across desktop operating systems, but the Steam root folder changes. The table below gives the common locations plus the two cases that cause the most confusion: a custom Steam install and an external-copy folder.

Set A Separate Folder For New Screenshot Copies

Steam can place an extra copy of future screenshots in a folder you choose, which is useful if you edit, upload, or back up captures often. The original Steam-managed screenshot library still uses its own internal data structure, so the custom location should be treated as an extra destination rather than a replacement for every older file.

Open Steam > Settings > In Game, scroll to Screenshots, enable Save an external copy of my screenshots, and choose the External screenshots folder. Valve’s current Recordings & Screenshots documentation also confirms that the desktop viewer lives under View > Recordings & Screenshots.

Take a new screenshot after turning the external-copy setting on, then open the folder you selected. A new image appearing there confirms the setting is working; screenshots created before you enabled it are not automatically moved into that folder.

Why Can’t You Find A Screenshot You Just Took?

A missing file usually comes down to one of four things: the wrong account or app folder, Steam’s screenshot capture did not run, an external-copy setting was enabled after the image was taken, or the screenshot came from another capture tool. Work from the symptom instead of opening random numbered folders.

Steam’s default screenshot shortcut is F12, and Steam’s screenshot feature depends on the Steam Overlay. If a new capture never appears in Recordings & Screenshots, fix the capture setting before spending time searching the disk.

Choose Your File Access Method

The Steam client is the most direct starting point when the screenshot still appears in the viewer, while the manual path is useful for backups, batch copying, or a client that will not open the folder. A separate external folder makes future captures easier to reach without changing where Steam keeps its managed library.

1. Use View > Recordings & Screenshots and Show on Disk for one known screenshot.
2. Use the userdata//760/remote//screenshots path when you need to browse files manually.
3. Use Save an external copy of my screenshots when you want future captures collected in a folder you choose.
4. If the image never enters Steam’s viewer, check the screenshot shortcut, Steam Overlay, or the separate tool that created the capture.

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