What it does
Claude Code reads images you paste or attach—screenshots, error dialogs, UI layouts, diagrams, charts, code on a whiteboard. After you paste, Claude processes it with vision to understand what's shown: the text, structure, visual state, and context. This means you can show instead of describing when explaining a bug, asking for UI feedback, or referencing a design.
Paste an image by:
- Inline: Ctrl+V or Cmd+V in the message box
- Attachment: Click the attachment icon or drag-drop into chat
- Copy-paste from anywhere: Screenshot tool, browser, Figma, Slack, file explorer
Claude sees the full image and can answer questions about it, extract text, debug visual issues, or suggest changes.
When to use it
Screenshots of bugs beat text descriptions. Show the exact error message, stack trace rendering, or broken UI layout instead of typing it out. Claude sees colors, alignment, fonts, shadows—context that text misses.
UI review: "Does this button look clickable?" Paste a screenshot of your component in the browser. Claude critiques alignment, contrast, hover states, and spacing against the design system.
Diagram or chart feedback: Paste a Figma design, wireframe, or data viz. Claude can describe what's there, spot inconsistencies, or suggest improvements.
Code on paper or whiteboard: Photograph your sketch or handwritten algorithm. Claude can read it and help translate to code.
Clarify ambiguous requirements: A screenshot of a Figma spec, Linear ticket, or Slack thread with a design mockup is clearer than a paraphrase.
Try it yourself
Take a screenshot of your app or an open pull request showing a UI change you're working on. Paste it into a new Claude Code message and ask Claude to review the layout, spot accessibility issues, or suggest a style improvement. Claude will describe what it sees and give concrete feedback based on the visual state.
Gotchas
Text extraction isn't OCR. Claude reads printed text in screenshots well, but handwriting, low-res photos of screens, or blurry images fail. Use screenshots from your editor or browser, not phone photos of monitors.
File size and format matter. Paste PNG, JPG, GIF, or WebP. Very large files (>5MB) may be resized. Very small text in images (< 8pt) often doesn't render readably in Claude's view.
Vision doesn't replace code review. Claude sees what the UI shows, not why the code does it. If a bug requires reading the full component tree or understanding state flow, you still need to share the code.
No live interaction. Claude sees a static snapshot. If you need to know "does this work when I hover?" or "what happens after I click?", you're describing a behavior—paste a screenshot of the broken state and describe the user action that led to it.
Dark mode screenshots matter. If your app has light/dark theme toggle, the screenshot shows only one. Test both manually or paste both states if the bug is theme-specific.
Try it yourself
Type the command in the fake terminal. Nothing leaves your browser.