OCR capture
Copy text from anything on your Mac screen.
Error dialogs, video captions, PDFs that block selection, and images in chat all contain text you cannot select. Shotnix runs Apple's on-device Vision framework on any region you draw and copies the result, so the text never leaves your Mac.
⌘ ⇧ OOCR capture (customizable)
How OCR capture works in Shotnix
Trigger OCR capture from the menu bar Command Center or with ⌘⇧O. Draw a selection the way you would for a normal screenshot. Shotnix recognizes the text with the Vision framework, copies it to the clipboard, and shows a toast with the result so you can confirm it read correctly.
If nothing is recognized, Shotnix tells you and leaves your existing clipboard untouched. A failed extraction never wipes what you had already copied.
Search your history by the text inside screenshots
Every screenshot in your local capture history is OCR-indexed in the background. Type a word in the history search field and Shotnix filters to captures that contain it, alongside date filtering. It is full-text search over pictures, and it runs entirely on your Mac.
Copy text from any screenshot after the fact
The post-capture overlay has a Copy Text action, so a normal screenshot can become text without recapturing. The same applies to captures you open from history.
Nothing is uploaded
Recognition uses Apple's Vision framework on-device. No image or text is sent anywhere, and Shotnix has no account, no server, and no analytics.
How to do it in Shotnix
- Press ⌘⇧OOr choose OCR capture from the Shotnix menu bar Command Center.
- Select the text regionDrag across the area that contains the text. Hold Space to move the selection instead of resizing it.
- Paste anywhereThe recognized text is already on your clipboard. A toast confirms what was read.
Questions
Which languages does Shotnix OCR support?
Shotnix uses Apple's Vision text recognition, so language coverage follows what your version of macOS supports for Live Text. Latin-script languages are the most reliable.
Does OCR work offline?
Yes. Recognition runs on-device through the Vision framework. No network connection is needed and nothing is uploaded.
Can I extract text from an existing screenshot?
Yes. Use Copy Text on the post-capture overlay, open the capture from history, or search history directly, which is OCR-indexed in the background.
How is this different from Live Text in Preview?
Live Text needs the image open in Preview, Photos, or Quick Look first. Shotnix reads text directly from a screen selection in one step, including from paused video, protected PDFs, and remote desktop sessions.
Try it on your own screen.
Shotnix is free, open source, and local. Download the notarized DMG, or star the repository if you want to follow along.
8.4 MB · macOS 13+ · signed and notarized by Apple · MIT license