Screenshot OCR for Mac

To extract text from a screenshot on Mac with ClariRec: install from the Mac App Store, grant Screen Recording, press ⌥S, and select the region. Default OCR runs on-device via macOS Vision — no account, no ClariRec content servers.

That covers the common case when text is stuck in a chat bubble, slide, UI mockup, or scanned page, and retyping or uploading to a website is too slow.

What you can extract

ClariRec is built for repeated OCR, not one-off experiments:

  • Chat and messaging screenshots where copy is blocked or awkward
  • Presentation slides, lecture notes, and image-heavy PDFs
  • Code, logs, and error dialogs captured as images
  • Product UI, diagrams, and design mockups
  • Clipboard images from other apps (⌥V)
  • Image files opened from Finder or dragged into the app

Default System OCR stays on-device. ClariRec does not operate servers that receive your screenshots.

First-time setup

  1. Install ClariRec from the Mac App Store.
  2. Open it from the menu bar.
  3. Grant Screen Recording when prompted — required only for screenshot OCR (⌥S). ClariRec captures the region you select, not your screen continuously.
  4. Keep the default OCR engine on System unless you intentionally configure a BYOK provider later.

No account is required. Notifications are optional (useful for Silent mode). Accessibility, Camera, Microphone, and Apple Events permissions are not required.

Core workflows

Screenshot OCR (⌥S)

  1. Press ⌥S from any app.
  2. Drag to select the region that contains text.
  3. Wait for recognition (typically under 500ms for everyday screenshots on modern Macs).
  4. Use the result window, or let Silent / HUD mode handle copy with less interruption.

The selection overlay is designed not to steal focus from the app you were using, so the capture matches what you see on screen.

Clipboard image OCR (⌥V)

  1. Copy an image (or a screenshot that landed on the clipboard).
  2. Press ⌥V.
  3. ClariRec recognizes the image currently on the clipboard.

This path is useful when another app already produced the image and you do not want to re-capture the screen.

Image file OCR

Open an image from the menu bar, or drag a file into ClariRec. File access is limited to files you explicitly choose.

Result display modes

Choose the mode that matches how often you need to inspect the text:

Mode What you see Best for
Popup Floating window with source image and editable text Checking accuracy, editing typos, translating, exporting
HUD Compact pill that auto-dismisses after about 1.5s Quick confirmation without a full window
Silent Clipboard copy + system notification High-frequency capture with minimal interruption

In Popup mode, recognized text is editable. Fix an OCR typo and continue — including retranslation with ⌘⏎ — without capturing again. If OCR finds no text, you can type or paste into the empty result window.

After recognition

  • Results are copied to the clipboard by default in typical workflows
  • Export to .txt or .md when you want a file
  • When a regular table layout is detected, copy or export as a Markdown table
  • On macOS 26 with native document recognition enabled, list structures can also copy as Markdown lists
  • Smart text cleanup repairs common hyphenation and line-break issues in OCR output
  • Continue into translation when the next step is reading another language

When default System OCR is enough

Keep System OCR if you mainly need:

  • Clear UI text, chat messages, and slides
  • A fast local path with no API key
  • Offline recognition after Screen Recording is granted

This is the recommended default for most Mac screenshot OCR work.

When to use BYOK OCR (Pro)

Optional third-party OCR is useful when System OCR quality is not enough for a specific image — dense scans, unusual fonts, or languages where a remote provider performs better for you.

Important boundaries:

  • Provider setup and connection testing are free
  • Actually running remote OCR (as the default engine, or as a one-off rerun in the result window) requires ClariRec Pro, unless the device has legacy access from an earlier remote OCR setup
  • Selected images go directly to the provider or compatible endpoint you configure
  • ClariRec does not proxy that content through ClariRec-operated servers

See the API key guide for provider fields, and Local OCR for macOS for the full network boundary.

Troubleshooting

Screen Recording is denied
Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording, enable ClariRec, then try ⌥S again. Clipboard (⌥V) and file OCR do not need this permission.

Shortcut does nothing
Check Settings → Shortcuts for conflicts with other apps. Remap ⌥S / ⌥V if needed.

Text looks wrong or broken across lines
Try a tighter selection, a clearer source image, or Popup mode so you can edit the result. Smart cleanup helps with hyphenation; it cannot invent missing characters.

You need a table in Markdown
Use Popup mode and look for the table copy action when a grid layout is detected. On macOS 26, native document recognition can improve table and list structure.

You want zero cloud involvement
Keep the OCR engine on System, and do not enable BYOK OCR, cloud translation, or formula recognition. See Local OCR for macOS.

Local OCR · Translate · Markdown tables · Shortcuts · vs Live Text · FAQ

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