OCR, screenshots, GIF clips, and annotations β from your macOS menu bar
PeekOCR is a macOS menu bar app that lets you quickly select an area of your screen to:
- copy extracted text (OCR) to the clipboard,
- save screenshots (optionally annotated),
- and record short GIF clips (ideal for sharing UI bugs/animations).
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| πΈ OCR Capture | Select an area and copy the extracted text |
| π QR Detection | Detect and copy QR contents |
| π· Screenshots | Save images with configurable format/quality/scale |
| βοΈ Live Annotation Capture | Select, adjust, annotate in-place, then export |
| ποΈ GIF Clip Capture | Record up to 10s, trim, preview, and export as GIF |
| π Capture sound | Optional shutter feedback on save (toggle + volume in Settings) |
| π History | Quickly access your last 6 captures |
| β¨οΈ Hotkeys | Customize global shortcuts in Settings |
- Download the latest version from Releases
- Open the DMG and drag
PeekOCR.appto your Applications folder - Launch PeekOCR
- Grant the required permissions when prompted
All shortcuts can be changed in Settings.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Capture text (OCR) | β§ Space |
| Capture screenshot | ββ§4 |
| Capture with annotations | ββ§5 |
| Capture GIF clip (max 10s) | ββ§6 |
OCR
- Press
β§ Space - Drag to select a region
- The extracted text is copied to your clipboard
Annotated screenshot
- Press
ββ§5 - Drag to create the capture area
- Adjust the selection by dragging corners or moving the region
- Add arrows, text, or highlights directly on the live overlay
- Move existing annotations inline, resize highlight boxes, and edit text with double click
- Use
βZto undo the last live annotation change - Press
Enterto capture and export the final annotated image
GIF Clip
- Press
ββ§6 - Select a region
- Record (auto-stops at 10s or stop early)
- Trim in/out in the editor and export as a GIF
PeekOCR needs two permissions to work properly:
| Permission | Why |
|---|---|
| Screen Recording | Capture screen content |
| Accessibility | Register global hotkeys |
Tip: PeekOCR will guide you to enable these the first time you use a capture mode.
- macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later
- Apple Silicon or Intel Mac
PeekOCR is designed to live in the macOS menu bar for long periods, so the project now prioritizes:
- OCR and image processing off the UI-critical path
- lower transient memory usage during screenshot save/export
- cleanup of temporary/partial export files on failures
- no leaked keyboard event monitors in settings
- fewer long-running polling timers in resident UI
AGENTS.md(project map + conventions)CLAUDE.md(runtime and implementation guardrails)CHANGELOG.mddocs/ARCHITECTURE.mddocs/SERVICES.mddocs/MODELS.mddocs/VIEWS.mddocs/GIF_CLIP.md
MIT License β use and modify freely
Made with β€οΈ for the macOS community