OCR, screenshots, GIF clips, and annotations — 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 |
|---|---|
| 📸 OCR Capture | Select an area and copy the extracted text |
| 🔗 QR Detection | Detect and copy QR contents |
| 📷 Screenshots | Save images with configurable format/quality/scale |
| ✍️ Annotation Editor | Capture with annotations, then export |
| 🎞️ GIF Clip Capture | Record up to 10s, trim, preview, and export as GIF |
| 🕘 History | Quickly access your last 6 captures |
| ⌨️ 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) | ⇧ Space |
| Capture screenshot | ⌘⇧4 |
| Capture with annotations | ⌘⇧5 |
| Capture GIF clip (max 10s) | ⌘⇧6 |
OCR
- Press
⇧ Space - Drag to select a region
- The extracted text is copied to your clipboard
GIF Clip
- Press
⌘⇧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
AGENTS.md(project map + conventions)docs/ARCHITECTURE.mddocs/SERVICES.mddocs/MODELS.mddocs/VIEWS.mddocs/GIF_CLIP.md
MIT License — use and modify freely
Made with ❤️ for the macOS community