Extract text from anywhere on your screen (OCR). Perfect for capturing text from videos, PDFs, presentations, or any app where copying isn't possible. ■ Highlights - Extract text from anywhere on your screen - Scan QR codes and barcodes - Works completely offline - Global keyboard shortcut to activate capture - Extract text from images on clipboard or files - Drag and drop images onto menu bar icon to extract text - Optionally shows captured text in a window with the ability to edit - Enables doing multiple captures and copy as a single text ■ Supported languages - English - French - Italian - German - Spanish - Portuguese - Chinese, Simplified - Chinese, Traditional - Cantonese, Simplified - Cantonese, Traditional - Korean - Japanese - Russian - Ukrainian - Thai - Vietnamese - Arabic - Arabic, Najdi And on macOS 26 and later: - Turkish - Indonesian - Czech - Danish - Dutch - Norwegian Nynorsk - Norwegian Bokmål - Malay - Polish - Romanian - Swedish ■ FAQ ‣ How is this different from macOS Live Text? Unlike Live Text which only works in supported apps with images, this app works everywhere on your screen - including videos, webpages, and apps where Live Text isn't available. ‣ Can more languages be added? No, language support is controlled by macOS because the app uses macOS's built-in text recognition engine. More FAQs on the website. ■ Privacy Everything is done locally on your device. Nothing leaves your device. The app is not even able to connect to the internet due to self-imposed restrictions that are enforced by macOS (no network entitlement).
| Size | 4.9 MB |
|---|---|
| Initial release | |
| Price | $6.00 |
| Platforms | Mac |
| Languages | English |
| Category | Productivity |
| Website | sindresorhus.com/text-lens |
| Compatibility | |
|---|---|
| Mac | Requires macOS 15.4 or later. |
App's data is regularly updated.
Last update:
- Improved compatibility with macOS 26.
Photo home screen widgets
Month calendar, one click away
Eyes that follow your cursor
Paste as plain text by default
World clocks in your menu bar
Preview App & Menu Bar Icons
Menubar Calendar, World Clocks
Open apps & links from widgets
AI Speech-to-Text (Transcribe)
Simple notepad
Sticky Notes on Home Screen
Put text on Lock/Home Screen
Browser picker
Run shortcuts from the menubar
Share files from menu bar
Convert HEIC to JPEG or PNG
Keeps your computer awake
Online status in your menu bar
Cut and paste files & folders
The built-in color picker
Your Instant Mirror
Contacts on Lock & Home Screen
Send links from iOS to a Mac
Redact parts of an image
Create and view color palettes
Inspect the system pasteboards
AI-powered Shortcuts
Check your internet speed
Time's Tally, No Dilly-Dally
Quickly draft notes and ideas
Calendar events in menu bar
The Current Week Number
Conquer one task at a time
Useful actions for Shortcuts
Put one task in your menu bar
The missing clock
Remaining battery time/percent
Time awareness in your menubar
Put folders in the menu bar
Supercharge system share menu
A website as desktop wallpaper
Simple audio recorder
Additional actions for the Shortcuts app on Mac
Another clock in the menu bar
AI magic powers on your wrist
Sketch, Imagine, Unleash!
Text-to-Image Stable Diffusion
Make awesome blurry wallpapers
Switch default browser from your menu bar
Generate random numbers
Show time in menu bar & widget
Group your menu bar items
Elevate your Mac experience
Customize the gap between menu bar items
Convert videos to quality GIFs
Easy access to ChatGPT