Extract text from a picture
The text in a photo or image is not something you can select, so you end up retyping it. Screenshot it instead: press one shortcut, drag over the words, and they are on your clipboard, clean and paste-able. No app to upload to, no converting.
Requires macOS 13+ on an Apple Silicon Mac · no account needed
Picture to text in three steps
No new windows, no uploads, no file conversions. As easy as copy and paste.
Open the picture
A photo, a screenshot, a sign, a label, a whiteboard, anything.
Press ⌘⇧7 and drag
Box the text in the image. It works in any app.
Paste it anywhere
Clean text on your clipboard, ready to use.
Can't select it? Screenshot it.
Snap a photo, lift the text out, and paste it wherever you need it.
Screenshot text from a photo
Snap a photo of a sign, label, or whiteboard, then press ⌘⇧7 to lift the text out.
Paste it straight into your notes
Now it's on your clipboard. Press ⌘V to paste into Notes, a message, anywhere.
Extracting text from pictures
Everything you need to know.
Yes. The text in a photo is part of the image, so you cannot select it. Screenshot Text reads it with on-device OCR and gives you editable text you can paste.
Yes. A screenshot, a saved image, a frame of a video, or a photo all work the same way. If the text is visible, you can capture it.
No. There is no website to upload to and no file to convert. Recognition runs on-device with Apple's Vision framework, so the image never leaves your Mac.
OCR works across 14 languages out of the box, and the language is auto-detected, so there is nothing to set up.
Yes, free for 5 captures a day with AI cleanup included. A one-time $49 Lifetime makes it unlimited. No subscription.
Still have a question?
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Stop retyping what's already on your screen.
Grab any text in one keystroke. Free to try, $49 to own for life, and it all runs on your Mac.
macOS 13+ on Apple Silicon · no account needed