SnipText

SnipText is a macOS utility that captures a selected screen area, recognizes its text, and copies the result to the clipboard. Screenshots can optionally be saved as image files.

Requirements

• macOS
• Xcode Command Line Tools
• Homebrew

Install the project tools and Qt 6:

xcode-select --install # Skip if already installed
brew bundle

Tesseract, Leptonica, and the English OCR model are downloaded automatically by CMake. They are kept inside the build directory and are not installed globally.

Build and run

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build
open build/SnipText.app

SnipText starts in the macOS menu bar without opening a window or adding a Dock icon. Use the menu-bar icon to capture an area, change settings, open the optional window, or quit the app.

The first configuration needs an internet connection. Later builds reuse the downloaded dependencies.

Grant SnipText screen-recording access when macOS requests it. The setting is under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording.

Additional OCR languages

English is bundled by default. To include other languages, configure with Tesseract's three-letter language codes. For example, German and English:

cmake -S . -B build -DSNIPTEXT_OCR_LANGUAGES="eng;deu"
cmake --build build

See the Tesseract language list for available codes.

Package

Create a relocatable app bundle in dist:

cmake --install build --prefix dist

Create an unsigned DMG:

cmake --build build --target package

Public distribution additionally requires Apple code signing and notarization.