Global hotkey capture
Start a capture from anywhere with Control-Option-T, or re-record the shortcut in Settings. Press Esc at any time to cancel.
Open source · macOS 14+ · Universal binary · Screen & OCR
Drag a box over text.
Read it in your language.
Press Control-Option-T, drag over any text on screen, and a floating card shows the translation. Recognition and translation both run on your Mac.
Free & MIT licensed · Apple Silicon & Intel · Latest release
Features
Translate what you can't select.
Videos, games, images, PDFs and apps: if it's on screen, ScreenTextTranslate can read it.
On-device OCR and detection
Apple's Vision framework reads the text, retries rotated to catch vertical lines, and NaturalLanguage detects the source language. Favorite source languages improve recognition.
Floating result card
See the original, the translation and a target-language popup next to your selection. Copy either text, or press Esc to dismiss.
Overlay mode
Paint the translated lines directly over a snapshot of the original region. Overlay mode requires macOS 15 or later.
History and auto-copy
Recent translations stay in the menu, from 5 to 100 entries, with copy actions for the original and the translation. Turn on auto-copy to skip the extra click.
Private by design
No network calls, analytics or third-party dependencies. Captured images are processed in memory and never saved or sent anywhere.
Screenshots
See it in action.
Install
Up and running in a minute.
ScreenTextTranslate is open source and not notarized with a paid Apple Developer ID, so macOS needs one extra step the first time.
- Download ScreenTextTranslate-macOS.zip and unzip it.
- Move ScreenTextTranslate.app to your Applications folder.
- Clear the quarantine flag once, then right-click the app and choose Open:
xattr -cr /Applications/ScreenTextTranslate.app
- When prompted, allow Screen Recording for ScreenTextTranslate in System Settings → Privacy Security → Screen System Audio Recording, then quit and reopen the app.
Download
Get ScreenTextTranslate for macOS
Free, forever. Built for macOS 14 Sonoma or newer, Apple Silicon and Intel.
Not notarized: on first launch right-click ScreenTextTranslate.app → Open.
- macOS 14 Sonoma+
- Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel)
- MIT licensed · open source
- No ads, no accounts, no telemetry
- Built with Claude Code · how and why
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is ScreenTextTranslate really free and open source?
Yes. It is released under the MIT license, and the full source is on GitHub. There are no accounts, subscriptions or API keys, and an optional Support button links to Ko-fi.
What permissions does it need?
Screen Recording is required so the app can capture the region you select. Launch at login is optional and only used if you enable it. It does not request Accessibility or Microphone access, and the hotkey needs no permission.
Where is my data stored?
Settings are stored in the app's preferences, and your recent translations are kept in a small JSON file in Application Support on your Mac. Captured images are processed in memory and are not saved to disk or sent anywhere.
Why isn't the app notarized?
Notarization requires a paid Apple Developer account, and this is a free project. Right-click the app and choose Open once to get past Gatekeeper, or build it yourself from source with Xcode.
Was this written by AI?
Yes. ScreenTextTranslate was generated by Claude Code from a written spec as a clean-room reimplementation, with no code or assets from any commercial app. The full source is on GitHub under MIT, so you can read every line before you run it. It has had less human review than a hand-written app, so bug reports are welcome.
Support ❤️
Built by one person, given away for free.
ScreenTextTranslate is a free, open-source alternative to paid utilities. If it earns a spot on your Mac, a coffee keeps the updates coming.
☕ Support Or on Ko-fi