How to Copy Text from Images and Screenshots on Mac

You screenshot an error message. Or a slide from a presentation. Or a recipe from a video. The text is right there in the image — but you can't select it, copy it, or search for it.

That's where OCR comes in. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) reads text from images and turns it into selectable, copyable text. And on macOS, you don't need a separate app to do it.

The built-in option: Live Text

macOS Monterey and later include Live Text, which can detect text in images in certain apps — Preview, Photos, Quick Look, and Safari. Hover over text in an image and you'll see a text cursor appear.

It works, but it has limitations:

• Only available in specific Apple apps
• Doesn't work on screenshots in your clipboard
• Can't extract text from images in third-party apps
• No way to batch-process or extract text from clipboard history

If you need OCR that works everywhere, on any image, at any time — you need something more.

OCR in Superclip

Superclip has built-in OCR powered by Apple's Vision framework. It works on any image in your clipboard history — screenshots, copied images, saved files.

How to use it

1. Copy or screenshot an image. Use Cmd+Shift+4 for a screenshot, or copy any image from any app.

2. Open Superclip. Press Cmd+Shift+A to bring up your clipboard history.

3. Select the image. Navigate to the image using arrow keys or click on it.

4. Extract text. Click the OCR button (or use the keyboard shortcut) to extract all text from the image.

5. Copy the result. The extracted text is copied to your clipboard, ready to paste anywhere.

That's it. No separate app, no upload to a web service, no waiting.

What it works on

• Screenshots — Error messages, UI text, code from videos
• Photos — Signs, menus, documents, business cards
• PDFs rendered as images — Scanned documents, exported slides
• Any copied image — From browsers, design tools, messaging apps

Privacy

All OCR processing happens locally on your Mac using Apple's Vision framework. Nothing is sent to the cloud. Your images stay on your device. Learn more about Superclip's privacy approach.

Alternatives for Mac OCR

If you're looking at other options, here's how they compare:

| Tool | Price | Works on clipboard? | Local processing? | |---|---|---|---| | Superclip | Free (first 1,000 users) | Yes | Yes | | macOS Live Text | Free | No (app-specific) | Yes | | TextSniper | $7.99 | No | Yes | | CleanShot X | $29+ | No | Yes | | Google Lens | Free | No | No (cloud) |

Superclip is the only option that combines clipboard history with OCR. Copy an image, and the text is one click away — right where you already manage your clips. See the installation guide to get started.

Common use cases

Developers

Screenshot an error message or stack trace, extract the text, and paste it into your search engine or bug tracker. No more retyping error codes.

Students and researchers

Capture text from slides, PDFs, or video lectures. Extract it and paste it into your notes. Great for citations and quotes from non-selectable sources.

Designers

Pull text from mockups, screenshots, or reference images. Get the exact wording without asking the copywriter to resend it.

Everyone

Read a recipe from a photo. Grab a phone number from a screenshot. Copy an address from an image. Any text in any image, instantly copyable.

Getting started

OCR is built into Superclip — no plugins, no setup, no extra cost. It works on every image in your clipboard history.

Download Superclip free and start copying text from images.