SwiftBiu Logo

SwiftBiu

OCR on macOS

Capture screen text on Mac, then act on it

SwiftBiu OCR is for text you can see but cannot select. Trigger OCR, draw a region around the text, and continue with copy, translation, AI, or another text action without leaving the app you are working in.

Download SwiftBiu Read the OCR guide

Quick answer

Quick answer

On macOS, SwiftBiu can recognize text from a user-selected screen region. After recognition, the text can be copied, translated, summarized, or routed into supported text actions and SwiftBiuX plugins.

Verified 2026-08-12

What SwiftBiu OCR does

crop_free

Region capture

Press the OCR shortcut and draw a rectangle around the screen text you want to recognize.

content_copy

Copy or translate

Choose whether recognized text should be copied, translated, or shown before you decide what to do next.

call_split

Route text into actions

Treat OCR output like selected text and send it to built-in text actions, AI workflows, or compatible SwiftBiuX plugins.

Useful OCR workflows

1

Copy text from an image or video frame

When text is visible but not selectable, frame only the text you need, recognize it, and copy the result to the clipboard.

  1. 1. Trigger OCR
  2. 2. Draw the screen region
  3. 3. Recognize and copy the text
2

Translate unselectable screen text

Capture labels, subtitles, screenshots, or interface text and pass the recognized text directly into a translation action.

  1. 1. Capture the text
  2. 2. Recognize locally
  3. 3. Run Translate
3

Send screen text to AI or a plugin

Use OCR as the input step, then continue with summarization, rewriting, extraction, or your own SwiftBiuX text workflow.

  1. 1. Capture with OCR
  2. 2. Review the recognized text
  3. 3. Choose an AI or plugin action

See the OCR setting in SwiftBiu

SwiftBiu exposes OCR recognition as a configurable native workflow. The screenshot below shows the OCR recognition settings used by the current macOS app.

Read the OCR section in the guide →
SwiftBiu OCR recognition settings on macOS

What to know before using OCR

  • info OCR starts only when you explicitly trigger it and choose a screen region.
  • info Recognition quality depends on how clearly the source text is rendered on screen.
  • info Local OCR does not require sending the captured text to an external service; external translation or AI services are contacted only when you explicitly run an action that needs them.

OCR on Mac FAQ

Yes. Trigger OCR, draw a region around the visible text, and SwiftBiu can recognize the text so you can copy it or continue with another action.
Yes. Recognized OCR text can be routed into the Translate action instead of requiring a separate copy-and-paste step.
Yes. SwiftBiu can treat OCR output like selected text and pass it into supported text actions, AI workflows, or compatible SwiftBiuX plugins.
No. OCR recognition is local. Text is sent to an external translation or AI service only when you explicitly trigger an action that requires that service.

Go deeper

OCR section in the User Guide

See the OCR settings and the surrounding text-action workflow.

Copy text from an image

Use a focused OCR workflow to turn visible image text into reusable text without retyping it.

OCR and translate screen text

Capture unselectable text, recognize it locally, and continue directly into Translate.

SwiftBiu Plugin Library

Explore actions that can continue from selected or recognized text.

Build a SwiftBiuX plugin

Create a custom text workflow that can consume OCR output.

Turn visible text into an action

Install SwiftBiu for macOS, trigger OCR when text cannot be selected, and continue with the exact action you need.

Download SwiftBiu Read the OCR guide