Any screenshot you've taken, back from one word.
You keep using the system shortcut, CleanShot, or Shottr — whatever you like. Shotbox sits underneath, auto-reads the text, titles it, and makes it Spotlight-searchable. Days later, type a few words and the original comes back with its text and source.
On-device OCR
Apple Vision runs the recognition on your Mac — no servers for OCR, and it works fully offline.
No account · read-only originals
No signup, no cloud. It only reads to build the index — never modifies or deletes. Your originals are always yours to open directly.
Barely any permissions
Passive saving needs zero permissions. The one-click region capture asks for Screen Recording once — like every screenshot tool. It never asks for full-disk access.
The app sends anonymous usage stats only (never screenshots or content) — switchable off in Settings. This site uses Cloudflare analytics for page views.
Other tools either take the shot or store it — almost none sit under the screenshot tools you already use and quietly turn the shots you're already taking into searchable ones. No new shutter, no new habits, all on-device.
That shot from three days ago — back from one word
Remember "aws timeout," "boarding pass," or "the $24 one" — you're searching the actual text inside the image, not a name you gave it.
- ✓Returns the original image along with its extracted text and source app
- ✓Codes, amounts, order numbers, and URLs auto-extracted as one-tap fields
- ✓No tags, no folders, no import — the index grows itself
You shoot as usual; it catches most automatically
- ✓System shortcut, CleanShot, Shottr, chat apps that land on disk — most are caught automatically
- !Editor-only shots that never hit disk, pure cloud-direct uploads, clipboard-only shots never pasted, permission-denied folders — these aren't caught, and we don't pretend to
- ✓Every saved shot gets a "Saved · searchable" receipt bottom-right — saved means it tells you; no receipt means not caught, you know on the spot
Who gets the most out of it
A swipe file for devs & creators
Errors, PR comments, API docs, commands, design references — screenshot on the fly. OCR makes code and text searchable; same-topic shots gather on their own, ready to pull in bulk when you write or debug.
Your desktop stops being a graveyard
Dozens a day piling up, never reopened — the offhand ones sink, the important ones rise. Clean desktop, nothing lost, and every shot searchable when you need it.
Receipts in a second
OTPs, order numbers, WiFi passwords, boarding passes — search a word, one-tap copy. Nothing private ever leaves the Mac.
Three steps — then forget it's there
Drag to Applications
Download the .dmg and drag it into Applications. It lives in the menu bar and runs quietly in the background — install and forget.
You keep shooting
⇧⌘4 to the desktop, or a custom hotkey for one-click region capture — Shotbox catches it underneath, zero extra steps on your part.
Search it back in plain words
Remember one word and the original is back — along with the text inside it and where it came from, key details one tap to copy.
You might be wondering
Are my screenshots uploaded anywhere?
No. OCR, titling, and categorization all run locally on your Mac; your screenshots and the text inside them never leave the device — no account, no cloud. The app sends anonymous usage stats only (a random device ID and a few "which features got used" events, never screenshots or any content), on by default and switchable off in Settings.
What permissions does it need?
For passively saving shots that land on your desktop: zero permissions. Only the optional one-click region capture needs a one-time Screen Recording grant — exactly like every other screenshot tool. It never asks for full-disk access.
Is it free? Which Macs does it support?
Free. Runs on macOS 12 and later, Apple Silicon and Intel both. Download a .dmg, drag it into Applications, done.
How do I install it?
Download the .dmg, drag it into Applications, open it. It's Apple-notarized, so the first open won't be blocked by Gatekeeper.
Any screenshot you've taken, back from one word.
Free, local-first, screenshots never leave your device. Used daily as the developer's own default screenshot tool.
A few more tools from the same independent developer, all on the same local-first, findable-again principles.
Screenshot it and forget it — it comes back when you need it.
One screenshot, and the event lands in your calendar.
Auto-sorts your screenshot pile — a receipt before you delete.
Just do your work — files file themselves.
Hold to talk; real-time transcription into usable text.