Obviously Can't Remember (OCR)

macOS Menu Bar OCR Tool

A lightweight macOS menu bar application that captures screen regions and performs OCR using OpenRouter API (Gemini model). Recognized text is automatically copied to your clipboard.

Features

• Menu Bar App — Lives in the menu bar, dock icon optional
• Region Selection — Click and drag to select any area on screen
• Global Hotkey — Default ⌃⌥O (Control+Option+O), fully customizable
• Instant Clipboard — OCR results are automatically copied
• Toast Notifications — Visual feedback for capture, completion, and errors
• Multi-Display — Works across all connected screens
• Launch at Login — Optional auto-start when you log in
• 8 Languages — English, 繁體中文, 简体中文, 日本語, 한국어, Español, Français, Deutsch

Requirements

• macOS 26.2+
• Xcode 26+
• OpenRouter API key
• Screen Recording permission (prompted on first capture)

Setup

1. Open OCR.xcodeproj in Xcode
2. Build and run (⌘R)
3. The app icon appears in the menu bar
4. On first launch, the Settings window opens — enter your OpenRouter API key
5. Press ⌃⌥O to start capturing

Usage

1. Press the global hotkey (default: ⌃⌥O)
2. Screen dims — click and drag to select the region containing text
3. Release to capture — a toast confirms the capture
4. Wait for OCR processing — another toast confirms when text is copied
5. Paste (⌘V) anywhere

Press Escape to cancel a capture.

Settings

Access via menu bar icon → Settings... (or ⌘,)

Setting	Description	Default
API Key	Your OpenRouter API key	—
Model ID	OpenRouter model identifier	google/gemini-3-flash-preview
Hotkey	Global keyboard shortcut	⌃⌥O
Launch at Login	Auto-start on login	Off
Hide Dock Icon	Hide the app from the Dock	On
Language	UI language	English

Permissions

• Screen Recording — Required for screen capture. macOS will prompt on first use. Grant access in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording.
• Network — Enabled via App Sandbox entitlement for OpenRouter API calls.

License

MIT