PixelRead turns any text on your Mac screen into something you can use. Select text directly or press ⌘⇧2 and draw a region over an image, video, PDF, website, or app. Then copy it, translate it on-device, listen with system voices, or use Apple Intelligence to summarize, rewrite, extract key details, and ask questions. OCR, translation, and AI processing stay on your Mac. Free for macOS 15.2+; Translate and AI features require macOS 26.
Hey Product Hunt 👋
I built PixelRead because text on screen is still too often trapped inside screenshots, videos, PDFs, and apps. Existing OCR utilities usually stop at copying. I wanted one fast Mac shortcut that could also translate, speak, summarize, rewrite, extract details, and answer questions—without sending captured text to a server.
Press ⌘⇧2, drag over any region, and PixelRead turns those pixels into actionable text.
What you can do:
• Capture text from any app, image, video, PDF, or webpage
• Copy selected text instantly
• Translate on-device with automatic source detection on macOS 26
• Listen using language-aware system voices
• Use Apple Intelligence to summarize, rewrite, extract key details, or ask focused questions
• Keep OCR, translation, and AI processing on your Mac
PixelRead is free and runs on macOS 15.2+. Translation and Apple Intelligence features require macOS 26 and supported hardware.
I’d especially love feedback on the capture workflow and which text actions you use most. Thanks for taking a look!
PixelRead AI OCR