Smart table extraction to Markdown/CSV! AI-powered OCR with Apple Intelligence. Watch Mode, Multi-Region Capture, History. The pro OCR tool for macOS.
TRex makes OCR easy and accessible on a Mac.
But what is OCR anyway? Imagine you have a PDF file or a Web page where you can't select the text, image with text on it, or even a YouTube video. Forget retyping it manually; with TRex, you can extract text from anywhere, and it is as easy as taking a screenshot.
TRex can help you to copy text from:
- A PDF with non-selectable text
- A screenshot
- YouTube video
- Zoom call screen sharing
- ... and more!
If you can see it on your screen - TRex can copy it.
Every feature in TRex works offline, no internet is needed:
- Text recognition (OCR)
- Read QR Code and barcodes
- Handy macOS menu bar app, with option to hide it
- Configurable global shortcuts
- Configurable recognition language
- URL scheme support trex:\\capture
This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
Works surprisingly well
MedicallyOriented
I've occasionally used Tesseract to try to extract text from images, and it hasn't worked well for me. So my expectations for this app were low. But this app works incredibly well. For example, I pointed it to an image on Twitter of a medicine bottle, which had text that was slightly out of focus and written on a curve. But the app nailed it.
Great stuff
SoundListenerPersonGuy
I installed this on a whim and it’s gotten more usage than I expected. Really great job with this! Very useful.
It does not read files
jhgvluk6rfikvhkm
I was looking for a tool to convert scammed PDF documents to .txt files. This does not do that. You would have to manually select the image of each page you want to convert then concatenate the resulting files. Can’t imagine why the tool would be designed like this.
New Features
LLM Integration
- AI-powered OCR: Use GPT-4o, Claude, Ollama, or Apple Intelligence for vision-based text recognition
- Smart post-processing: Automatically format, correct, or transform captured text with LLM
- Separate provider configuration: Choose different providers for OCR vs post-processing
- On-device processing: Apple Intelligence runs locally with no API calls (macOS 15.1+)
- Network-aware fallback: Automatically falls back to built-in OCR when offline
Multi-Region Capture
- Batch selection: Select multiple screen regions in a single capture session
- Combined results: OCR results from all regions are merged together
- Optional LLM processing: Post-process combined text with AI
- Up to 50 regions: Capture complex layouts in one go
Watch Mode
- Continuous monitoring: Monitor a screen region and automatically capture when content changes
- Interactive region selection: Draw regions with a visual overlay
- Floating control panel: Start, pause, and reselect regions on the fly
- Multiple output modes: Append to clipboard, write to file, or stream notifications
- Smart detection: SHA256-based change detection with configurable polling interval
- URL scheme support: Trigger watch mode via `trex://watch`
Capture History
- Persistent history: All OCR captures saved with thumbnails
- Quick access: Last 5 captures available in menu bar submenu
- History window: Browse all captures via `trex://showHistory`
- Configurable storage: Set max entries (1–10,000)
- One-click copy: Quickly copy any previous capture to clipboard
Table Detection
- Vision-based detection: Uses macOS 26+ document recognition for table extraction
- LLM fallback: Falls back to AI-based table detection on older systems
- Multiple formats: Export tables as Markdown, CSV, or plain text
- Menu bar toggle: Quick access to table detection settings
Bug Fixes
CLI Improvements
- Fixed CLI not exiting after stdin EOF (#61)
- Added back Intel Support
- Improved temp file handling with UUID-based paths
Language Recognition
- Added Turkish (tr-TR) to Vision OCR fallback language sets (#62)
- Fixed language code normalization to handle underscore format (#65)
UI Fixes
- Fixed Quick Setup content overflow with scrollable language grid (#63)
- Added confirmation dialog when hiding menu bar icon with recovery instructions (#60)
Version 2.0.0
The developer, Ameba Labs, LLC, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More