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PowerToys Text Extractor for Mac
On Windows, PowerToys Text Extractor copies text from anywhere on the screen: press Win+Shift+T, drag a box, and the text is on your clipboard. PowerToys only runs on Windows. On a Mac, Kirinuki does the same thing with ⇧⌘2, for $4.99 once.
Is there PowerToys for Mac?
No. Microsoft describes PowerToys as utilities "to help power users and developers get more out of Windows", and its system requirements list only Windows 10 (version 2004 or later) and Windows 11. Text Extractor is one of those utilities.
Text Extractor on Windows, Kirinuki on a Mac
The gesture is the same, so your hands already know it.
| Text Extractor (Windows) | Kirinuki (Mac) | |
|---|---|---|
| Shortcut | Win+Shift+T | ⇧⌘2, changeable |
| Select | Drag a box | Drag a box; every display freezes first |
| Move the box while dragging | Hold Shift | Hold Space |
| Cancel | Esc | Esc |
| Result | Text on the clipboard | Text on the clipboard, with a small "Copied" confirmation |
| Languages | The Windows OCR language packs you install | 20+ from macOS, including Japanese, Chinese and Korean, detected automatically |
| Price | Free, open source | $4.99 once, 14-day refund |
| Runs on | Windows 10 and 11 | macOS 15 or later, Apple silicon and Intel |
What else Kirinuki does while you select
- ⌘L keeps or joins line breaks, and joining also rebuilds words hyphenated across lines.
- ⌘K turns on Code Mode: indentation and exact spacing, no autocorrect.
- ⌘S reads the text aloud after copying it.
- QR codes and barcodes inside the box are read too, added after the text.
From the menu bar icon you can also repeat the last area (handy for slides or a stream), stack several captures into one clipboard, and drop in images or PDFs up to 200 pages.
And Snipping Tool's Text actions?
Windows' Snipping Tool can recognize the text in a snip so you can copy it. The closest thing built into macOS is Live Text: take a screenshot with ⇧⌘4, open it in Preview and select the text. It works inside images and paused video in apps like Preview, Photos and Safari, so for any other area of the screen the screenshot comes first. If it won't select, see Live Text not working on Mac.
Questions
What's the Mac shortcut to copy text from the screen?
Apple doesn't document a built-in shortcut that copies the text in an area of the screen. Live Text selects text inside images and paused video. With Kirinuki installed, it's ⇧⌘2.
Is there a free Text Extractor for Mac?
TRex is free and open source on GitHub, and Shottr is a free screenshot app with text capture that asks you to upgrade after 30 days. Compared in the best OCR apps for Mac.
Does Kirinuki send my screen anywhere?
No. Text is read on your Mac with Apple's Vision framework, and Kirinuki never sends what you capture. It goes online only to activate the license and to check for updates.