Press the shortcut.
Your screen holds still and softly dims. ⇧⌘2 is the default — choose any shortcut you like.
Lift — Copy any text
you can see.
Press a shortcut and drag over anything on your screen — a subtitle, a serial number, a code snippet someone sent as a picture. The text lifts off the screen and lands on your clipboard. Recognized entirely on your Mac.
Free · Requires macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon and Intel
How it works
One shortcut. One drag. Done.
Lift is OCR for everything on your screen. No windows to open, no files to save, no app to switch to — it appears when you need it and gets out of the way the moment the text is yours.
Drag over the text.
A precise selection with a magnifying loupe. Nudge it with the arrow keys if you need to.
Paste it anywhere.
The text is already on your clipboard — usually in about a second. Press ⌘V.
Works everywhere
Text that won’t select? Lift gets it out.
If you can see it, you can copy it. In any app, on any display.
A code snippet sent as a picture comes back as real code — indentation and all.Lift ProLicense keys, serial numbers and order codes from windows that won’t let you select.Street signs, menus and posters — in Japanese, Korean, Chinese and more.Tables in scanned documents keep their rows and columns.Lift Pro
Privacy
Everything stays on your Mac.
Lift recognizes text right on your Mac with Apple’s on-device technology. What you capture is never uploaded — and Lift forgets it the moment you’re done.
No uploads.
Your screen never leaves your Mac. Not a single pixel, not a single word.
No network access.
Lift isn’t allowed to connect to the internet at all — so it simply can’t send anything anywhere.
No account.
Nothing to sign up for, nothing to sign in to. Open it and go.
No history.
Captures live in memory only for as long as they take, then they’re gone.
No tracking.
No analytics, no ads, no third-party code. Lift doesn’t collect any data.
Works offline.
On a plane or off the grid, Lift works exactly the same.
Languages
It reads what you read.
English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, German, French, Spanish and more — detected automatically, with no setting to change.
Also Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Ukrainian. Choose your preferred languages any time in Settings.
Keyboard
Made for the keyboard.
A global shortcut you choose, and keys for everything else. Your hands never have to leave the keyboard.
One shortcut, ready in every app. Lift also lives quietly in the menu bar.
NudgeArrow keys fine-tune the selection.
Switch modeText, Single Line, Paragraph, Code or Table.
RecognizeRead the current selection.
CancelChanged your mind? Escape, and it’s gone.
Accessible by design. Lift works with VoiceOver, Full Keyboard Access, Reduce Motion, Reduce Transparency and Increase Contrast. Results are read aloud, and nothing times out while VoiceOver is on.
Recognition modes
Text keeps its shape.
Press Tab while you select to switch modes. Code keeps its indentation, paragraphs keep their flow, and tables keep their columns.
On screen
Some text just won’t be
selected. Text inside an
image, or a subtitle in a video.
selected. Text inside an
image, or a subtitle in a video.
On your clipboard
Copied·Text
Some text just won’t be selected. Text inside an image, or a subtitle in a video.
On screen
Order detailsTracking: 1Z 999 AA1 0123 4567 84Shipped · Arrives Thursday
On your clipboard
Copied·Single Line
Tracking: 1Z 999 AA1 0123 4567 84
On screen
Some text just won’t be
selected. Text inside an
image, or a subtitle in a video.
selected. Text inside an
image, or a subtitle in a video.
On your clipboard
Copied·Paragraph
Some text just won’t be selected. Text inside an image, or a subtitle in a video.
On screen
On your clipboard
Copied·Code
for item in cart:
if item.qty > 0:
total += item.price
print(total)On screen
CityHighLowTokyo24°17°Berlin16°8°Madrid27°14°
On your clipboard
Copied·Table
CityHighLowTokyo24°17°Berlin16°8°Madrid27°14°
Text mode keeps lines exactly as they appear — the right choice for most things.Single Line reads one line and nothing else — perfect for codes, names and numbers.Paragraph joins wrapped lines into flowing sentences, so pasted text reads naturally.Code keeps indentation and symbols intact, so a screenshot becomes code you can run.Table keeps rows and columns, ready to paste straight into Numbers or Excel.
Use cases
Made for the text that gets stuck.
Everyday moments when copy and paste just doesn’t work — until now.
Videos & subtitles
Pause any video and copy the line that was just said, or the URL on screen.
Screenshots
Turn a screenshot of text or code back into text you can edit.
Photos & images
Pull words out of photos, diagrams, memes and scans.
PDFs
Copy from scanned or locked PDFs that refuse to cooperate.
Video calls & slides
Grab a link, a name or a quote from a shared screen.
Error messages
Copy the exact error text so you can search for it.
Apps & games
Labels, menus, settings and messages from interfaces that don’t allow selection.
QR codes & barcodes
Read the link inside a QR code straight off your screen — no phone needed. In Lift Pro.
Every display
Built-in, external, Retina or not. Lift works on all of them, side by side.
Free & Pro
Free to lift. Pro to lift it all.
Lift is free, unlimited and works in every language. When you want whole paragraphs, code and tables, Lift Pro is a single, one-time purchase.
Lift
FreeUnlimited captures in every language, on every display. Each capture copies one line of text.
Lift Pro
One-time purchaseEverything you select, however long. Plus modes, editing and quick actions. Pay once, keep it forever.
Whole selections
Copy every line you select, not just the first.
Code, Paragraph & Table
Modes that keep indentation, paragraphs and columns.
Edit before you copy
Fix a word right in the result, then copy.
Quick actions
Copy without line breaks, join lines, append, save, speak or search.
QR codes & barcodes
Read codes right from your screen and open their links.
A shortcut per mode
Jump straight into Code or Table with its own shortcut.
Lift Pro is a one-time in-app purchase. No subscription, no account.
FAQ
Questions? Answers.
How do I copy text from an image or screenshot on a Mac?
Install Lift from the Mac App Store, press ⇧⌘2 (or your own shortcut) and drag over the text in the image. Lift recognizes it and puts it on your clipboard, ready to paste with ⌘V.
It works the same way on photos, screenshots, paused videos, PDFs, slides in a video call and any app window — anything you can see on screen.
Is Lift free?
Yes. Lift is free, with unlimited captures in every language; each capture copies one line of text.
Lift Pro is a one-time in-app purchase — not a subscription — that copies the whole selection, however long, and adds Code, Paragraph and Table modes, editing, quick actions, QR code and barcode reading, and a shortcut for each mode.
Does Lift upload my screen or my text anywhere?
No. Text recognition happens entirely on your Mac. Lift has no network access, no account, no analytics and keeps no history. Captured images stay in memory only for as long as the capture lasts, and are discarded when it ends.
Does Lift work offline?
Yes, completely. Because recognition runs on your Mac, Lift works exactly the same with or without an internet connection.
Which languages can Lift read?
English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Ukrainian. Lift detects the language automatically, and you can set your preferred languages in Settings.
Why does Lift need Screen Recording permission?
macOS requires this permission for any app that reads what’s on screen. Lift only captures when you press the shortcut or choose Capture Text, recognizes only the area you select, and never records video or audio.
You can allow it in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen & System Audio Recording.
How is Lift different from Live Text?
Live Text works on photos and paused videos inside apps that support it. Lift works on anything you can see — any app, any window, dialogs, games, video calls — with one shortcut that’s always ready, plus Pro modes that keep code and tables intact.
Which Macs does Lift work on?
Any Mac running macOS Sonoma 14 or later — with Apple silicon or an Intel processor — and every connected display.
Can I change the keyboard shortcut?
Yes. ⇧⌘2 is the default, and you can record any shortcut that uses ⌘ or ⌃, or a function key. You can also start a capture from Lift’s menu bar icon.
Is Lift accessible?
Yes. Lift supports VoiceOver, Full Keyboard Access, Reduce Motion, Reduce Transparency and Increase Contrast. Every result is announced, and nothing times out while VoiceOver is on.
Any text. One shortcut away.
Free on the Mac App Store.
Free · Requires macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon and Intel