Menu bar clipboard, minus the cloud.
MacBar captures text, images, and Finder files, extracts OCR on-device, and gets you back to paste in one clean loop.
Built for the copy-paste loop you actually repeat all day
Why MacBar
OCR that matters
Error dialogs, annotated mockups, chat screenshots, terminal captures. Select the image, let Vision extract the text locally, then search or copy it back.
Search everything
You do not need to remember where something came from. If it was copied, MacBar can help you find it.
File support
Copy files as usual, keep the full paths, paste them back later, or reveal them directly in Finder.
Feels instant
The panel is tuned for repeated daily use: Enter copies, Escape clears then closes, and the UI gets out of your way.
Pinned memory
Pin prompts, links, shell commands, and boilerplate text so they do not disappear in the scroll.
Languages
The app language is saved locally and the UI follows user language habits instead of mechanically translating shortcuts.
Daily flow
Text, screenshots, or Finder files are captured quietly in the background.
Hit ⇧⌘M, type a few letters, or use the arrow keys and shortcuts.
Copy the item, let the panel get out of the way, and continue where you already were.
Where it helps most
MacBar was built around practical screenshot-heavy scenarios where other clipboard managers usually stop at image previews.
Private by default
MacBar keeps its scope intentionally narrow. It does not sync to the cloud, does not phone home, and does not depend on third-party libraries to handle your clipboard history.
Get started
Download the latest build directly from macbar.app, move the app into Applications, and approve the first launch in macOS Privacy & Security if Gatekeeper asks.
FAQ
No. Clipboard history stays local. OCR runs on-device. The only network-related feature is checking GitHub Releases for updates.
Text, images, and Finder file copies. Search covers text content, OCR results from images, filenames, and full file paths.
Yes. MacBar is open source under the MIT license.
Representative perspectives
These are sample user perspectives based on common use cases, not verified customer testimonials.
“The best part is not typing browser errors from screenshots by hand anymore.”
Works across terminal captures, bug reports, chat screenshots, and copied code fragments.
“Design annotations stop being trapped in images once OCR makes them searchable.”
Useful for spec screenshots, redline numbers, and quick visual references copied out of Figma or chat.
“I use it like a scratch buffer for links, files, meeting snapshots, and prompts all day.”
The value is speed: open, search, copy, and get back to the app you were already using.
