Why Hawkr?

Ever needed to quickly grab text from an image, a non-selectable PDF, a video, or a website that blocks copying? Hawkr makes it effortless. With a simple keyboard shortcut, you can capture any text visible on your screen and have it instantly copied to your clipboard. No more tedious manual retyping. Hawkr uses Apple's powerful Vision framework to perform optical character recognition (OCR) directly on your Mac, meaning your data never leaves your device. Whether you're a developer extracting error messages from screenshots, a researcher copying quotes from scanned documents, a student grabbing text from lecture slides, or anyone who regularly needs to capture on-screen text, Hawkr streamlines your workflow. It lives quietly in your menu bar, ready whenever you need it, and supports 11+ languages with automatic detection. Hawkr also recognizes QR codes and barcodes, making it a versatile tool for extracting information from your screen.

Text Capture

Capture any text visible on your screen with a single keyboard shortcut. Simply press Cmd+Shift+6 (customizable), select the region containing the text you want to capture, and Hawkr will instantly recognize and copy it to your clipboard. The captured text appears in a floating popup window, ready for you to paste anywhere. Whether it's text in an image, a scanned document, a video frame, or any application window, Hawkr extracts it accurately and quickly.

QR Code & Barcode Scanning

Hawkr isn't just for text. Press Cmd+Shift+7 (customizable) to capture and decode QR codes, Aztec codes, Data Matrix, and PDF417 barcodes from anywhere on your screen. The decoded content is instantly copied to your clipboard. If the QR code contains a URL, Hawkr offers a quick action to open it directly in your browser. Perfect for scanning codes from websites, documents, or video calls without reaching for your phone.

Smart Language Detection

Hawkr supports over 33 languages including English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and more. By default, Hawkr automatically detects the language of the captured text for optimal recognition accuracy. You can also manually select a specific language in Settings if you frequently work with particular languages or want to improve recognition for specific use cases.

🇺🇸 🇬🇧 🇩🇪 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 🇮🇹 🇧🇷 🇵🇹 🇨🇳 🇹🇼 🇯🇵 🇰🇷 🇺🇦 🇷🇺 🇵🇱 🇳🇱 🇸🇪 🇩🇰 🇳🇴 🇫🇮 🇹🇭 🇻🇳 🇸🇦 🇹🇷 🇮🇩 🇲🇾 🇨🇿 🇷🇴 🇭🇺 🇬🇷 🇮🇱 🇮🇳

Highly Configurable

Hawkr adapts to your workflow. Customize keyboard shortcuts to your preference, adjust how long the result popup stays visible, or disable it entirely if you prefer silent operation. Enable launch at login so Hawkr is always ready when you need it. Choose whether to use automatic language detection or select a specific language for better accuracy with specialized content.

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Result Popup

After each capture, Hawkr displays a floating popup window showing the recognized text. The text is automatically copied to your clipboard, and the popup confirms this with a visual indicator. If URLs are detected in the captured text, quick-action buttons appear to open them directly. The popup auto-dismisses after a configurable duration, or you can hover over it to keep it visible while you review the content.

Smart URL Detection

Hawkr automatically recognizes URLs in captured text. When a URL is detected, the result popup displays a quick-action button to open it directly in your default browser. If multiple URLs are found, a menu lets you choose which one to open. This is perfect for quickly accessing links from screenshots, presentations, or any visual content without manually copying and pasting.

Privacy First

Your privacy matters. Hawkr performs all text recognition locally on your Mac using Apple's Vision framework. Your captured content never leaves your device and is never sent to any external servers. The only network requests Hawkr makes are for checking for updates and optional anonymous usage statistics, both of which can be disabled in Settings. You have full control over your data.

Purchase Hawkr

Monthly Pro
$1.49
per month
✔ 30-day trial
✔ 2 macOS device
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Yearly Pro
$5.99
per year
✔ 30-day trial
✔ 3 macOS devices
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Forever Pro
$9.99
once
✔ 30-day trial
✔ 5 macOS devices
Purchase Now
Prices in USD. Taxes may apply. Secure payment via Paddle. Requires macOS 13.0 or later.

Support Center

Got a question? Get in contact or find a solution in our FAQ section below.

Hawkr requires macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later. This requirement is due to the automatic language detection feature in Apple's Vision framework, which was introduced in macOS 13.

Press Cmd+Shift+6 (or your custom shortcut) to activate text capture. Your cursor will change to a crosshair. Click and drag to select the region containing the text you want to capture. Release to complete the capture. The recognized text is automatically copied to your clipboard.

Hawkr supports over 11 languages including English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, and more. By default, automatic language detection is enabled for optimal results. You can also manually select a specific language in Settings.

Yes! Hawkr performs all text recognition locally on your Mac using Apple's Vision framework. No internet connection is required for OCR functionality. Network access is only used for checking for updates and optional anonymous usage statistics.

Hawkr needs screen recording permission to capture screen regions. On first launch, you'll be prompted to grant this permission. You can also enable it manually in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording, then enable Hawkr in the list.

Yes! Open Hawkr Settings (Cmd+,) and go to the General tab. You can customize the shortcuts for both text capture and QR code capture to any key combination that works for you.

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