A lightweight macOS menu bar app that instantly translates words under your cursor via screen capture and OCR. Press a hotkey, hover over any text, and get a beautiful floating bubble with translation, phonetics, dictionary definitions, and optional pronunciation.
- Instant OCR translation - Captures screen region around cursor and detects the word closest to your pointer
- Floating bubble overlay - Modern translucent bubble appears near cursor with translation results
- Dictionary definitions - Shows detailed word definitions grouped by part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, etc.)
- Phonetic notation - Displays phonetic transcription for recognized words
- Text-to-speech - Optional pronunciation playback after translation
- Continuous translation - Keep translating as you move the mouse while holding the hotkey
- Single lookup mode - One translation per hotkey press with interactive bubble (copy, close buttons)
Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Thai, Vietnamese
- Single-key hotkey - Configure trigger key from modifier keys (Shift, Control, Option, Command, Fn)
- Source/target language selection - Choose your translation language pair
- Launch at login - Auto-start when you log in
- Debug OCR region - Visualize capture area and detected word bounding boxes for troubleshooting
- Copy to clipboard - Quick copy word or translation
- Language pack detection - Automatically checks and prompts for missing language packs
- Menu bar app - Runs quietly in the menu bar without cluttering your dock
Available on the Mac App Store
- macOS 14+ (translation features require macOS 15 for system Translation APIs)
- Screen Recording permission (required for OCR capture)
Open in Xcode:
open "SnapTra Translator.xcodeproj"Build from command line:
# Debug build
xcodebuild -project "SnapTra Translator.xcodeproj" -scheme "SnapTra Translator" -configuration Debug build
# Release build
xcodebuild -project "SnapTra Translator.xcodeproj" -scheme "SnapTra Translator" -configuration Release build
# Clean
xcodebuild -project "SnapTra Translator.xcodeproj" -scheme "SnapTra Translator" clean- Grant permissions - Launch the app and grant Screen Recording permission when prompted
- Configure settings - Set your preferred hotkey and language pair in the settings window
- Translate - Hold the hotkey and hover over any text; a bubble appears with translation, phonetics, and definitions
- Dismiss - Release the hotkey to dismiss (or click X in single lookup mode)
- No bubble appears - Check Screen Recording permission in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording
- Missing translations on macOS 15 - Install language packs in System Settings > General > Language & Region > Translation Languages
- Hotkey not working - Ensure no other app is using the same key; try a different modifier key
- Bubble clipped at screen edge - Enable "Debug OCR Region" to see the capture area and adjust cursor position
MIT License