Clip — Screenshot, Recording & OCR for Mac

What is Clip?

Clip is a free, open-source screenshot tool for macOS. It lives in the menu bar and wakes on a double-tap of the ⌘ key. You frame a region or click a window, mark it up if you need to, and send it to the clipboard, a file, a pinned window or the OCR engine. It records the same region to MP4 or GIF. It is pure AppKit, a fork of capcap, and requires macOS 14 or later.

Three jobs, done well

No cloud, no team plan, no account. The parts you use every day, and nothing in the way.

Double-tap ⌘

Tap ⌘ twice anywhere. Windows snap to their edges, the selection is pixel-precise, the label shows origin and size.

Annotate in place

Rectangle, ellipse, arrow, line, pen, highlighter, mosaic, numbered markers, text. Every mark stays editable, with undo and redo.

Record the region

The same frame records to MP4 or GIF. A small HUD handles pause and stop.

OCR to clipboard

Apple Vision runs on your Mac. One click copies the text; Chinese and English by default, five languages optional.

One toolbar

Cancel on the left, tools in the middle, outcomes on the right. Nothing is selected when it opens, so there is one bar, not two.

Nothing leaves your Mac

No upload, no account, no telemetry. Native AppKit, open source under MIT, universal binary.

Your toolbar, your order

Settings › Toolbar moves any tool between the bar, the “more” menu and hidden. Shapes collapse into one button; long-press it to switch.

Clip settings window with a System Settings style sidebar

Install

Clip is an independent open-source project and isn’t notarized by Apple. Allow it once on first launch; after that it opens like any other app.

Get the app

Download Clip-0.2.0.dmg, open it and drag Clip into Applications.

Open it once

Double-click Clip. When macOS says it can’t verify the developer, click Done, then in System Settings › Privacy & Security click Open Anyway.

Grant two permissions

Accessibility for the ⌘ double-tap, Screen Recording for capture. Clip asks through the system prompts.

Requires macOS 14 or later.

Build from source

Xcode 26 or later. One script builds, signs, installs to /Applications and launches.

git clone https://github.com/chengffei/clip.git
cd clip
bash scripts/rebuild-and-open.sh

The Command Line Tools alone cannot build the SwiftUI macros used by the permission panel.

Shortcuts

One gesture to start, one to finish.

Region screenshot	`⌘⌘` double-tap
Confirm to clipboard	`⌘⌘` again
Cancel	`Esc`
Record, OCR, pin, full screen	Settings › Shortcuts

FAQ

Common questions about installing and using Clip.

How do I take a screenshot with Clip?

Double-tap the ⌘ key. Drag a region or click a window, annotate if you like, then press the check mark or double-tap ⌘ again to copy it to the clipboard.

Does Clip upload my screenshots anywhere?

No. Clip has no cloud upload, no account and no telemetry. Screenshots go to your clipboard or to a folder you choose; OCR runs on your Mac with Apple Vision.

Why does macOS say it can’t verify the developer?

Clip is signed but not notarized by Apple. Open it once and dismiss the warning, then go to System Settings › Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway. You only need to do this once.

Which permissions does Clip need?

Accessibility, so it can see the ⌘ double-tap, and Screen Recording, so it can capture the screen. Clip asks for both through the system prompts.

Is Clip free?

Yes. Clip is free and open source under the MIT License. It is a fork of capcap, which is also MIT licensed.