Screenshot OCR explained
Find an image by the words you remember.
Optical character recognition (OCR) converts visible words in an image into searchable text. CaptureRecall processes captures with bundled local OCR models and saves the recognized text alongside the screenshot metadata in its local SQLite library.
Yes. CaptureRecall runs OCR on your device and searches the detected text in its local library. No account or cloud upload is required for this workflow.
Working with terminal errors or code references? Try the Linux developer walkthrough.
The library query also searches titles, descriptions, filenames, personal notes, tags, and capture types. This gives you a way to retrieve a screenshot even when OCR misses a word. See the full OCR and search capabilities.
A practical workflow
How to search a screenshot in CaptureRecall.
- Install the desktop preview. Choose the package for your computer on the download page. The Mac preview requires Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or newer; Linux packages target x86_64.
- Capture the words you want to keep. Use area capture for a specific error, receipt, or quotation, or full-screen capture for wider context. Complete any permission prompt from your operating system.
- Let local OCR finish. The PNG is saved to your library and OCR runs on the device. Wait for processing before searching for words that appear only inside the image.
- Search a distinctive phrase. Enter words you remember, such as
permission denied, into the library search. Open the matching capture to check the original image. - Add your own context. Give the capture a useful title, note, or tag. If recognition misses text, your own metadata remains another searchable route back to it.
Illustrative examples
Search for the detail, not the filename.
These are example workflows, not benchmark results. A match depends on the captured text being legible and recognized, or on you adding the phrase to the metadata.
| Saved capture | Example search | Context to add |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal error | permission denied | Project name and the command that failed |
| Receipt | Store name | Purchase date and an expense tag |
| Research quotation | A distinctive phrase | Source URL and why the quote matters |
| Design reference | A visible button label | Screen name and the pattern you want to reuse |
Current limits
OCR is a search aid. Keep the original image.
The bundled OCR model currently targets Latin-alphabet text. Small, blurry, stylized, low-contrast, or non-Latin text may be missed or recognized incorrectly. Verify important wording against the saved PNG rather than treating detected text as an exact transcript.
You can re-run local OCR without overwriting personal notes or edited metadata. Add a title, note, or tag when a phrase is hard to recognize.
This guide covers captures saved in the CaptureRecall library. It does not describe a system-wide search of your desktop folders or a bulk import workflow.
Local OCR and optional AI
Searchable text does not require semantic AI.
OCR reads visible text. Optional semantic analysis can suggest titles and descriptions from the whole image. These are separate features: OCR runs locally by default, while semantic analysis is disabled until you explicitly enable a compatible loopback service.
CaptureRecall accepts only loopback endpoints for that optional service, but a separate service could relay data after receiving it. Review the privacy model and data flow before enabling it.
Packages and evidence
Use the preview that fits your device.
CaptureRecall v0.3.5 provides an Apple Silicon Mac DMG and x86_64 Linux DEB, RPM, and AppImage packages. The Mac preview is ad-hoc signed and awaits Developer ID notarization. Windows remains experimental source support with no published installer.
Check the v0.3.5 release and checksums, project README, and architecture documentation for the underlying implementation. CaptureRecall was previously named CaptureVault; the source repository retains that name.
Download CaptureRecall