Native OS
Native System OCR
Utilizes hardware-accelerated operating system APIs including Windows Media OCR and Apple Vision. Extremely fast and zero extra memory footprint for everyday language tasks.
About the Project
Local-first OCR built for everyday desktop privacy.
pixtotext was created to solve a widespread problem: extracting text from screenshots, scanned documents, and image snippets without surrendering private files to cloud uploads or ad-supported converters.
Our Mission
Why on-device OCR matters.
Every day, millions of people capture screenshots containing sensitive passwords, confidential emails, banking statements, medical records, or proprietary source code. The standard way to turn those images into searchable text has long been web-based converters that transmit your files to remote servers, log IP addresses, and process files in third-party data centers.
pixtotext was built from the ground up to reverse this dynamic. All core OCR processing executes directly on your personal computer using native OS frameworks or embedded neural network models. Your images never leave your local drive, and no network connection is required to scan images, extract paragraphs, convert layouts, or translate languages.
Engine Architecture
Multi-engine flexibility without compromise.
Different documents present distinct OCR challenges. A high-contrast screenshot demands speed, while a skewed photo of a receipts table requires robust layout detection. pixtotext integrates multiple specialized OCR engines into one unified interface:
Neural / Deep Learning
PaddleOCR Engine
High-precision neural character recognition and text detection capable of handling complex document orientations, dense multilingual paragraphs, and curved typography.
Rust & Local CLI
ocrs & Tesseract Support
Lightweight Rust-native ocrs for instant startup, alongside support for local Tesseract installations across over 100 worldwide languages and customized traineddata files.
Offline AI Translation
Offline Machine Translation
Integrated with Argos Translate, allowing you to install local language models and translate extracted text between languages completely disconnected from the internet.
The Company Behind It
Developed by MerginIT e.U. in Austria.
pixtotext is designed and maintained by MerginIT e.U., an independent registered software studio (Eingetragenes Einzelunternehmen) founded by developer Jonas Fröller in Leonding, Austria.
Principle 01
Name-your-own-price distribution
Users can download pixtotext for free or contribute to ongoing development on itch.io or Microsoft Store.
Principle 02
Zero tracking scripts
We do not track users, sell marketing data, or inject analytical cookies into our products or website.
Principle 03
Long-term platform support
Built for cross-platform dependability with native packages for Windows 10/11, macOS, and Linux distributions.
Ready to extract text locally?
Download pixtotext v0.1.123 today and keep your sensitive files strictly on your machine.