CopyLasso 0.3.1

CopyLasso 0.3.1

• Shortens and clarifies in-app text.
• Removes an extra divider and the privacy banner from Settings.
• Simplifies third-party notices.

No capture, history, privacy, or update behavior changed.

CopyLasso 0.3.0

CopyLasso 0.3.0

CopyLasso 0.3.0 adds user-selected on-device OCR languages and optional,
encrypted capture history while retaining the private, local screen-text and
code workflow from 0.2.2.

What Is New

• Choose Text Languages. Settings now includes a Text Languages editor
  backed by the languages available to Apple Vision on the running Mac.
  U.S. English remains the default. Users can search, add, remove, and prioritize
  languages; automatic language detection runs only when more than one is
  selected.
• Optional private capture history. Save Capture History is off by default.
  When explicitly enabled, CopyLasso encrypts the exact successful text or
  inert code payload locally with AES-256-GCM. It keeps at most 100 entries for
  seven days, rejects entries larger than 256 KiB, and never stores screenshots.
  Copy, Delete, confirmed Clear All, and confirmed disable
  controls remain local to the Mac.
• Cleaner interface copy. CopyLasso-authored menu labels, buttons,
  progress messages, and bounded HUD previews no longer add ellipses. Captured
  text, code payloads, and authenticated update notes are never rewritten.

Privacy And Security

Recognition remains local and offline. Selected screen pixels, recognized
content, clipboard contents, and language choices are never sent through the
updater. History creates no key or archive until opt-in. Its random key is a
device-only, nonsynchronizing Keychain item scoped to CopyLasso, and unreadable
or tampered archives fail closed without affecting an already successful copy.

CopyLasso still checks only its authenticated feed at
updates.copylasso.com; the signed DMG enclosure is hosted on GitHub Releases.
It does not automatically download or install updates, and it requires
separate Download and Install and Relaunch decisions.

Requirements And Upgrade

• macOS 14 or newer
• Apple silicon or Intel Mac
• Screen Recording permission for region capture

CopyLasso 0.2.2 users can install 0.3.0 through Check for Updates after the
release is published. Existing shortcut, Launch at Login, updater, sound, and
permission-history preferences are retained. Existing and new users begin
with U.S. English selected and Save Capture History off unless they explicitly
changed those new settings in a prerelease build.

CopyLasso 0.1.x users must install the current public DMG manually once because
those versions contain no updater.

Uninstall

For an ordinary uninstall, turn off Launch at Login, quit CopyLasso, and move
the app to the Trash. A complete uninstall additionally removes only
CopyLasso's production preferences and sandbox container, deletes its scoped
history Keychain item, and resets Screen Recording only for
io.github.bennetthilberg.copylasso. Do not reset unrelated login items,
Keychain entries, or privacy services.

Retained Limitations

• OCR targets ordinary horizontal, single-column text. Complex layouts,
  handwriting, and strongly rotated text can be inaccurate.
• Selection remains confined to a single display, and protected content can be blank or
  unavailable under macOS capture restrictions.
• Supported QR, Code 128, Data Matrix, PDF417, and Aztec payloads remain inert
  plain text and take precedence over OCR when both appear in one selection.
• The documented Control-at-mouse-up, exceptionally fast drag, cross-display
  release, lock-during-selection, and privacy-first clipboard clear-then-write
  edge cases remain.
• History deletion cannot promise forensic erasure from APFS snapshots or
  external system backups.
• LaTeX recognition is not included. Translation, text-to-speech, file import,
  cross-display selection, and layout reconstruction remain outside v0.3.

CopyLasso 0.2.2

CopyLasso 0.2.2

CopyLasso 0.2.2 is a security-only maintenance release for the private, offline screen-text and code capture workflow shipped in 0.2.1.

Security Update

• The shipping Sparkle updater framework is updated from 2.9.4 to 2.9.5 for
  the upstream fix documented as
  GHSA-gmj2-gq3j-vqmj.
• CopyLasso continues to publish authenticated full-package updates only.
  Delta-update generation remains disabled, and no new network destination,
  entitlement, permission, or automatic installation behavior is added.

Privacy and Scope

Capture, OCR, supported QR/barcode recognition, clipboard output, Settings,
sound, onboarding, and Launch at Login remain unchanged. Screen pixels and
recognized content stay on this Mac, are not retained after the operation, and
are never sent through the updater. Code payloads remain inert plain text.

Requirements and Upgrade

• macOS 14 or newer
• Apple silicon or Intel Mac
• Screen Recording permission for region capture

CopyLasso 0.1.x users must install CopyLasso 0.2.2 manually once because those
versions contain no updater. Users of updater-enabled 0.2.x keep separate
Download and Install and Relaunch decisions; updates never download or install
automatically.

Retained Limitations

• OCR targets ordinary horizontal, single-column U.S. English text.
• Selection remains confined to one display, and protected content can be
  unavailable under macOS capture restrictions.
• Modifier-adjusted native selection geometry is unsupported; cross-display
  release cancels.
• The documented Control-at-mouse-up, dragged first-use confirmation followed
  by Escape, exceptionally fast drag, lock-during-selection, and privacy-first
  clipboard clear-then-write edge cases remain unchanged.
• LaTeX recognition, content history, file or camera input, and automatic
  updates are not included.

CopyLasso 0.2.1

CopyLasso 0.2.1

CopyLasso 0.2.1 is a maintenance release for the private, offline screen-text
and code capture workflow introduced in 0.2.0.

What Is Fixed

• Update offers render authenticated Markdown as native headings, emphasis,
  paragraphs, and lists inside a bounded, scrollable panel instead of showing
  raw syntax or expanding beyond the display.
• Capture starts macOS's native crosshair without activating CopyLasso or
  changing the frontmost application, then sends only the selected rectangle
  through the existing in-memory ScreenCaptureKit and Vision pipeline.
• Permission denial, unavailable capture, lifecycle cancellation, stale
  completion, cross-display release, and modifier-sensitive selection paths
  fail closed and remain immediately reusable.
• Update labels and privacy copy are shorter, and About has clearer spacing.
• Protected release automation has tighter source, credential, candidate-tag,
  archive-path, nested-code, and authenticated-update verification boundaries.

Privacy And Scope

No recognition mode, permission, entitlement, dependency, or network path is added.
OCR and supported QR/barcode recognition remain local; recognized content,
screen pixels, and clipboard text are not transmitted or retained. No processing indicator is included.

Native Selector Notes

macOS may show a one-time direct screen-access confirmation for the system
selector. This is part of Screen Recording access, not a new CopyLasso
permission or entitlement.

The passive selection tracker uses one-millisecond pointer samples and does not
intercept or synthesize input. An entire exceptionally fast drag can therefore
be missed or begin at the first observed point. Control at mouse-up can race
with macOS's screenshot-to-clipboard behavior before CopyLasso cancels, and a
dragged first-use confirmation followed immediately by Escape can rarely leave
candidate geometry. A cross-display release cancels instead of cropping or
combining displays. Retry with an ordinary direct drag when one of these narrow
cases occurs.

Requirements

• macOS 14 or newer
• Apple silicon or Intel Mac
• Screen Recording permission for region capture

CopyLasso 0.1.x users must still install public 0.2.0 manually once before
authenticated in-app updates are available. CopyLasso remains free and open
source under the MIT License.

CopyLasso 0.2.0

CopyLasso 0.2.0

CopyLasso is free and open-source screen recognition for macOS. Capture remains
private, offline, and local: selected pixels and recognized content stay on
this Mac and are not retained after the operation.

What Is New

• User-controlled secure updates. Automatic checks are enabled by default
  and can be disabled in Settings. Manual checks remain available. CopyLasso
  authenticates signed metadata and packages, shows the version, notes, and
  size before download, and requires a second confirmation before installation
  and relaunch. Downloads and installations never begin automatically.
• Friendly copy feedback. A brief project-authored success sound plays only
  after recognized content reaches the clipboard. It can be disabled
  independently in Settings; visual and accessible feedback remains available.
• Codes through the existing Capture command. CopyLasso recognizes QR,
  Code 128, Data Matrix, PDF417, and Aztec codes from the selected screen
  region. An eligible code wins over OCR text in the same selection. If no
  supported code is present, ordinary English OCR runs as before. Payloads are
  copied as inert plain text and are never opened or executed.

Supported formats are QR, Code 128, Data Matrix, PDF417, and Aztec.

CopyLasso 0.1.x does not contain an updater. Existing users must manually
download and install CopyLasso 0.2.0 once before later authenticated in-app
updates can become available.

Requirements

• macOS 14 or newer
• Apple silicon or Intel Mac
• Screen Recording permission for region capture

Known Limitations

• OCR targets ordinary, approximately horizontal, single-column U.S. English
  text. Handwriting, dense tables, strongly rotated text, and complex
  multi-column layouts can be incomplete or reordered.
• Selection remains confined to the display where the drag begins.
• Protected content can appear blank or unavailable under macOS capture
  restrictions.
• Supported code recognition is limited to the five formats listed above.
  Multiple unique payloads containing line breaks are intentionally not merged;
  capture those codes separately.
• Immediate stationary-pointer reuse can briefly delay the visible crosshair
  until pointer movement or mouse-down.
• Locking during an active drag can leave selection pending after unlock. Quit
  and reopen CopyLasso before another pointer action; completing that retained
  selection can change the clipboard.
• A rare macOS pasteboard clear-success followed by text-write rejection can
  leave the clipboard empty. CopyLasso does not read or retain prior clipboard
  contents in order to restore them.
• LaTeX recognition is not included. G39 found no candidate that satisfied the
  approved licensing, platform, size, hardware, and quality preconditions.

Complete Uninstall

Disable Launch CopyLasso at Login in Settings, quit CopyLasso, and move the
application to the Trash. To remove only CopyLasso's production state, delete
the io.github.bennetthilberg.copylasso preferences and sandbox container, then
reset only ScreenCapture for that exact bundle identifier. Do not reset every
login item or every application's Screen Recording permission.

CopyLasso is created by Bennett Hilberg and released under the MIT License.

CopyLasso 0.1.1

CopyLasso 0.1.1

CopyLasso is a free and open-source macOS menu-bar utility for copying visible
screen text. Recognition remains private, offline, and local to the Mac.

Fixed

• Settings now appears immediately when opened from the status menu instead of
  surfacing unexpectedly when a later capture begins.

Install

Download the DMG and checksum from this release, verify the checksum, then drag
CopyLasso into Applications. CopyLasso 0.1.1 requires macOS 14 or newer and
contains native Apple Silicon and Intel code.

This maintenance release retains the privacy guarantees and documented known
limitations of CopyLasso 0.1.0. Updates remain manual.

CopyLasso 0.1.0

CopyLasso 0.1.0

CopyLasso is a macOS menu-bar utility for copying text from any capturable
region of the screen. Free and open source. Private, offline, and local:
screen pixels and recognized text are processed on this Mac without accounts,
cloud OCR, analytics, telemetry, or capture history.

Highlights

• Capture screen text with the suggested ⇧⌘2 shortcut or the status-menu
  command.
• Select text from ordinary applications, browsers, PDFs, images, paused
  video, system UI, and desktop pixels.
• Use local Apple Vision OCR and receive plain text on the clipboard with a
  brief nonactivating confirmation HUD.
• Configure the shortcut and Launch at Login behavior through native,
  accessible Settings.
• Run on macOS 14 or newer as a Universal 2 application for Apple Silicon and
  Intel Macs.
• Inspect and build the complete MIT-licensed source from the project
  repository.

Privacy

CopyLasso requests Screen Recording only when capture is first used. Captured
images and recognized strings remain in memory for the active operation and
are never logged, persisted, or transmitted. The app has no network client,
automatic updater, account system, analytics, or telemetry.

Known Limitations

• OCR targets ordinary, approximately horizontal, single-column U.S. English
  text. Complex layouts, handwriting, strongly rotated text, and difficult
  source pixels may be incomplete or reordered.
• A selection belongs to the display where its drag begins and stops at that
  display's edge.
• Protected or DRM-restricted content may be blank or unavailable because
  CopyLasso follows macOS capture restrictions.
• Immediately starting another capture without moving the pointer can briefly
  leave the ordinary pointer visible. Pointer movement or mouse-down restores
  the crosshair while selection remains functional.
• Locking the Mac during an active drag can leave selection pending after
  unlock. Quit and reopen CopyLasso before another pointer action; if the
  retained selection is allowed to complete, the clipboard may change.
• CopyLasso never reads the prior clipboard. In the rare event that AppKit
  accepts clearing it but rejects the following text write, the prior contents
  may already be lost.
• Updates are manual in version 0.1.

CopyLasso is released under the MIT License and created by Bennett Hilberg.