Meetings & transcription
Text-Grab
Copy any text you can see on screen, entirely offline
★ 5.0k
August 2026
MIT
Meetings & transcription
What we checked ourselves
Not copied from the project's own blurb. These are things we opened and verified, with the date.
- 23 Aug 2026We checked that the link to the project still resolves.
- 14 Aug 2026We read the licence text itself (LICENSE). No unusual restrictions were stated.
- 31 Aug 2026We read the project's own documentation and found no sign that development has stopped.
Where this sits among the 68 tools we list in Meetings & transcription
- Works without using a terminal46 of 68
- No API key required55 of 68
- Keeps your data on your own machine34 of 68
- Commercial use confirmed as allowed54 of 68
Only 20 of the 68 meet all of the conditions above.
Counted from our own checks: every tool we list is examined against the same criteria.
What it does
Pull text out of images, videos, PDFs and any app where you cannot select it, then clean it up and send it straight to the clipboard or an editor. All OCR runs on your own device using the built-in Windows OCR - no internet, no cloud service, no per-use cost. Windows 10 or later, available from the Microsoft Store. Its full-screen grab mode is the basis of the PowerToys Text Extractor.
Summary based on the project's own description. The Japanese page has a fuller beginner guide: setup difficulty, what to prepare, and a step-by-step start.
Screenshots & visuals
Before you start
- Setup difficultySome setup needed
- Command lineNot required
- API keyNot required
- Sends data onlineNo
Judged automatically from the project's own metadata. Always confirm on the official page.
Text-Grab FAQ
- Is Text-Grab free?
- The source is open, but the build distributed through the app store may be a paid download. Check the store listing before installing.
- Do I need to install anything or write code to use Text-Grab?
- You install it like a normal desktop app. No command line involved.
- Does Text-Grab work on a phone?
- No. It needs a computer.
- Can I use Text-Grab commercially?
- The licence is MIT, which permits commercial use. Conditions such as keeping the copyright notice still apply, so read the licence text before shipping it inside something.
How it compares
The conditions that decide whether you can actually use it, side by side.
| Tool | Command line | API key | Sends data out | Phone | Commercial use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text-Grab (this page) | Not needed | Not needed | No | No | Yes |
| Handy | Not needed | Not needed | No | No | Yes |
| meetily | Not needed | Not needed | No | No | Yes |
| Buzz | Not needed | Not needed | No | No | Yes |
"Sends data out" means your input is uploaded to someone's server. Pick "No" when the material cannot leave your organisation.