Screen tools
A group of built-in plugins that read the screen (text, QR codes, colors) or change how it looks (red tint, extra dark, CRT scanlines, Night Shift, brightness). Each one is a launcher command, and some also have a hotkey.
Copy text from the screen
OCR (ocr.js) reads the text in a part of the screen and copies it. Press ⌘⇧O, or run OCR Selection from the launcher, then drag a box around the text. Press Escape to cancel. Text recognition runs on your Mac.
Screenshot Rename (screenshot-rename.js) adds the launcher command Rename Last Screenshot. It reads the text in the newest screenshot on your Desktop and renames the file after the first line, for example invoice-march.png. If the name is taken, it adds -2, -3, and so on.
Selecting a part of the screen needs the Screen Recording permission. Grant it in Settings → Permissions.
QR codes
QR Code Tools (qr.js) adds three launcher commands:
- Scan QR from Screen: drag a box around a QR code. Macotron copies what the code holds. This needs Screen Recording.
- Scan QR from Camera: opens a Scan QR Code window with a camera preview. Hold the code up to the camera. The window closes and copies the contents when it finds a code. Cancel stops the scan. This needs the Camera permission.
- Show QR: shows a QR code for the text on the clipboard. If the clipboard is empty, it asks for the text.
Pick a color
Color Picker (color-picker.js) opens the macOS magnifier. Press ⌘⇧K, or run Pick Color, then click a pixel. Macotron copies its hex color value and shows the value and the screen coordinates.
Check colors for color blindness
Color Blindness Simulator (color-blindness.js) takes one screenshot of the main display and shows it full screen, repainted the way a color-blind viewer sees it. Use it to check a design without changing your display. The launcher commands are Simulate Deuteranopia, Simulate Protanopia, Simulate Tritanopia, and Simulate Achromatopsia. In the overlay, press 1 to 4 to switch between them. Press Escape or click to close it. This needs Screen Recording.
Screen effects
Screen Effects (screen-effects.js) changes how the display looks. Run a command again to turn the effect off.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| Toggle Night Vision | Tints every display red, to keep your eyes adjusted to a dark room. |
| Toggle Extra Dark | Dims the display below the lowest brightness the hardware allows. |
| Toggle Invert Display | Swaps white and black. |
| Toggle CRT Effect | Lays scanlines and a phosphor grille over the desktop and darkens the picture. It does not curve the image. |
| Toggle Night Shift | Turns Night Shift on or off. |
| Night Shift 60% | Sets the Night Shift strength to 60%. |
| Toggle True Tone | Turns True Tone on or off, on displays that have it. |
| Toggle Grayscale | Shows the display in gray. |
Night Vision, Extra Dark, and Invert are one setting, so turning one on turns the others off. The plugin remembers which one is on and puts it back after a plugin reload or a restart.
A command that this Mac cannot run shows Unavailable.
The CRT overlay covers the displays that are connected when you turn it on. After you connect a display, turn the overlay off and on again.
Brightness and XDR
Brightness Commands (brightness.js) adds two hotkeys: ⌃⌥- makes the display dimmer and ⌃⌥= makes it brighter, by 10% at a time. The launcher command Toggle XDR turns the extra-bright range of an XDR display on or off.
All the hotkeys on this page can be changed in Settings → Plugins. See Hotkeys.