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https://github.com/dynobo/normcap

OCR powered screen-capture tool to capture information instead of images
https://github.com/dynobo/normcap

multiplatform ocr python screenshot tesserocr tool

Last synced: 29 days ago
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OCR powered screen-capture tool to capture information instead of images

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README 

        



# NormCap



**_OCR powered screen-capture tool to capture information instead of images. For Linux,

macOS and Windows._**



[![Test](https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/dynobo/normcap/cicd.yaml?label=CI/CD&branch=main)](https://github.com/dynobo/normcap/actions/workflows/cicd.yaml)

[![Coverage Status](https://img.shields.io/coverallsCoverage/github/dynobo/normcap?label=Coverage&branch=main)](https://coveralls.io/github/dynobo/normcap)

[![CodeQL](https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/dynobo/normcap/cicd.yaml?label=CodeQL&branch=main)](https://github.com/dynobo/normcap/security/code-scanning/tools/CodeQL/status/)



[![GitHub](https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/dynobo/normcap/total?label=Github%20downloads&color=blue)](https://hanadigital.github.io/grev/?user=dynobo&repo=normcap)

[![PyPi](https://img.shields.io/pypi/dm/normcap?label=PyPi%20downloads&color=blue)](https://pypi.org/project/normcap)

[![Flathub](https://img.shields.io/flathub/downloads/com.github.dynobo.normcap?label=Flathub%20downloads&color=blue)](https://flathub.org/apps/details/com.github.dynobo.normcap)

[![AUR](https://img.shields.io/aur/votes/normcap?label=AUR%20votes&color=blue)](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/normcap)



Buy Me A Coffee



**Links:** [Source Code](https://github.com/dynobo/normcap) |

[Documentation](https://dynobo.github.io/normcap/) |

[FAQs](https://dynobo.github.io/normcap/#faqs) |

[Releases](https://github.com/dynobo/normcap/releases) |

[Changelog](https://github.com/dynobo/normcap/blob/main/CHANGELOG)



[![Screencast](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/11071876/189767585-8bc45c18-8392-411d-84dc-cef1cb5dbc47.gif)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dynobo/normcap/main/assets/normcap.gif)



## Quickstart



Choose **_one_** of the options for a prebuilt release. If you encounter an issue please

take a look at the [FAQs](https://dynobo.github.io/normcap/#faqs) or

[report](https://github.com/dynobo/normcap/issues) it.



#### Windows



- [NormCap-0.5.8-x86_64-Windows.msi](https://github.com/dynobo/normcap/releases/download/v0.5.8/NormCap-0.5.8-x86_64-Windows.msi)

  (Installer)



#### Linux



- [NormCap-0.5.8-x86_64.AppImage](https://github.com/dynobo/normcap/releases/download/v0.5.8/NormCap-0.5.8-x86_64.AppImage)

  (Binary)

- [`normcap` @ AUR](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/normcap) (Arch/Manjaro)

- [com.github.dynobo.normcap @ FlatHub](https://flathub.org/apps/details/com.github.dynobo.normcap)

  (FlatPak)



#### macOS



Note: You have to allow the unsigned application on first start: "System Preferences" →

"Security & Privacy" → "General" → "Open anyway". You also have to allow NormCap to take

screenshots. ([#135](https://github.com/dynobo/normcap/issues/135))



- [NormCap-0.5.8-x86_64-macOS.dmg](https://github.com/dynobo/normcap/releases/download/v0.5.8/NormCap-0.5.8-x86_64-macOS.dmg)

  (Installer for x86/64)

- [NormCap-0.5.8-arm64-macOS.dmg](https://github.com/dynobo/normcap/releases/download/v0.5.8/NormCap-0.5.8-arm64-macOS.dmg)

  (Installer for M1)



## Install Python package



As an _alternative_ to a prebuilt package from above you can install the

[NormCap Python package](https://pypi.org/project/normcap/) for **Python >=3.9**, but it

is a bit more complicated:



#### On Linux



```sh

# Install dependencies (Ubuntu/Debian)

sudo apt install build-essential tesseract-ocr tesseract-ocr-eng libtesseract-dev libleptonica-dev wl-clipboard



## Install dependencies (Arch)

sudo pacman -S tesseract tesseract-data-eng wl-clipboard



## Install dependencies (Fedora)

sudo dnf install tesseract wl-clipboard



## Install dependencies (openSUSE)

sudo zypper install python3-devel tesseract-ocr tesseract-ocr-devel wl-clipboard



# Install normcap

pip install normcap



# Run

./normcap

```



#### On macOS



```sh

# Install dependencies

brew install tesseract tesseract-lang



# Install normcap

pip install normcap



# Run

./normcap

```



#### On Windows



1\. Install `Tesseract 5` by using the

[installer provided by UB Mannheim](https://github.com/UB-Mannheim/tesseract/wiki).



2\. Identify the path to Tesseract base folder. It should contain a `/tessdata` subfolder

and the `tesseract.exe` binary. Depending on if you installed Tesseract system-wide or

in userspace, the base folder should be:



```

C:\Program Files\Tesseract-OCR

```



or



```

C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Programs\Tesseract-OCR

```



3\. Adjust environment variables:



- Create an environment variable `TESSDATA_PREFIX` and set it to _your_ Tesseract base

  folder, e.g.: "System Properties" → Tab "Advanced" → "Environment Variables..." →

  "New..." → Variable: `TESSDATA_PREFIX`, Value: `"C:\Program Files\Tesseract-OCR"`



- Append Tesseract's base folder to the environment variable `PATH`, e.g.: "System

  Properties" → Tab "Advanced" → "Environment Variables..." → Section "User variables"

  → Select `PATH` → "Edit..." → Add a new entry `"C:\Program Files\Tesseract-OCR"`



- To test your setup, open a new `cmd`-terminal and run:



    ```cmd

    tesseract --list-langs

    ```



4\. Install and run NormCap:



```bash

# Install normcap

pip install normcap



# Run

normcap

```



## Why "NormCap"?



See [XKCD](https://xkcd.com):



[![Comic](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/norm_normal_file_format.png)](https://xkcd.com/2116/)



## Development



Prerequisites for setting up a development environment are:

[**Python >=3.9**](https://www.python.org/downloads/),

[**hatch**](https://hatch.pypa.io/latest/install/) and

[**Tesseract >=5.0**](https://tesseract-ocr.github.io/tessdoc/#5xx) (incl. **language

data**).



```sh

# Clone repository

git clone https://github.com/dynobo/normcap.git



# Change into project directory

cd normcap



# Create virtual env and install dependencies

hatch env create



# Register pre-commit hook

hatch run pre-commit install



# Run NormCap in virtual env

hatch run python -m normcap

```



## Credits



This project uses the following non-standard libraries:



- [pyside6](https://pypi.org/project/PySide6/) _- bindings for Qt UI Framework_



And it depends on external software:



- [tesseract](https://github.com/tesseract-ocr/tesseract) - _OCR engine_

- [wl-clipboard](https://github.com/bugaevc/wl-clipboard) - _Wayland clipboard

  utilities_

- [xclip](https://github.com/astrand/xclip) - _CLI to the X11 clipboard_



Packaging is done with:



- [briefcase](https://pypi.org/project/briefcase/) _- converting Python projects into_

  _standalone apps_



Thanks to the maintainers of those nice tools!



## Similar open source tools



If NormCap doesn't fit your needs, try those alternatives (no particular order):



- [TextSnatcher](https://github.com/RajSolai/TextSnatcher) (Linux)

- [GreenShot](https://getgreenshot.org/) (Linux, macOS)

- [TextShot](https://github.com/ianzhao05/textshot) (Windows)

- [gImageReader](https://github.com/manisandro/gImageReader) (Linux, Windows)

- [Capture2Text](https://sourceforge.net/projects/capture2text) (Windows)

- [Frog](https://github.com/TenderOwl/Frog) (Linux)

- [Textinator](https://github.com/RhetTbull/textinator) (macOS)

- [Text-Grab](https://github.com/TheJoeFin/Text-Grab) (Windows)

- [dpScreenOCR](https://danpla.github.io/dpscreenocr/) (Linux, Windows)

- [PowerToys Text Extractor](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/text-extractor)

  (Windows)



## Certification



![WOMM](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dynobo/lmdiag/master/badge.png)



## Contributors





  




Made with [contrib.rocks](https://contrib.rocks)