Lingo
Select text anywhere on your Mac. Press a hotkey. Read it in your language.
Free & open source (MIT) · macOS 15+ · Apple Silicon & Intel · auto-updates
Why Lingo
⚡ Instant, anywhere
Global hotkeys translate the text you've selected in any app — browser, editor, chat, PDF.
🔒 Offline & private
On-device Apple translation works with no account, no network, no tracking. Nothing is logged.
🤖 AI when you want it
Higher-quality AI translation through the Claude or ChatGPT CLI you already pay for. No API keys stored, ever.
📷 Screenshot OCR
Capture any part of the screen and translate the text inside it — menus, images, videos.
✍️ Translate & replace
Rewrite the selected text in place — draft in your language, send in theirs.
📚 Explain & learn
An AI tutor panel explains words and phrases with examples — and it can read images too.
Install
Download: grab Lingo.dmg, drag to Applications. (Unnotarized: first launch needs System Settings → Privacy & Security → “Open Anyway”.)
Homebrew:
brew tap JasonSung0724/tap brew install --cask --no-quarantine lingo-ai-translator
One-liner (installs, clears quarantine, launches):
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JasonSung0724/Lingo-ai-translator/main/scripts/install.sh)"
Default hotkeys
| Translate selection | ⇧⌘T |
| Quick popup at the selection | ⇧⌘P |
| Translate screenshot (OCR) | ⇧⌘O |
| Translate & replace in place | ⇧⌘R |
| Explain selection | ⇧⌘E |
| Open translator window | ⇧⌘L |
All rebindable. A first-run guide walks you through permissions and setup.
Privacy
Offline mode never touches the network. AI mode shells out to the CLI you installed and signed into — Lingo stores no API keys and sends nothing anywhere else. No analytics, no telemetry, MIT-licensed source you can read.