FreezeText MCP Server
OCR anything on your Mac screen from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client.
This is the official Model Context Protocol server for FreezeText — a free native macOS app that freezes the screen and extracts text via Apple Vision OCR. Whether running videos, disappearing popups, protected PDFs, or hover tooltips — FreezeText makes any visible text copyable.
You need the FreezeText app installed and running with its HTTP API enabled (Settings → API). This MCP server talks to the app's local API. Get FreezeText (free) at store.juergenkoller.software/apps/freezetext.
What you can do
"Claude, OCR whatever is on my screen right now and summarize it."
"Cursor, run OCR on this screenshot (base64) and extract the invoice number."
"Search my FreezeText history for everything containing 'tracking number'."
The MCP server exposes 12 tools:
| Category | Tools |
|---|---|
| Capture & OCR | capture_screen (freeze + OCR), capture_region (OCR a specific rect), ocr_image (OCR a base64 image) |
| History | list_history, search_history, get_history_entry, add_history, delete_history_entry, clear_history, export_history (JSON/CSV) |
| OCR config | get_ocr_languages, set_ocr_languages |
All OCR runs locally via Apple Vision Framework — no cloud, no data transmission.
Installation
Prerequisites
- macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later
- FreezeText app installed and running — get it free here — with the HTTP API enabled in Settings
- Swift 5.9+ (Xcode 15+) if building from source
Build from source
git clone https://github.com/juergenkoller-software/freezetext-mcp.git
cd freezetext-mcp
swift build -c release
# Binary: .build/release/FreezeTextMCP
Pre-built binary
See Releases.
Configuration
Claude Desktop
Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"freezetext": {
"command": "/path/to/FreezeTextMCP",
"env": {
"FREEZETEXT_API_PORT": "9876",
"FREEZETEXT_API_TOKEN": "your-token-if-set"
}
}
}
}
FREEZETEXT_API_TOKEN is only required if you set an API token in FreezeText's Settings.
Claude Code
claude mcp add freezetext /path/to/FreezeTextMCP \
--env FREEZETEXT_API_PORT=9876
Cursor / other MCP clients
Same pattern — stdio MCP server, configured via the two env vars above.
How it works
┌────────────────┐ JSON-RPC stdio ┌────────────────┐ HTTP(+Bearer) ┌────────────────┐
│ Claude/Cursor │ ───────────────► │ FreezeTextMCP │ ────────────────► │ FreezeText.app│
│ (MCP client) │ ◄─────────────── │ (this repo) │ ◄──────────────── │ (port 9876) │
└────────────────┘ └────────────────┘ └────────────────┘
This is a full MCP server (built on the official modelcontextprotocol/swift-sdk) that maps MCP tool calls to FreezeText's local HTTP API. The OCR engine (Apple Vision), screen capture, and history storage live in the FreezeText app.
Environment variables
| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
FREEZETEXT_API_PORT | 9876 | Port of FreezeText's local HTTP API |
FREEZETEXT_API_TOKEN | (none) | Bearer token — only if set in FreezeText Settings |
About FreezeText
FreezeText is a free native macOS OCR utility. Highlights:
- Free, no subscription, no sign-up
- Lightning-fast OCR — Apple Vision Framework, under 0.3 seconds
- Freeze the screen — capture text from videos, popups, protected PDFs, hover tooltips
- Global hotkey (⌘⇧7)
- QR code & barcode detection
- Searchable history with color tags + JSON/CSV export
- HTTP API (40+ endpoints) — this MCP server is built on it
- 100% local — no cloud, no data transmission
→ Get FreezeText free at store.juergenkoller.software
License
MIT — see LICENSE. This MCP server is open source; the FreezeText app is free (proprietary).
Issues & support
- MCP server bugs: open an issue
- App support: support@juergenkoller.software
Built by Juergen Koller Software GmbH.
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