How to Search Screenshots by Text on macOS
Find old screenshots by typing what was inside them. Learn how OCR-powered screenshot search works on Mac using Apple's on-device intelligence.
The problem with finding old screenshots
You know you took a screenshot of that error message. Or that receipt. Or that Slack conversation. But it was weeks ago, and now you're scrolling through hundreds of files named "Screenshot 2026-02-..." hoping to spot the right one.
This is the fundamental problem: screenshots are images, but the useful part is usually the text inside them.
How OCR-powered search works
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) reads the text inside an image and makes it searchable. On macOS 14+, Apple provides on-device intelligence that can do this without sending anything to a server.
Pizazoo uses this capability at import time. When a new screenshot arrives:
1. The app reads all visible text inside the image
2. It indexes that text locally in your library
3. You can search for any word or phrase from any screenshot, at any time
It's fast, private, and works completely offline.
What you can search for
Anything that appears as text in your screenshots:
- Error messages — type "TypeError" or "404" to find debugging screenshots
- Receipts and invoices — search for amounts, order numbers, or vendor names
- Code snippets — search for function names, variable names, or comments
- Chat conversations — find messages by content, sender name, or date shown
- UI text — search for button labels, menu items, or settings you captured
Real examples
- Search "API key" → find the screenshot where you saved a key from a dashboard
- Search "order confirmed" → find a purchase receipt
- Search "merge conflict" → find that Git error you screenshotted last month
- Search "$49.99" → find any receipt or pricing screenshot with that amount
How to set it up
2. Import your existing screenshot folder — the app will read and index all of them
3. Start searching by typing any word you remember seeing
The free version includes basic search. Pro unlocks full OCR-powered search with saved views and advanced filtering.
Why on-device matters
Unlike cloud OCR services, Apple's on-device intelligence processes everything locally. Your screenshots never leave your Mac. There's no API call, no upload, no third-party processing. The text stays indexed on your machine.
This is especially important if your screenshots contain sensitive information — passwords, financial data, personal conversations, or proprietary code.