Capture any area
Drag to select a region and snap exactly what you need — nothing more, nothing less.
Free forever ·
macOS
Screenshots & dictation, the easy way.
Meet AI Buddy — grab any region, window, or full screen, or just talk and watch your words become text. One tiny menu-bar app, one keystroke, zero fuss.
The free screenshot sidekick Mac users love
Copied to clipboard
Transcribing…
$0
Free, no strings
2-in-1
Capture & dictate
⌘⇧
One keystroke
100%
Native macOS
Features
Everything a screenshot tool should do
AI Buddy lives in your menu bar and stays out of the way until you need it. Then it just works — capture, copy, dictate, and share.
Window & full screen
Grab a single window or your entire display with one shortcut, straight from the menu bar.
Straight to clipboard
Every capture lands on your clipboard instantly, ready to paste anywhere you need it.
Save or share
Keep captures as crisp PNGs, or drag them straight into any app in a single move.
Global hotkeys
Trigger a capture from anywhere on your Mac — you never have to switch windows.
Dictate to text
Talk and watch your words appear, transcribed on the fly by the Gemini 3.5 Flash model.
How it works
From keystroke to done in seconds
No menus to hunt through, no apps to open. Three simple steps and you're back to work.
1
Press a shortcut
Hit your hotkey from anywhere. AI Buddy springs to life without stealing focus.
2
Capture or speak
Drag a region, pick a window, or start talking — whichever you need in the moment.
3
Paste anywhere
Your image or text is already on the clipboard. Paste it into any app and move on.
Now open
source
Read the code, build it yourself
AI Buddy is now source-available on GitHub — about 900 lines of Swift, zero dependencies, and it builds from the command line in a couple of seconds. Peek under the hood, tweak it, or compile your own copy.
~900 lines of Swift
No dependencies
PolyForm
Noncommercial license
# clone & build in seconds $ git clone github.com/morion4000/ai-buddy $ cd ai-buddy $ ./build.sh 🎙️ AI Buddy.app built → menu bar
Free for
everyone, always
Download AI Buddy for Free
No trial. No credit card. No catch. AI Buddy is the free screenshot and dictation companion for your Mac — capture, copy, and share without paying a cent.
Universal build for Intel
& Apple Silicon
Instant install, no
sign-up
Private — runs on
your Mac
The free screenshot sidekick Mac users love