⌃⌃ The AI companion for macOS · Free forever

Built with AI.
Built for AI.

Ctrome is an AI-first companion for your Mac. Select anything for instant AI actions, or press ⌃⌃ to summon ChatGPT, OCR, memory, and a lofi chat room. Free, forever.

Download for Mac — Free See how it works

Apple-notarized

macOS 12+ · universal · 2.8 MB

v3.1.6

⌃ ⌃ · ctrome.ai

How it works

Three taps from idea to answer.

No new app to learn. No tab to switch. Ctrome lives in your menu bar and answers to one shortcut.

Select anything

Highlight text in any app — Mail, Safari, Notes, Xcode. A toolbar pops up next to your selection with AI actions: memory, ChatGPT, rewrite, translate, copy.

Press ⌃ twice

Your floating bar appears — ChatGPT search, OCR, clipboard history, memory recall, and a lofi chat room. One shortcut for your whole AI toolkit.

It remembers

Everything you select sticks. Ask AI later to recall, summarize, or act on anything from your day. Ctrome learns which app you need next, locally.

What's inside

Two ways to use Ctrome. Infinite ways to use it.

Select text, or press ⌃⌃. Everything AI-powered lives inside those two gestures.

Select to act

Every selection, an AI action.

Highlight text anywhere and a toolbar appears right next to your cursor — save to memory, ask ChatGPT, rewrite with your local LLM, translate, or copy. No tab-switching. No context loss.

MemoryChatGPTRewriteTranslateApp switchCopy

Translate in place

Any language, right where you are.

Select foreign text, the translation lands beside it instantly. Works across Safari, Mail, Notes — anywhere text exists on your Mac.

10+ languagesInstantIn-place

Memory that lasts

It remembers, so you don't have to.

Every highlight you save is stored locally and indexed for AI recall. Ask later — "what did I read about X this week?" — and Ctrome surfaces it instantly. Your second brain, on-device.

Local-onlyAI recallAcross daysSearchable

Screenshot OCR

Pull text out of anything on screen.

Drag-select any region of your screen — Ctrome turns it into editable text in a heartbeat. Works on PDFs, video frames, locked images, anywhere you can't copy normally.

OfflinePixel-perfectAny appDrag to select

Everything else inside

Six more things, already built in.

⌃⌃

Floating bar

Tap Control twice — ChatGPT, OCR, clipboard, memory recall, all one keystroke away.

✨

Local LLM rewrite

Rewrite selected text with your Ollama model. Offline. Private.

🎯

Inferred app switch

Ctrome quietly learns your patterns and suggests the next app you need.

📋

Clipboard history

Everything you've copied this week, one keystroke away.

🎵

Lofi chat room

Anonymous live chat with ambient music. Work less alone.

🔒

No account, ever

No sign-up, no email, no API key to paste. Download and go.

vs PopClip

You loved PopClip. You'll love Ctrome more.

PopClip invented the selection toolbar on Mac. Ctrome puts AI inside it — and adds the floating bar, memory, OCR, and a lofi chat room on top. For free.

	Ctrome	PopClip
Text-selection toolbar in any app	✓	✓
AI actions built in (ChatGPT, rewrite, translate)	✓	Paid extensions
Selection memory across apps	✓	—
AI recall — ask about what you saved	✓	—
⌃⌃ floating bar	✓	—
Screenshot OCR	✓	—
Clipboard history	✓	—
Local LLM rewrite (Ollama)	✓	—
Inferred app switch (learns patterns)	✓	—
Lofi live chat room	✓	—
Apple-notarized	✓	✓
Pricing	Free forever	$15 one-time + paid extensions

Full write-up: Ctrome vs PopClip →

Privacy first

Your data never touches our servers.

Ctrome runs no backend for your content. Your selection memory lives on your Mac. Your clipboard history lives on your Mac. Inferred app switch learns locally. When you click "Ask ChatGPT," your text goes from your Mac to ChatGPT — nowhere in between. We count downloads on Firebase. That's it.

✓ Apple-notarized — scanned by Apple, no malicious code detected
✓ No account required — no sign-up, no API key to paste
✓ Local LLM rewrite via Ollama — fully offline, never leaves your Mac
✓ Memory stays local — your selections, your clipboard, your app-switch patterns — all on-device

Apple Notary verification result for Ctrome

FAQ

Questions, answered.

How do I use Ctrome?

Two ways. Select any text in any app — a toolbar pops up beside your cursor with AI actions (memory, ChatGPT, rewrite, translate, copy). Or press Control twice to open the floating bar: ChatGPT search, OCR, clipboard history, memory recall, and the lofi chat room.

Is Ctrome safe to use?

Yes. Ctrome is Apple-notarized — Apple has scanned the app and confirmed no malicious code. Ctrome does not collect, upload, or forward any of your data. ChatGPT requests go directly from your Mac to the ChatGPT web interface you already use. Local LLM rewrite never leaves your Mac. Selection memory is stored locally only.

Why does Ctrome need Accessibility permission?

Accessibility is the macOS system permission that lets an app work across other apps — it's how Ctrome reads your selected text and triggers the double-Control shortcut. Your selection never leaves your Mac unless you send it to ChatGPT by clicking that action.

What's the lofi chat room?

An anonymous live chat with ambient lofi music — like a group study room you can drop into while you work. No accounts, no names, no history. Think "YouTube lofi girl channel" but you can chat with whoever else is listening.

Does Ctrome really learn my habits?

The Inferred app switch feature quietly learns, on your Mac, which apps you tend to open after which. When you trigger it, Ctrome suggests the likely next app. Nothing ever leaves your Mac — this is 100% local pattern matching.

What are the keyboard shortcuts?

Press Control twice (tap-tap) to open the floating bar. Press Esc to dismiss. The selection toolbar appears automatically when you highlight text.

How do I quit or open Settings?

Right-click the Ctrome logo in your menu bar. You'll see options to quit, open Settings, or check for updates.

Who is Ctrome for?

Writers, developers, students, researchers — anyone who selects, copies, rewrites, translates, or asks AI dozens of times a day. If you live in the space between your browser, your notes, and ChatGPT, Ctrome is for you.

Does Ctrome work with local models?

Yes. If you have Ollama running locally, Ctrome picks it up for the "Rewrite" action in the selection toolbar. Fully offline, fully private.

Is there a Windows or Linux version?

Not yet — Ctrome is macOS-only. The selection toolbar and double-Control shortcut rely on deep macOS APIs. Follow us on X for roadmap updates.

How much does it cost?

Ctrome is free. From day one. No subscription, no paywall, no "pro" tier. No API keys to paste.

Give your Mac an AI layer.

10 seconds to install. A lifetime of AI one keystroke away. Free forever — because the best productivity tool is the one you never have to justify.

Universal binary · macOS 12+ · v3.1.6

Built with AI. Built for AI.