Proofreader

A sleek macOS menu bar proofreader — powered by Google Gemini.
Lives quietly in your menu bar. No dock icon, no window clutter. Just type and fix.

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✨ Features

🧭 Menu bar app	Always a click away — no dock icon, no separate window.
🌍 Auto language	Detects German or English automatically and replies in that language.
✅ Grammar & spelling	Fixes grammar, spelling, and punctuation without changing your style.
📸 Screenshot correct	Drag a box over any text on screen — it's recognized and corrected.
📋 One-click copy	Send the result straight to your clipboard.
⚙️ Settings window	Set app language & Gemini API key in one place — stored permanently.

Supported languages: German · English

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📦 Requirements

• 🖥️ macOS 14 or newer
• 🛠️ Xcode 16 or newer (to build)
• 🔑 A free Gemini API key

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🚀 Installation

Build from source

git clone git@github.com:alirezasalehfar/proofreader.git
cd proofreader

1. Open Proofreader.xcodeproj in Xcode.
2. Under Signing & Capabilities, select your Team (a free Apple account is enough for local use).
3. Under App Sandbox → Network, enable Outgoing Connections (Client) so the Gemini request can reach the internet.
4. Set the scheme to Release (optional), then Product → Build (⌘B).
5. In the navigator, expand Products, right-click Proofreader.app → Show in Finder, and drag it into Applications.

🔁 Launch at login

System Settings → General → Login Items → "Open at Login" → add Proofreader.app with +.

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🔧 Setup

🔑 Gemini API key

1. Sign in at aistudio.google.com/apikey.
2. Create API key → new project → copy the key.
3. In the app, click the gear ⚙️ (top-right) or press ⌘,.
4. Paste it into Gemini API key → Save & Close.

The key is stored locally in the app's settings and is never part of the source code — safe to push to a public repo.

⚠️ On the free tier, Google may use your input text to improve its models — don't paste sensitive content. Usage stays free as long as no billing is enabled.

📸 Screen recording permission (for screenshot correction)

The first time you use screenshot correction, macOS asks for Screen Recording access:

System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording → enable the app and restart it once.

Note: the screenshot feature launches /usr/sbin/screencapture and therefore does not work while App Sandbox is enabled. For text correction alone, the sandbox is fine — you only need the network capability above.

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📖 Usage

1. Click the check-bubble icon in the menu bar.
2. Type or paste your text.
3. Hit Correct — the corrected text appears below.
4. For text inside an image, click the scan icon and drag over the area.
5. Copy puts the result on your clipboard.

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🧱 Tech overview

• 🎨 SwiftUI with MenuBarExtra (window style) for menu bar integration
• 🤖 Google Gemini API (gemini-2.5-flash) for text & image correction
• 💾 Settings persisted via @AppStorage (UserDefaults)
• 🖼️ Screenshots via the system screencapture -i tool

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📝 Notes

• The app is locally self-signed. On first launch, right-click → Open if Gatekeeper complains.
• Without a key, the app shows a friendly reminder to add one in Settings.

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📄 License

MIT © 2026 Alireza Salehfar

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Made with SwiftUI · Runs on your Mac 🖥️