Download Speakybara for Windows and Mac
Speakybara is a free app for Windows and Mac that turns any part of your screen into text you can copy or listen to: press a hotkey, drag a frame, done.
Free. No account, no email address, no trial that ends.
This is a test version
Getting started on Windows takes three steps
About two minutes. Nothing gets installed, and the second step surprises people, so read it before you start. On a Mac, see the next section.
Unzip the whole folder
Right-click the zip and choose Extract All; starting the app from inside the zip does not work. Nothing is installed: your settings, history and voices stay in that folder, so deleting the folder removes everything.
Expect the blue Windows warning
Double-click Speakybara.exe. The app does not carry a code-signing certificate yet, so Windows SmartScreen shows a blue screen naming an unknown publisher. Choose More info, then Run anyway. If you would rather check first, compare the SHA-256 below with the file you downloaded.
Drag your first frame
Speakybara opens its window and puts an icon next to the clock. Press Ctrl+Alt+S anywhere, drag a frame over some text and press Enter: it is read aloud. With Ctrl+Alt+E, Enter puts the text on your clipboard instead.
Getting started on a Mac takes three steps
A native Mac app that does what the Windows version does, with the text recognition and voices of macOS itself. The Microsoft Edge voices are Windows-only. It is a test version too, and Apple has not signed it yet, so the first start takes one extra step.
Unzip it and move it to Applications
Double-click the zip in your Downloads folder, then drag Speakybara into the Applications folder.
Allow it once in System Settings
The first time, macOS says it cannot check the app for malware, because Apple has not signed it yet. Click Done, open System Settings › Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway. You only do this once.
Turn on Screen Recording and drag a frame
Speakybara puts its icon in the menu bar and needs Screen Recording to see the text in your frame; it asks for it. Then press Control+Option+S anywhere, drag a frame over some text and press Enter: it is read aloud. With Control+Option+E, Enter puts the text on your clipboard instead.
Good to know
The hotkeys, what it needs and how to check the file. Open what you need.
Default hotkeysThey work in every app, also when Speakybara has no window open. Change any of them in settings.
| What it does | Keys |
|---|---|
| Drag a frame over part of your screen; the text lands on your clipboard | CtrlAltE |
| Drag a frame over part of your screen; the text is read aloud | CtrlAltS |
| Drag a frame over part of your screen; AI explains or summarises it (set which in Settings) and reads the result aloud | CtrlAltU |
| Read whatever is on the clipboard right now | CtrlAltC |
| Pause, or continue where it stopped | CtrlAltP |
| Stop reading and close the read-along window | CtrlAltX |
| Read the last text again, without dragging a new frame | CtrlAltR |
After the drag the frame stays, with a small bar under it: Enter does what the hotkey says, or pick something else in the bar. Turn off Frame stays after dragging (Settings › Capture) and it happens the moment you let go. On a Mac, Ctrl is Control (⌃) and Alt is Option (⌥): Control+Option+S reads a frame aloud. Change any of them in the settings, under shortcuts: click a field, press the keys you want, done. Speakybara reports a conflict if another program already uses them.
What it needsThe facts in a list, so you can check them before you install.
- Operating system
- Windows 10 (build 19041) or newer, Windows 11 recommended; on a Mac, macOS 14 (Sonoma) or newer
- Architecture
- Windows: 64-bit (x64). Mac: Apple silicon (M1 or later); Macs with an Intel chip are not supported
- RAM
- 4 GB
- Memory in use
- On Windows about 55 MB, plus about 60 MB while a local (Piper) voice is loaded; 0 MB video memory
- Disk space
- About 320 MB on Windows, a Dutch and an English local voice included; about 50 MB on a Mac. Each extra local voice adds about 60 MB
- GPU
- Not needed
- Internet
- Only for online voices; local voices work offline
- Languages
- 35 languages, in the app and for reading aloud; a few, such as Hebrew and Hindi, only via the clipboard, because Windows or macOS cannot read them from the screen. Most are detected per selection and per sentence; on Windows, English words in a Dutch sentence even per word
- Playback speed
- 0.8x to 1.75x
- Text recognition
- The text recognition built into Windows or macOS, on your own computer (on Windows 50-150 ms); the image is discarded afterwards
Verify the downloadBecause the app is not signed yet, the checksum is how you confirm that the file you have is the file we published.
- File
Speakybara-0.3.1-windows.zip- SHA-256
791f0ae58f3a55c0612b6dc67372adb491ce97480d01fe9c63901aa49c5c3477
Open PowerShell in your downloads folder and run:
Get-FileHash .\Speakybara-0.3.1-windows.zip -Algorithm SHA256- File
Speakybara-0.3.1-macos.zip- SHA-256
a378efb23a28144ddf4f04b912b252abd33e298e0d6e73ce75ccb8792a99493f
On a Mac, open Terminal, go to your Downloads folder (cd ~/Downloads) and run:
shasum -a 256 Speakybara-0.3.1-macos.zipNext
Bought Speakybara Complete?
The app cannot activate Complete yet: there is no field for a licence key yet. Your key stays on your account page, and the app works in full without it.
- ChangelogWhat changed in this version, and in every version before it.
- Install guideThe same three steps with a screenshot for each one.
Last updated October 4, 2026