Extract Text from Image (OCR)
Extract text from images locally with built-in Tesseract or the optional high-accuracy RapidOCR runtime and pinned PP-OCR ONNX models. Choose automatic recognition or an English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language hint. The image and extracted text stay on your self-hosted server.
Features
- Built-in Fast tier powered by Tesseract
- Optional Balanced and Best tiers powered by RapidOCR and PP-OCRv6 ONNX models
- Printed document and scene-text recognition with orientation handling
- Automatic, English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean language modes
- Portable Linux amd64/arm64 accurate runtime that also works on NVIDIA hosts
- Batch OCR across multiple images
What you can do
- Digitize text from scanned documents and receipts
- Extract data from screenshots and whiteboard photos
- Convert signage and labels in photographs to searchable text
- Automate data entry from printed forms and invoices
AI that runs on your hardware. No cloud APIs, no usage limits.
Unlike cloud AI services, SnapOtter's Extract Text from Image (OCR) runs the ML model directly on your server. Your files are processed locally with no data sent to external APIs. No per-file fees, no rate limits, no privacy concerns. Deploy once with Docker and use it as much as you need.
Frequently asked questions
- What languages does the OCR support?
- SnapOtter exposes automatic recognition plus explicit English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean modes. Automatic, English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese work with every tier. Korean requires the Balanced or Best tier and the optional accurate runtime; Fast returns an incompatibility error for Korean instead of silently using another language or tier.
- Can OCR read handwritten text?
- The OCR models are optimized for printed document and scene text. Neat, high-contrast handwriting may be recognized, but handwriting accuracy is less predictable than printed text and is not a dedicated handwriting-recognition mode.
- Does the OCR work on photos of signs and documents?
- Yes. The scene text detection handles text in photographs (signs, menus, labels) as well as clean document scans. For best results, ensure the text is in focus and well-lit.
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