Ethertext

Ethertext is a macOS menu bar application that transforms copied text using AI, and memorizes text, webpages, and dictated audio for later recall. It is aimed at Mac users who want to edit, clean up, or transform text and code without leaving the application they are working in. Ethertext is an AI clipboard: copy, transform, and paste.

A user copies source text to the clipboard, picks a transform from the Ethertext dropdown, and pastes the result back after a confirmation beep. Keyboard shortcuts clean selected text in place, memorize text or a webpage, dictate and transcribe spoken audio, capture and memorize on-screen content, or recall previously memorized text and ask questions about it. Ethertext runs using API keys added in Settings for OpenAI, Google Gemini, or Anthropic, or using local models through Ollama.

Ethertext explains, debugs, and translates code snippets, adjusts the tone and style of transformed text, and can run entirely offline using on-device MLX models on Apple Silicon, with no API keys required. It downloads models from HuggingFace and runs them locally for privacy. The settings let a user pick a model's quality and creativity level, configure and test an Ollama model, and add custom prompts.

Ethertext can be downloaded for free for macOS 14 and later, either directly or through Homebrew. Using cloud AI models requires a user's own OpenAI, Google Gemini, or Anthropic API key added in Settings, while Ollama and on-device MLX models run without any API key. The app auto-updates using the Sparkle framework.

Use cases

• Cleaning up selected text in any app with a shortcut
• Explaining, debugging or translating code snippets
• Recalling previously memorized text with AI assistance
• Running AI models fully locally for privacy