Smart Translator for macOS

A privacy-focused macOS menu bar app that uses local LLMs (via Ollama) for instant text correction, translation, and custom text processing — all from your clipboard.

Screenshots

Menu	Menu Bar	Processing	Settings

Key Features

• Global Hotkey — Press Ctrl + Cmd + C to instantly correct clipboard text.
• Custom Use Cases — Define your own text processing actions (token saving, text cleanup, summarization, tone conversion, etc.). The local LLM refines your description into a proper prompt, then you validate before saving.
• Translation — Translate clipboard text to any language. Add/remove languages on the fly.
• Smart Correction — Fix grammar, spelling, and clarity while preserving formatting.
• Async Processing — Non-blocking background tasks keep the menu bar responsive.
• Clipboard History & Undo — Up to 10 items with one-click undo.
• 100% Local — All processing stays on your machine. No data leaves your device.
• Dynamic Model Selection — Switch between available Ollama models at runtime.

Custom Use Cases

The app goes beyond correction and translation. You can create any text processing pipeline:

1. Click Settings > Manage Use Cases > Add Use Case...
2. Describe what you want (e.g., "remove verbose filler words to save tokens", "strip HTML and clean up formatting")
3. The local LLM generates a refined prompt from your description
4. Review and edit the generated prompt before saving
5. Your new use case appears in the main menu, ready to use

Examples of custom use cases:

• Token Saver — Strip unnecessary content to reduce token usage
• HTML Cleaner — Remove tags and extract clean text
• Bullet Summarizer — Condense long text into bullet points
• Formal Rewriter — Convert casual text to business tone

Prerequisites

1. macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel)
2. Ollama installed and running — ollama.com
3. At least one local model pulled:

   ollama pull llama3.2   # Fast
   ollama pull mistral    # Higher quality

Installation

Build as macOS App (recommended)

chmod +x build_script.sh
./build_script.sh

Grant Accessibility and Notifications permissions when prompted.

Run from Source

pip install rumps requests pyperclip py2app pynput
python3 smart_translator_dynamic.py

Usage

1. Copy text to your clipboard
2. Press Ctrl + Cmd + C for instant correction, or click the menu bar icon and choose an action
3. Wait for the Success notification
4. Paste your processed text

Configuration

Config is stored at ~/Library/Application Support/SmartTranslator/config.json.

• Ollama URL — Connect to a remote Ollama instance via Settings
• Prompts — Edit correction/translation prompt templates in the config file
• Languages — Add/remove via Settings > Manage Languages
• Use Cases — Add/remove via Settings > Manage Use Cases
• Logs — View at Settings > Open Logs (~/Library/Logs/SmartTranslator/)

Troubleshooting

• Hotkey not working — Add the app to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility
• "Offline" status — Verify Ollama is running (ollama serve)
• UI issues — Check logs via Settings > Open Logs