Lilt
Free & open source. For your Mac.
You can select text anywhere on your screen. Lilt keeps the original layout and reads it aloud, highlighting each word as it goes. Click a word to jump to that part. The controls appear when you move your pointer over the reading, and disappear when you move away.
Click any word to jump there.
Try Lilt. Turn your sound on
and I’ll show you.
A screen reader for a passage at a time
Press your shortcut and draw a box around a passage. It works with what’s visible in any app.
Lilt keeps the original layout, with a highlight on each spoken word. No wall of reformatted text.
Choose a voice and a comfortable speed. Pause, skip to a word, or return to a reading later.
Small app. Useful details.
In your menu bar when you need it.
Out of the way when you don’t.
Kokoro speech runs on your Mac. Choose from 28 English voices, with instant previews.
Text recognition and speech stay on your Mac. No account, subscription, or analytics.
Replay from history, export the text or audio, and set when old captures are deleted.
Have a model leave out buttons and interface clutter. Only the selected capture goes to your chosen provider.
Free and open source. Made for Apple Silicon Macs
running macOS 15 or later.
Early release
Lilt isn’t Apple-notarized yet. macOS may stop it from opening the first time.
After trying to open it, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway. Lilt also needs Screen Recording permission to capture the text you select.
The speech model is included in the download. Local reading works offline from the first launch.
Full installation instructionsWith the default settings, your captures and reading text stay local. The speech model is bundled with the app. If you enable AI filtering, Lilt sends the selected screenshot to the provider you configure. You bring your own key and pay that provider directly. Lilt has no analytics.
Only the area you select. You can also paste text or read your clipboard. It works best with one passage at a time; complex tables, code, and multiple columns can need a tighter selection.
The current version supports English, with American and British voices. Other languages aren’t ready yet.
Yes. The defaults are Shift–Command–L to capture and Option–Command–L to read the clipboard. Open Settings to record your own shortcuts.
Lilt is a new app, and there’s still work to do. Open an issue on GitHub with what happened and your macOS version. Code, small fixes, and useful feedback are welcome.
A pile of documents arrives. A chat asks, “How am I going to get all of this into my head?” The reply: “Try Lilt. Turn your sound on and I’ll show you.” Send the prefilled reply when you’re ready, or continue without sound.
The sample passage reads: “You can select text anywhere on your screen. Lilt keeps the original layout and reads it aloud, highlighting each word as it goes. Click a word to jump to that part. The controls appear when you move your pointer over the reading, and disappear when you move away.”
This is a prepared example with a Kokoro voice. Try the playback controls or click a word to hear it from there. The demo doesn’t capture your screen.
Watch the recorded version