Summa reads text from a window on your Mac and places highlights over it. Hover a highlight to see its note. The app currently requires macOS 15.6 or later.
Why it asks for Screen Recording
macOS uses this permission for capturing window images. Summa reads those images with Apple’s text recognition framework on your Mac. Audio capture is turned off.
Allow Summa under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording, or Screen & System Audio Recording on versions of macOS that use that name. Reopen the app after changing permission if macOS asks.
Which window it reads
During a reading session, Summa follows the active window. The pin control keeps it on the current window. Check the window name in Summa’s menu before opening private material.
Use the session switch to pause capture. Quitting Summa stops the app, and you can revoke its Screen Recording permission in System Settings. Pausing cannot recall a request that has already left your Mac.
Where the text goes
With Premium AI annotations enabled and working credentials, recognized text from the visible window goes to Summa’s Cloudflare server and then to Anthropic. The request also includes the app name and window title. A configured direct API key can send requests straight to Anthropic when beta or session credentials are absent.
Wikipedia lookups send search terms and can include nearby words. A direct Anthropic key also enables AI help in reference lookups, even when screen-wide premium annotations are off. Read the Privacy Policy before using Summa with private text.
What the notes can get wrong
Text recognition can misread a line. AI notes can invent a connection or explain an allusion incorrectly, and a Wikipedia match can point to the wrong subject. Check the source when a note matters to your reading.
AI annotations use the text currently visible in the window. They lack the full book’s context, so they can miss a callback or mistake what a passage refers to. Window capture also depends on what macOS and the reading app allow.
Trying the website demos
The chapter demos use saved annotations. Viewing them requires no Screen Recording permission. They show the reading experience; live annotations can differ.