Printed equations in slides, papers, and textbooks are hard to retype. ClariRec Pro can turn a formula screenshot into LaTeX you can preview and copy — either on-device with the local GLM-OCR engine, or via your configured BYOK cloud provider.

This is a user-triggered Pro feature, not automatic OCR. Normal text recognition stays on the default System OCR path unless you choose otherwise.

Two paths: local or cloud

Local (GLM-OCR) Cloud (BYOK)
Needs API key? No Yes
Works offline? Yes, after model download No
Model download ~1.34GB one-time None
Device requirement Apple Silicon + 16GB RAM Any Mac running ClariRec
Providers Built-in GLM-OCR Custom Vision API or Qwen
Speed (typical) ~2 seconds Depends on provider
Pro required? Yes Yes

Both paths produce LaTeX previewed locally with KaTeX. If your Mac qualifies for the local engine, it is selected by default when no cloud formula provider is configured — no API key needed, no network roundtrip.

Local engine: GLM-OCR

What it is

  • On-device formula recognition: screenshot → LaTeX, runs entirely on your Mac
  • Based on GLM-OCR (Q8_0 quantization, model weights under MIT license), two files totaling ~1.34GB
  • After download, works offline — no API key, no cloud account
  • Idle unload after 5 minutes; system memory pressure triggers early unload

Requirements

  • Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later) with 16GB RAM or more
  • ClariRec Pro (one-time purchase)
  • Macs that don’t meet the hardware threshold won’t see the local engine option — use a BYOK cloud provider instead

The hardware gate is a hard requirement, not a suggestion. On machines below the threshold, the engine would take 14+ seconds per recognition (CPU-only) after downloading 1.34GB — worse than not offering it.

Download and setup

  1. Open Settings → Providers → Formula Recognition.
  2. Select Local (GLM-OCR) in the provider list.
  3. Click Download Model. Two files are listed with individual progress.
  4. Wait for download to complete. Supports pause/resume; verified with SHA-256 checksums.
  5. Once downloaded, the local engine is ready. Set it as the current formula engine.

The model can be deleted at any time from the same panel.

China mainland users: downloads automatically use a ModelScope mirror for better speed, falling back to Hugging Face if the mirror fails.

How to recognize a formula (local)

  1. Capture the formula with ⌥S (tight selection around the equation works best).
  2. In the result window, click the formula action.
  3. The local engine processes the image on your Mac — no network request.
  4. Preview the rendered result (local KaTeX).
  5. Copy the LaTeX source.

Cloud engine: BYOK providers

What it is

  • Screenshot → LaTeX via your configured vision-language model
  • BYOK: you bring the provider and pay that provider for usage
  • Two providers supported: Custom Vision API / Custom API and Qwen

Requirements

  • ClariRec on macOS 14+
  • ClariRec Pro (one-time purchase)
  • A formula-capable BYOK provider configured with a valid API key
  • A model that accepts image input and can return structured formula output

Mistral AI can be used for OCR and translation in ClariRec, but not for formula recognition.

Setup

  1. Open Settings → Providers → Formula Recognition.
  2. Configure Custom API or Qwen (API key; Base URL / model as needed).
  3. Run Test Formula in the panel to verify the provider returns usable LaTeX.
  4. Unlock or restore ClariRec Pro if needed.
  5. Set the provider as the current formula engine.

Field-by-field help: API key guide.

How to recognize a formula (cloud)

  1. Capture the formula with ⌥S.
  2. In the result window, click the formula action.
  3. Wait for the provider response.
  4. Preview the rendered result (local KaTeX — no network request for rendering).
  5. Copy the LaTeX source.

Only the screenshot image is sent to your configured VLM endpoint. ClariRec does not relay it through ClariRec-operated servers.

Tips for better LaTeX

  • Crop tightly; avoid unrelated paragraph text in the same selection
  • Prefer clear, high-contrast printed formulas over blurry phone photos
  • If the preview looks wrong, adjust the selection and run formula recognition again
  • Keep the LaTeX source as the source of truth — preview is for checking, not for editing glyphs by hand inside ClariRec

Privacy and cost

Item Local (GLM-OCR) Cloud (BYOK)
When data leaves your Mac Never (after model download) When you click formula recognition
Where it goes Nowhere Your configured Custom API or Qwen endpoint
Rendering Local KaTeX Local KaTeX
ClariRec servers None None
API cost None Billed by your provider

Pro unlocks the feature inside ClariRec. It does not include provider credits.

Troubleshooting

Local engine not available Your Mac needs Apple Silicon and 16GB RAM. If it doesn’t meet these requirements, the local option won’t appear — use a cloud provider instead.

Model download stalls or fails Check your network connection. The download supports pause/resume, so progress is not lost. China mainland users should see the automatic ModelScope mirror in action; if both sources fail, try again later.

Formula provider is missing or disabled Confirm you configured Custom API or Qwen under the Formula Recognition segment, and that Pro is unlocked.

Test Formula fails Check API key, endpoint, model name, and that the model accepts images. Review provider quota and region limits.

LaTeX is incomplete or wrong Retake a tighter screenshot. For the local engine, large images (above ~2560×1440) are automatically downscaled to stay within token limits. For cloud, try another vision model on Custom API if your current model is weak at equations.

You only needed plain text Use normal OCR instead. Formula recognition is optional and separate from System OCR.

Local formula OCR · API keys · Screenshot OCR · FAQ · Local OCR · Offline checklist

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