FAQ
More questions are answered on kimochiapp.com/faq.
Is Kimochi free?
Section titled “Is Kimochi free?”Yes, with no account and no limits on the core app: the overlay, Auto OCR, on-device and online OCR engines, the Log, Sessions, the Notebook, dictionaries, Anki cards and Gaming Mode. Kimochi Cloud is optional and adds translation, AI explanations, read aloud, cloud OCR and sync; see Accounts and plans.
Which platforms does it run on?
Section titled “Which platforms does it run on?”macOS (Apple silicon, macOS 14 or later), Windows (x64 and ARM64) and Linux (x64 and ARM64), plus a Gaming Mode for the Steam Deck. macOS support is the most mature, and Steam Deck Gaming Mode is in early testing. See Installation.
Does Kimochi send my screen to the cloud?
Section titled “Does Kimochi send my screen to the cloud?”Only if you choose an online OCR engine. Google Lens (the default) and Kimochi cloud OCR send the captured region for recognition. For nothing to leave your computer, choose an on-device engine: Apple Live Text (macOS), MeikiOCR, Manga OCR or OneOCR (Windows). Kimochi has no analytics, telemetry, crash reporting or ads. See Privacy.
Do I need an account?
Section titled “Do I need an account?”No. You only need one for Kimochi Cloud. You can sign up with email, Google or Discord, and download or delete everything from your account page at any time.
Do I need OBS or a browser extension?
Section titled “Do I need OBS or a browser extension?”No. Kimochi has built-in screen and window capture with a crop area, and Yomitan is built in. You can still use the Yomitan in your browser through the Yomitan API.
Does it work with Anki and texthookers?
Section titled “Does it work with Anki and texthookers?”Yes. Kimochi adds cards to Anki through AnkiConnect (Anki). If you already hook text out of a visual novel, point Kimochi at your texthooker over WebSocket, or copy lines to the clipboard (Texthookers and clipboard).
Does it work with a controller or on the Steam Deck?
Section titled “Does it work with a controller or on the Steam Deck?”Yes, though Steam Deck support is early. In Gaming Mode, click both sticks (L3 + R3) to scan, pick a word with the D-pad, press A for the reading, and press B to go back to the game. See Controller and Gaming Mode.
Does it work on anything other than games?
Section titled “Does it work on anything other than games?”Yes: visual novels, manga, YouTube videos and anything else on your screen. For manga, try the Manga OCR engine.
Is it open source?
Section titled “Is it open source?”Yes, under the GPL-3.0. The source is on GitHub.
How do I report a bug or give feedback?
Section titled “How do I report a bug or give feedback?”Email Hamish at hamstu@gmail.com, or open an issue on GitHub. See Troubleshooting for what to include.