iRecorder

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macOS (this repo) | Windows

macOS menu bar utility that logs committed on-screen text (including CJK after IME confirm — not keycodes), clipboard copy, and ⌘V paste. Writes daily local UTF-8 .log files. Nothing is uploaded.

Features

• Typing — Branch A (native apps): AX value diffs; under Chinese IME, Latin is held and resolved against full Latin tokens still in the field (keeps test/zhong, drops pinyin scraps). Idle does not flush held Latin while Chinese IME is active. Branch B (Cursor / VS Code–based): unreliable Monaco textareas ignored; under Chinese IME, key-fallback is off and chat text is captured after send (Enter / ⌘Enter). Branch B rules do not apply to Finder/Notes/企微.
• Copy / paste — Watches the pasteboard and global ⌘V; a copy followed quickly by the same paste merges into copy_paste
• Line buffering — Flush after N seconds idle (default 3, configurable). Enter does not start a new log line (IME confirm often uses Enter).
• Menu bar — Pause / resume, open today’s log, settings (directory, retention, truncation, launch at login)
• Privacy-friendly — Data stays on disk; typing in password / secure fields is not recorded

Requirements

• macOS 14+
• Accessibility permission (text capture + global paste hotkey)

Install

Build from source (recommended)

git clone https://github.com/wizizm/irecorder.git
cd irecorder
./scripts/package-app.sh

The script will:

1. swift build -c release
2. Produce dist/iRecorder.app
3. Install to /Applications/iRecorder.app and open it

Package only (skip /Applications):

IRECORDER_SKIP_INSTALL=1 ./scripts/package-app.sh

The build uses ad-hoc signing. After every reinstall, re-check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility for iRecorder (path should be /Applications/iRecorder.app).

First run

1. Click the orange iR menu bar icon
2. If Accessibility is inactive: Open Settings from the menu or Settings pane, then enable iRecorder
3. Quit and relaunch the app (macOS often does not apply the grant until process restart)
4. Default log directory: ~/Documents/iRecorder/

Once capture starts, today’s log should soon contain a session_started line.

Log format

One file per day: YYYY-MM-DD.log

2026-07-15T16:12:03+08:00	type	Safari	你好世界
2026-07-15T16:12:10+08:00	copy_paste	Finder→Notes	clipboard text
2026-07-15T16:12:20+08:00	copy	Safari	only copied
2026-07-15T16:12:25+08:00	paste	Notes	pasted later

Column	Meaning
Time	ISO 8601
Kind	type / copy / paste / copy_paste
App	Frontmost app; cross-app paste looks like A→B
Payload	Original text. type escapes newline / tab / \ as \n / \t / \\ (one physical line). copy / paste / copy_paste keep real newlines and tabs so you can copy the payload out with original formatting (a record may span multiple lines).

• Copy / paste beyond the configured size is truncated with [truncated] (default 100 KB; 0 = no truncate). Typing is never truncated.
• The app’s own log content is not re-captured (avoids escape blow-up when a log is open in Console)
• AX echo after paste is not logged again as type

Settings

Setting	Notes
Log directory	Default ~/Documents/iRecorder
Retention days	0 = never auto-delete
Copy / paste truncate	KB; 0 = unlimited
Type-line idle	1–60 seconds
Launch at login	Needs a real .app (more reliable under Applications)
Open today’s log hotkey	Global shortcut (default ⇧⌘L); requires Accessibility

Limitations

• Some custom-drawn UIs / games still cannot be typed-captured; Cursor chat Chinese is logged after send (Enter), not while composing; Cursor code-editor Chinese mid-typing is unsupported
• Typing in password / Secure fields is skipped; if text is already on the clipboard, copy / paste may still be logged
• Ad-hoc signature is not notarized; Gatekeeper may warn — grant Accessibility manually

Development

swift test          # core library unit tests
swift run iRecorder # run the executable (login item etc. limited without a full .app)

Target	Role
IRecorderCore	Diff, buffering, formatting, file I/O, settings (tested)
iRecorder	AX / pasteboard / ⌘V, menu bar & settings UI, .app packaging

Sources/
  IRecorderCore/     # pure logic
  iRecorder/         # app + capture + UI
Tests/
  IRecorderCoreTests/
scripts/
  package-app.sh     # release build → dist/ → /Applications
Resources/           # AppIcon.icns, MenuBarIcon.png

Privacy

iRecorder does not collect or upload any data. Logs are written only to the directory you choose. Accessibility is used solely to read committed on-screen text and observe the paste hotkey.

License

MIT