Asking AI About an Error: Send a Screenshot or Copy the Text?

When asking an AI assistant about an error on Mac, copy the message as text if you can. Use OCR when the words are trapped in an image or an unselectable dialog. Include a screenshot when the problem depends on what the interface looks like, rather than sending every error as an image by default.

Choose the input that preserves the evidence

A failed build and a misplaced button need different explanations:

• Text: Error messages, stack traces, commands and configuration values where exact characters matter. Keep useful line breaks and surrounding output.
• Screenshot: A clipped panel, unexpected color, overlapping controls or a problem whose position matters. Show enough of the interface to explain the relationship.
• Both: A dialog with an important error code inside a visibly broken interface. Provide the image for context and verified text for the message.

If the terminal or editor already lets you copy the output, use that instead of recognizing a screenshot. OCR adds a transcription step that can alter punctuation, indentation or characters such as 0 and O.

Extract an unselectable error with Frset

Suppose an app displays an error dialog whose message cannot be selected. With Frset's screenshot tools:

1. Start Screenshot from the menu bar or your configured shortcut.
2. Select the message and any nearby label needed to understand it.
3. Choose Extract Text in the screenshot toolbar.
4. Compare the OCR result with the original, especially error codes, paths and punctuation.
5. Correct mistakes and copy the relevant text.
6. Paste it into your AI conversation together with the action that triggered the error.

Frset requires macOS 13 or later. Screen capture needs the relevant macOS Screen Recording permission. Its OCR uses Apple's local text recognition and does not need an AI API key. If you already have the image in Frset's clipboard history, you can use Extract Text there instead of capturing it again.

For a saved image, Apple's Live Text in Preview is another option on supported systems and languages. See the image text guide for the basic steps.

Add the context the message cannot provide

An error alone rarely describes the whole problem. For example, explain that a build failed after changing a dependency, then provide the command, its output and the relevant configuration. Avoid pasting an entire unrelated log just because it is available.

Before sending, include:

• What you were trying to do and what happened instead.
• The app, runtime or dependency version relevant to the error.
• The exact message and enough surrounding output to understand its cause.
• What changed recently and what you have already tried.

When gathering those pieces from several apps, Frset's clipboard history can help you find an earlier copy by content, title or alias. Paste each piece with a label so the assistant can distinguish the command, output and configuration. Multi-selected text is joined with line breaks; review the assembled message before sending it.

Treat token savings as a question, not a fixed ratio

Replacing a text-heavy screenshot with a short, accurate excerpt may reduce the input needed for a question. It does not guarantee a particular saving or the same answer. Image processing and billing depend on the service, model and image size; Anthropic documents these factors in its vision guide.

Do not remove visual evidence just to shorten the input. If the question is why a button is hidden, OCR of its label will not show the overlapping panel. Keep the screenshot and add text where exact characters matter.

Check what you are about to share

Remove credentials, private URLs and unrelated personal or customer details from the outgoing message. Check the image as well as the extracted text. Local OCR does not make a later upload local: sending either to an online assistant shares that content with the chosen service.

Keep the original screenshot or log until you have checked the explanation. If the assistant suggests a command, verify its purpose and target before running it. For snippets you expect to use again, continue with saving copied code and commands.