InplaceAI

InplaceAI is a macOS menu bar assistant that brings Writing Tools-style edits to selected text in any app. Trigger it with ⌥⇧R (or the menu bar command) and it captures the selected text through the Accessibility API, opens a floating tools panel, sends the selected mode to the configured model, then lets you replace the text in-place. You can also use the macOS Services/right-click action to fix selected text directly.

Highlights

• System-wide: works in any text field that exposes accessibility text (Mail, Notes, Outlook, etc.).
• Writing Tools panel: choose Proofread, Rewrite, tone changes, summaries, key points, lists, or your saved custom prompt without switching apps.
• Explanation popup: explain selected text in a read-only floating popup, useful for PDFs, webpages, and other non-editing contexts.
• Configurable AI: paste your OpenAI key once (stored locally in the app’s preferences), pick a model, and fine-tune the rewrite instruction.
• Privacy-aware: only the raw selection is sent to OpenAI—nothing is masked or pre-processed—so you can see exactly what leaves your machine.

Requirements

• macOS 13 Ventura or newer.
• Xcode command-line tools or Xcode 15+.
• An OpenAI API key with access to the chosen model.
• Accessibility permission for InplaceAI (System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Accessibility).

Getting Started

git clone <repo>
cd InplaceAI
swift build   # or open with `xed .` / Xcode
swift run

The first launch prompts for Accessibility permission. Add your API key and model under Preferences (Status bar ▸ Preferences…). The default prompt rewrites text with better grammar while preserving intent—tweak it to match your tone. Use a currently supported OpenAI chat model (default: gpt-5-nano); suggested options include gpt-5-mini, gpt-5.1, gpt-4.1-mini, and gpt-4.1, or any other available chat/completions model.

Local/custom endpoints

• In Preferences, set Provider to Custom (OpenAI-compatible URL) or Local (Ollama/LM Studio); update base URL/model as needed.
• API key is only required for the OpenAI provider; for local/custom, leave it blank if your endpoint doesn’t need one.

Usage

1. Select text in any macOS app.
2. Press ⌥⇧R (or choose Writing Tools… from the menu bar icon).
3. Pick a writing mode and review the floating panel:
   • Replace or ⌘Return injects the rewrite directly (falls back to clipboard + paste if direct replacement fails).
   • Dismiss closes the bubble without changes.
4. Press ⌥⇧X or choose Explain Selection… from the menu bar icon to explain selected text without replacing it.

Right-click / Services

After launching the bundled app once, macOS exposes Fix Grammar with InplaceAI and Explain with InplaceAI in the Services menu for selected text. In many apps this appears under right-click ▸ Services; Fix Grammar returns replacement text directly to the source app, while Explain opens a read-only popup.

Architecture

• SwiftUI App + NSStatusItem for lightweight menu bar residency (InplaceAIApp, StatusBarController).
• Accessibility bridge (SelectionMonitor, AccessibilityAuthorizer) watches the focused text element and replaces text via AX APIs.
• AI client (OpenAIService) calls chat/completions, parameterized by the user’s model/instruction.
• State & storage (AppState, SettingsStore) handle API keys, prompt presets, and orchestrate rewrite tasks.
• Inline UI (InlineSuggestionWindow, SuggestionBubbleView) renders the floating Writing Tools panel and manages mode selection, accept, and dismiss actions.
• Global shortcuts (HotkeyController) register ⌥⇧R for Writing Tools and ⌥⇧X for Explain so the workflow stays in-app.
• macOS Services (TextServiceProvider) exposes right-click Services actions for direct replacement and read-only explanation.

Testing & Debugging

• Use swift build / swift run for iterative development. If sandboxed environments block SwiftPM caches, point SWIFTPM_CONFIGURATION_PATH and SWIFTPM_CACHE_PATH to writable directories before building.
• If Accessibility still reports denied after you already granted it, remove the old InplaceAI entry from System Settings and add /Users/jieli/Applications/InplaceAI.app again. Older local builds used a less stable ad-hoc identity, so macOS may keep a stale grant.
• Accessibility APIs require a signed release/codesign --deep -s - build when distributing to other machines.
• When testing text replacement, verify both AX replacement and the clipboard fallback (e.g., in apps that block AX writes such as some browsers).

Building a DMG for distribution

Use the helper script to build, sign, (optionally) notarize, and package a DMG:

# From repo root
CODESIGN_ID="Developer ID Application: Your Name (TEAMID)" \
NOTARY_PROFILE=your-notarytool-profile \  # omit to skip notarization
./scripts/build_dmg.sh

Notes:

• DMG lands in dist/InplaceAI.dmg; app bundle is staged in dist/InplaceAI.app.
• Default build is arm64 only; set BUILD_ARCHS="--arch arm64 --arch x86_64" for a universal build.
• For testing without distribution, set CODESIGN_ID="-" to ad-hoc sign and skip NOTARY_PROFILE.

Branding

• A simple icon lives at Assets/InplaceAIIcon.svg (navy base with teal rewrite mark). Resize or export to .icns/.png as needed for macOS app and status bar assets.

Roadmap

• Streamed suggestions for faster feedback.
• AppleScript/Shortcuts intents to expose rewrite actions to automation.
• More providers (local LLMs, Azure OpenAI) via pluggable adapters.