Today we’re releasing Linkly AI v0.2.2, and the headline feature is: text inside images is now searchable.
The Problem
Your computer almost certainly has files like these: photos of meeting whiteboards, screenshot notes, scanned documents, ID card photos, invoice images… The information trapped inside these images is invisible to traditional search tools — you can only guess by filename or open them one by one.
v0.2.2 introduces local OCR (Optical Character Recognition) that automatically extracts text from images and adds it to the search index. Just like documents, both keyword search and AI tools can retrieve image content directly.
How It Works
During indexing, Linkly AI detects image files (PNG, JPG, BMP, WEBP) in your watched folders, extracts text using a local OCR engine, and feeds the results into the search index.
The entire process runs locally on your machine. No cloud services are involved, and image content never leaves your device.
Supported languages include Chinese, English, Japanese, and Latin-script languages. No extra configuration needed — language detection is automatic during indexing.
What Kind of Images Work
- Screenshots: chat logs, web pages, error messages
- Scans: contracts, ID documents, invoices
- Whiteboards / handwriting: meeting whiteboard photos (printed text works best)
- Document images: exported PPT slides, posters, flyers
As long as the image contains legible text, OCR can extract it. Handwriting and very small fonts may have lower accuracy, but printed text works reliably.
How to Use It
No extra steps required. After updating to v0.2.2, Linkly AI will automatically process images in your watched folders during the next indexing cycle. You can check progress in Settings → Index.
When searching, just type the text content from an image and it will match the corresponding image file. AI tools can also retrieve image text via MCP.
Other Updates
- Redesigned onboarding flow: a conversational typing-effect experience that’s friendlier for first-time users
- Shortcuts settings page: view all available keyboard shortcuts in Settings
- Version update notification: system notification + Launcher banner on first launch after an update, so you never miss what’s new
- Remote tunnel stability: automatic reconnection after disconnects — no more manual reconnects
Full changelog at Changelog.
Built by the Linkly AI team.