PaletteBrain is a ChatGPT integration app for macOS, focused on using AI directly on selected text in any Mac app or website via keyboard shortcuts, thereby reducing the need to switch between windows and copy and paste.
Purpose PaletteBrain is used to improve daily writing, coding, and problem-solving efficiency on a Mac. After selecting text in any app, users can bring up the AI command palette with a keyboard shortcut, run AI commands, and paste the last reply back into the original app with a keyboard shortcut. Common commands cited by the official examples include fixing grammar and spelling, translating into English, summarizing into bullet points, and converting into a blog post.
Main capabilities
- Global compatibility: AI commands can be run on selected text in any app or website on macOS; the official examples include Notion, Google Docs, Slack, Discord, Gmail, and more.
- Custom commands: You can create your own AI commands in seconds, bind commonly used prompts to keyboard shortcuts, and run them on your Mac at any time.
- Model and parameter control: You can have full control over the model, creativity, and other settings of AI commands.
- Bring your own key: Use your own OpenAI key, or run models through Microsoft Azure OpenAI; the official statement says the API key can be changed.
- Use the latest models: The official statement says you can use OpenAI's latest models without a ChatGPT Plus subscription, paying OpenAI directly based on usage, with no middleman.
- Runs in the background: The app runs in the background without interrupting your existing workflow.
- Conversation management: You can manage and save all conversations in one place, and permanently delete conversations without leaving a trace.
- Ongoing maintenance and updates: The official statement says it is continuously maintained to ensure a bug-free experience and to stay in sync with the latest AI models.
How to use According to the official description, the workflow is: select the text you want to process in any app, press the keyboard shortcut to open the AI command palette; run a command to ask the AI a question using the selected text as context; then press the keyboard shortcut to paste the last reply back into the original app. Users need to provide their own OpenAI or Azure API key and pay OpenAI based on usage. The app download address is the macOS app download entry provided on the official page.
Pricing and licensing The official page shows: a one-time purchase gives you all features in all planned features, requires a ChatGPT API key, and usage-based billing is charged by OpenAI. OfficThe company claims that most users' monthly OpenAI cost is less than $1, which is more than 20 times cheaper than ChatGPT Plus. The page lists three types of licenses: Personal license (suitable for one computer, early supporter pricing, limited-time offer, includes unlimited conversations, unlimited messages, unlimited command palette commands, unlimited keyboard shortcuts, bring your own OpenAI/Azure key, lifetime automatic updates with no recurring fees, standard email and online chat support); Family or small team license (suitable for multiple computers or sharing with family and friends, supports 5 macOS devices); Team license (unlimited number of macOS devices, suitable for teams, startups, growing businesses, or enterprises, includes priority email and online chat support). The page displays "Get My Lifetime License for $29" and notes that as the roadmap progresses, the price will increase to $99 per year (rather than lifetime). Prices are in US dollars, VAT may apply depending on location, and payments are processed by Lemon Squeezy (a Stripe company) on behalf of Abruptive LLC.
Use cases Scenarios mentioned in official use cases and user reviews include: podcast script creation (generating episode outlines and guest questions), writing blog posts for clients, content creation (using ChatGPT directly in email and social media platforms), teachers creating lesson plans and quizzes, writing, coding, and problem-solving, etc.
Limitations and notes
- Platform limitation: Only macOS is supported; the official FAQ mentions the question of whether it is compatible with Windows or Linux.
- Requires an API key: You must bring your own OpenAI API key, or use Azure OpenAI; the official FAQ includes questions such as "My OpenAI API Key doesn't work".
- Cost structure: The app is a one-time purchase, but OpenAI usage fees are paid directly by the user based on usage; the company states that using a ChatGPT Plus subscription is not supported (there is a related entry in the FAQ).
- Future features: The multi-model support listed officially (Google, Meta, Mistral, Perplexity, Anthropic, xAI, etc.), AI Agents, file chat, image attachments, importing conversations from other apps, folders/tags/favorites/sorting, cross-device sync, and other features are all marked as "not yet available, coming soon" and are not available in the current version.
- Data and privacy: The company states that data remains private between the user's computer and OpenAI or Azure; specific refund policies and data protection details should be found in the official FAQ.