How to Install Frog – Step-by-Step Guide (2025)

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Frog is a free, open-source OCR tool that extracts text from screenshots, images, and QR codes. It runs offline on your Linux desktop, making it essential for capturing text from PDFs, videos, or any visual content you can’t copy-paste.

Why Should You Install Frog?

Frog solves the frustrating problem of text locked in images:

  • Extract error messages from terminal screenshots
  • Capture text embedded in video frames
  • Process PDF documents with non-searchable text
  • Decode QR codes instantly
  • Integrate directly with your screenshot workflow

What Are The System Requirements?

Before installing Frog, ensure your system has:

  • Tesseract OCR (backbone of text extraction)
  • Python 3.x
  • PyQt5 or PyQt6 (for GUI)
  • libpng and libqt (for image processing)

How Do You Install Frog on Ubuntu/Debian?

Step 1: Update your system

sudo apt update

Step 2: Install dependencies

sudo apt install tesseract-ocr tesseract-ocr-eng python3-pyqt5 python3-pip libpng-dev

Step 3: Install Frog via pip

pip3 install frog-ocr

Alternative: Install from source

git clone https://github.com/TenderOwl/Frog.git
cd Frog
pip3 install .

How Do You Install Frog on Fedora/RHEL?

Step 1: Install dependencies

sudo dnf install tesseract python3-qt5 python3-pip libpng-devel

Step 2: Install Frog via pip

pip3 install frog-ocr

How Do You Install Frog on Arch Linux/AUR?

Using yay (recommended):

yay -S frog-ocr

Manual AUR installation:

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/frog-ocr.git
cd frog-ocr
makepkg -si

How Can You Integrate Frog With Screenshot Tools?

GNOME Screenshot Integration

Set up a custom keyboard shortcut (Settings → Keyboard → Custom Shortcuts):

gnome-screenshot -a -c && frog --clipboard

Flameshot Integration

Pipe Flameshot output directly to Frog:

flameshot gui --raw | frog --stdin

Spectacle (KDE) Integration

spectacle -r -c && frog --clipboard

How Do You Use Frog?

Launch Frog:

frog

Or find it in your application menu under Graphics/Utilities.

Three ways to use Frog:

  1. Take a screenshot (Frog auto-processes if integrated)
  2. Drag and drop an image into Frog window
  3. Use File → Open to select an image

How Do You Fix Common Frog Issues?

Error: Missing OCR or Tesseract not found

Verify Tesseract installation:

tesseract --version

If not found, reinstall Tesseract:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install --reinstall tesseract-ocr
# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf reinstall tesseract
# Arch
sudo pacman -S tesseract

Installing Additional Language Packs

For French and Spanish support:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install tesseract-ocr-fra tesseract-ocr-spa
# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install tesseract-langpack-fra tesseract-langpack-spa
# Arch
sudo pacman -S tesseract-data-fra tesseract-data-spa

Setting Up Keyboard Shortcuts

GNOME: Settings → Keyboard → View and Customize Shortcuts → Custom Shortcuts

KDE: System Settings → Shortcuts → Custom Shortcuts → Add New Action

Recommended shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+O (OCR)

Frog command not found after pip install

Add pip’s bin directory to PATH:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

How Can You Configure Frog For Advanced Usage?

Available Frog commands:

  • frog – Launch GUI
  • frog --clipboard – Process image from clipboard
  • frog --stdin – Process piped image data
  • frog /path/to/image.png – Process specific image

Optimize OCR accuracy:

  • Install language packs for non-English text
  • Use high-resolution screenshots for better results
  • Adjust Tesseract’s PSM (Page Segmentation Mode) in Frog settings
  • Pre-process images (increase contrast) for challenging text

Frog becomes an indispensable tool once integrated into your workflow. Experiment with different screenshot tools and keyboard shortcuts to find what works best for your needs.