First
The opening frame, saved as clip_first.png.
Grab a frame from any video.
Start dragging a video, press Shift, and drop it on First, Last, Both or Pick. The frame saves as a PNG next to the video and lands on your clipboard.
Works offline. Nothing is uploaded.
Drag a clip, then press ⇧ ShiftTap a clip to watch
Four targets
Drop it where you want the frame.
The targets float up just above the cursor when you press Shift during a drag. A plain drag shows nothing, so moving files around works as it always has.
Last
The last clean frame, saved as clip_last.png. It is not always the final one; here is why.
Both
Both ends in one drop. The last frame is the one on your clipboard.
Pick
Opens a small player. Type 3.5, 0:03.5 or f105, step with the arrow keys, press Return to save.
Made for chaining AI video
The last frame is often the worst one.
To continue an AI clip, you generate the next one from the frame the last one ended on. That final frame is often smeared by motion, halfway through a fade or caught in a flash, and whatever is wrong with it carries into the next clip.
So Last looks at the final 0.6 seconds instead. It skips fades and flashes and keeps the latest frame within 10 per cent of the sharpest. When it steps back, the card tells you how far, and where to trim the clip so your cut lands on that exact frame.
Brightness check
Dark frames get flagged.
Every frame Pluck saves is measured. Under 50 out of 255, the card says so in orange, because a clip generated from a dark frame usually comes out dark too.
You see it the moment you save the frame, before you spend any credits on the next clip. Try night_ferry.mp4 in the demo above.
The small things
Built to stay out of the way.
Saves next to the video
Named clip_first.png, clip_last.png or clip_at_2.500s.png. If that folder is read-only, the frame goes to Downloads.
Never overwrites
Grab the same frame twice and the second one is clip_last-2.png. Nothing you already have is replaced.
Pastes anywhere
The clipboard holds the image and the file, so it pastes into a web uploader, an app or a Finder window.
Reads what your Mac plays
MP4, MOV and M4V, in H.264, HEVC or ProRes, including HDR clips from an iPhone. WebM is not supported.
Lives in the menu bar
Click the flower icon to choose a video from a list instead. Opening a video with Pluck saves both ends.
Nothing to install
It uses the video engine built into macOS, so there is no ffmpeg or other helper to set up.
Your clips stay on your Mac.
Works offline
Pluck never connects to the internet. Every frame is read and saved on your own Mac.
Nothing is uploaded
No account, no sign-in, no tracking in the app. Your videos stay where they are.
Pluck is free.
One small app for your menu bar. No account, no subscription.
Download Pluck for Mac- macOS 13 Ventura or later
- Apple silicon and Intel Macs
- 1.3 MB download
First launch
Opening Pluck the first time.
Pluck is free and doesn't come from the App Store, so macOS asks you to confirm it once. First, open the download and drag Pluck into your Applications folder. Then follow the steps for your macOS.
macOS 15 Sequoia or later
- Open Pluck from Applications. macOS says it can't open it: click Done.
- Open System Settings, then Privacy & Security. Scroll down to Security, find the message about Pluck and click Open Anyway. Enter your password if asked.
- Click Open Anyway in the box that follows. You only do this once.
macOS 13 Ventura or 14 Sonoma
- In Applications, Control-click Pluck and choose Open.
- Click Open in the box that follows. You only do this once.
Then start dragging an MP4 or MOV video and press Shift. Pluck lives in your menu bar, under the flower icon. Not sure which macOS you have? Choose About This Mac from the Apple menu.