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Choose the installation method that works best for your platform and use case.

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Windows and Linux (X11): Prepackaged binaries

This is the easiest way to run meikipop on Windows and Linux. No Python installation required.
1

Download the latest release

Visit the releases page and download the archive for your platform.The prepackaged binary includes:
  • Executable binary
  • Pre-built JMdict dictionary
  • All required dependencies
2

Extract the archive

Unpack the downloaded archive to a location of your choice.
Choose a permanent location - meikipop will create a config.ini file in the same directory.
3

Run meikipop

Launch the executable from the extracted folder. An icon will appear in your system tray.On first launch, you’ll be prompted to select a scan region if you’re in region mode.
Recommended for most users: Prepackaged binaries are the fastest way to get started if you don’t need to modify meikipop’s behavior or use custom OCR providers.

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All platforms: Run from source

Running from source gives you full control over meikipop’s behavior and allows you to use custom OCR providers.
macOS users must run from source - prepackaged binaries are not available for macOS.

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Prerequisites

You’ll need Python 3.10 or later installed on your system.

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macOS: Set required permissions

macOS requires specific permissions for meikipop to capture screen content and respond to hotkeys.
1

Open System Preferences

Navigate to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy
2

Grant permissions to your terminal

Add and enable your terminal application (Terminal.app, iTerm2, etc.) in:
  • Input Monitoring
  • Screen Recording
  • Accessibility
3

Restart your terminal

Close and reopen your terminal for the permissions to take effect.

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Download and install

1

Get the source code

Choose one of these methods:
2

Install Python dependencies

Install the required packages:
Consider using a virtual environment to isolate meikipop’s dependencies:
3

Build the dictionary

Install the dictionary build tool and create the optimized dictionary:
This process will:
  1. Download JMdict from the official source
  2. Process the dictionary into an optimized format
  3. Download and process kanjidic2
  4. Create jmdict_enhanced.pkl
The dictionary build takes a few minutes. Alternatively, you can copy a pre-built dictionary from one of the binary distributions.
4

Run meikipop

Start the application:
You’ll see a confirmation message:

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Verify installation

After installation, verify that meikipop is running:
  1. Check the system tray - You should see a meikipop icon
  2. Right-click the icon - A menu should appear with settings options
  3. Test a lookup - Move your mouse over Japanese text and press the hotkey (Shift by default)
macOS beta limitations: The tray icon may not appear consistently. If you don’t see it, meikipop is still running - you can configure it through the config.ini file in the application directory.

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Troubleshooting

Make sure you’ve run the dictionary build script:
Or copy jmdict_enhanced.pkl from a prepackaged binary distribution.
Reinstall dependencies:
Verify that you’ve granted all required permissions:
  • Input Monitoring
  • Screen Recording
  • Accessibility
Restart your terminal after granting permissions.
Some Linux desktop environments don’t show system tray icons by default. Try installing a tray extension:
  • GNOME: Install “AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support” extension
  • KDE Plasma: System tray should work by default

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Next steps

Quickstart guide

Learn how to use meikipop for your first lookup

Configuration

Customize hotkeys, themes, and scan modes