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OceanBreeze user guide
Everything the ring can do, how to set up AI, and what to try when something goes wrong.
OceanBreeze opens a ring of tools and AI actions around your pointer, in any app on Windows 11. Hold Caps Lock, point at a tool, let go.
Getting started
You need a PC running Windows 11. Any PC works; a Copilot+ PC can also run AI models on its NPU.
- Get OceanBreeze from its itch.io page, either with the itch app or as a zip. There's one download for PCs with Intel or AMD processors (Windows x64) and one for Windows on Arm (Windows ARM64, for example Snapdragon PCs). If you used the zip, unzip it to a folder you keep, such as Documents\OceanBreeze, and open OceanBreeze.exe. It needs no administrator rights. OceanBreeze isn't signed yet, so Windows may show "Windows protected your PC". Choose More info, then Run anyway.
- Open OceanBreeze. It lives in the system tray, next to the clock. To keep its icon in view, open Windows Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Other system tray icons and turn on OceanBreeze.
- Follow the short tour: it has you open the ring by holding and by tapping, helps you add AI, then has you open it on selected text. To see it again, choose Show the tour again in Settings > About.
- Optional: add an AI key or pick a free model that runs on your PC (see AI models and keys). Every tool except the AI actions works without one.
While OceanBreeze runs, opening it again from Start opens its settings.
To open the ring for the first time, hold Caps Lock. The ring appears centered on your pointer. Move toward a tool and let go to run it.
Caps Lock on its own now opens the ring, so it no longer turns capitals on. To turn capitals on or off, press Shift + Caps Lock. You can change the trigger at any time in Settings > Trigger, or pause OceanBreeze (see Pausing).
Using the ring
The ring has eight slots, each the same short distance from your pointer, so you pick by direction instead of aiming. After a day or two, most people flick without looking.
- Hold, point, let go. Hold Caps Lock, move toward a tool until it lights up, then let go of Caps Lock to run it.
- Tap to keep it open. Tap Caps Lock instead of holding it. The ring stays open until you click a tool, press its number or press Esc. If Caps Lock is on, a tap turns it off instead.
- Press a number. Slots are numbered 1 to 8 clockwise from the top. Press the number to run that tool.
- Push past for options. Keep moving past a tool, beyond the ring's outer edge, to reach its options on an arc: tones for Rewrite, languages for Translate, a slider for Volume. Move along the arc and let go to pick one.
- Switch rings. Press Tab or /, press Right, or scroll the mouse wheel to go to the next ring (Ring 1, Ring 2, the Apps ring, the Developer ring, or the order you set in Settings > Rings). Shift + Tab, Shift + / or Left go back. You can also click the arrows in the center.
- Move the highlight with the keys. Up moves to the next tool clockwise and Down to the previous one; with nothing highlighted, Up picks the top tool and Down the bottom one. Press Enter to run it.
- Cancel. Let go with the pointer back in the center, or press Esc.
The center shows the name of the highlighted tool. When nothing is highlighted, it shows what's playing, with play, pause and skip.
The ring opens with different tools depending on what's in front of you, in this order:
- Something selected: the ring for that text, image or file (see AI actions).
- An app that has its own ring, like Figma or VS Code (see App rings).
- Otherwise: Ring 1, or whichever ring you put first in Settings > Rings.
Pausing
To use Caps Lock as usual for a while, right-click the tray icon and choose Pause for 15 minutes, Pause for 1 hour or Pause until I resume. The same choices are in Settings > General, with a Quit button. While paused, the tray icon turns grey and its menu says "Paused until 14:30" (or "Paused"). Choose Resume to turn the ring back on.
AI actions on what you select
Select something before you open the ring, and its eight slots become AI actions for that selection. A chip under the ring shows what OceanBreeze picked up, for example "38 words selected in Mail".
| Slot | Text, in any app | Images and screenshots | Files in File Explorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ask about it | Ask about it | Ask about it |
| 2 | Rewrite (push past for tone) | Describe | Summarize |
| 3 | Fix spelling | Copy text | Rename |
| 4 | Shorten | Remove background | Convert |
| 5 | Draft a reply | Save as | Compress |
| 6 | Translate (push past for language) | Share | Share |
| 7 | Summarize | Find similar | Open with |
| 8 | Explain | Get palette | Pin |
Actions that change text, like Rewrite and Fix spelling, open a panel that marks what changed. Press Enter to replace your selection, or Esc to keep the original.
Ask about it opens Ask AI with the selection already attached, so you can follow up in your own words.
Voice: hold still to speak
Hold Caps Lock and don't move the pointer. After a moment the center of the ring shows a waveform: OceanBreeze is listening. Talk, then let go.
- Dictation. Plain speech is typed into the text field you're in, with filler words removed and punctuation added.
- A command. If you asked for something, OceanBreeze does it.
| You say | What happens |
|---|---|
| "Reply that Thursday works, keep it short." | Writes the reply in the chat you have open |
| "Translate this into German and paste it." | Replaces your selection |
| "Start a 25-minute focus timer." | The timer runs in the ring's center |
| "Put Figma on the left and Chrome on the right." | Snaps both windows |
To cancel, move the pointer before you let go. The words you said are not kept. Windows asks for microphone access the first time you use voice.
Tool reference
| Key | Ring 1: everyday | What it does | Ring 2: more | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ask AI | A small chat with your selection or screenshot attached | Notes | A scratchpad that floats above every window |
| 2 | Clipboard | Search everything you copied; paste it clean, as Markdown or as a table | Calculate | Type a sum, or a question like "days until 1 March" |
| 3 | Screenshot | Grab part of the screen, then copy its text or ask about it | Volume | Tap to mute; push past for a slider and levels per app |
| 4 | Snap | Send the front window to a half or a third, or maximize it | Convert | Units, time zones and currencies |
| 5 | Dictate | Talk into any text box, cleaned up as you go | To-do | Today's short list, checked off from the ring |
| 6 | Apps | Your running and pinned apps | Links | Save the page you're on and reopen it later |
| 7 | Timer | Countdowns and focus sessions in the ring's center | Record | Capture the screen as video or GIF, with or without your mic |
| 8 | Color | Sample any pixel; the hex code is copied | Translate | Translate selected text and paste it back |
Developer ring
The Developer ring opens on its own when a code editor or a terminal is the front window, such as VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs or Windows Terminal. Anywhere else, press / in the ring until you reach it.
| Key | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Explain code | Explains the selected code in a panel |
| 2 | Fix this error | Select a stack trace or error message; get the likely cause and a fix |
| 3 | Commit message | Writes a commit message from your staged changes |
| 4 | Regex | Describe a pattern in plain words; get the regex and test it on your selection |
| 5 | Format | Tidies JSON, SQL, YAML or XML and pastes it back |
| 6 | Encode and decode | Base64, URL encoding, JWTs and Unix timestamps; push past to pick one |
| 7 | Run command | Runs a saved terminal command or script |
| 8 | Search docs | Looks up the selected function, flag or error in the docs you chose |
Fix this error and Explain code send only your selection to the model. Commit message reads the staged diff of the repository. Format and Encode and decode run on your PC and need no AI.
Apps ring
Your eight most used apps, one flick away. Press / in the ring until you reach the Apps ring (right after Ring 2).
- Pick an app to bring its window to the front. If it isn't running, it starts.
- Push past an app for New window or Open file location.
- The first time, OceanBreeze fills the ring with the apps you use most, counting what Windows already knows about your app launches and your taskbar pins. After that it never moves your apps around.
- If you uninstall an app, its slot turns grey and says "This app isn't installed anymore". Put another app there in Settings.
To change it: Settings > Rings > Apps ring. Drag an app from the list onto a slot, drag a slot off the ring to empty it, or choose Fill with my most used apps to fill the empty slots.
Panels
- Ask AI. A chat with the model you picked. Your selection or screenshot is attached at the top. Switch models from the panel's header. Chats are kept in history until you delete them.
- Rewrite. Shows the new text with changes marked. Pick a tone, then press Enter or choose Replace selection. Try again gives another version.
- Clipboard. Everything you copied, newest first. Search by words or by what you remember. Paste as plain text, Markdown, a table or translated text. Copies from password managers are never saved.
- Screenshot. After you drag over an area, choose Copy, Copy text, Ask about it or Save as.
App rings
- Open the app, for example Figma.
- Open the ring and choose Make a ring in the center.
- OceanBreeze reads the app's menus and keyboard shortcuts and suggests eight actions, shown in green.
- Choose Keep these, or Edit to swap or drag actions around.
App rings switch on and off as you move between apps. Press / to reach Ring 1 and Ring 2 from inside an app ring.
Customizing
- Rings. Settings > Rings: drag a tool from the list onto a slot to swap it; Restore defaults puts every ring back. On the Apps ring tab, drag apps instead. To change the order you switch rings in, drag the Ring 1, Ring 2, Apps ring and Developer tabs; the first one opens when nothing is selected. With the keyboard, press Shift + Alt + Left or Right on a tab, or right-click it for Move left, Move right and Reset order.
- Your own actions. A script or command, a website or file, a keyboard shortcut, or an AI prompt that runs on your selection.
- Trigger. Caps Lock by default; or another key, a mouse button, your pen's barrel button, a long press, or a controller button.
- Looks. Studio (solid), Native (Windows 11 Mica), Tinted (a color per tool).
AI models and keys
| Option | Models | Setup | Works offline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own key | Claude, GPT, Gemini, Mistral | Paste the key in the tour or in Settings > AI models, then choose Test | No |
| On this PC (free) | Models through Foundry Local, NPU on Copilot+ PCs | Choose a model to download | Yes |
| Ollama (free) | Any model you run in Ollama | Found on localhost:11434 | Yes |
Foundry Local and Ollama are free and run on your PC, so nothing you select leaves it.
Pick a model per tool under Use for each tool. Keys are stored in Windows Credential Manager.
Updates
- With the itch app. The itch app keeps OceanBreeze up to date for you. Quit OceanBreeze from the tray menu if the update waits for it.
- From a zip. Download the new zip from the itch.io page, quit OceanBreeze, and replace the old folder with the new one. Your settings and history are kept, because they live outside that folder.
- What's new. After an update, the What's new window opens once with what changed. Open it any time from the tray menu or from Settings > General.
- What's sent. OceanBreeze doesn't check for updates by itself, so nothing is sent for updates.
Uninstalling
To remove your settings, history, logs, speech models and saved API keys too, first choose Remove all my data and keys in Settings > Privacy; OceanBreeze removes them and quits. Then uninstall it in the itch app, or delete the OceanBreeze folder if you used the zip. Quitting first and only deleting the folder keeps your settings for next time.
Privacy and data
- Reads only your selection, the area you capture, or the staged changes for Commit message, and only while the ring is open.
- Sends content only to the provider of the model you picked; nothing when the model is on your PC.
- Clipboard history, notes, to-dos, chats and settings stay on your PC.
- Never saves password-manager copies or voice audio.
- The Apps ring ranks your apps from Windows' launch counts and taskbar pins, read on your PC only.
- No account. No usage statistics are collected, and crash reports are not sent anywhere.
Troubleshooting
- The ring doesn't open in some apps. Windows keeps the keys of apps running as administrator away from normal apps, so the ring can't open while one is in front. Click another window first. The tray icon's tooltip says when this is the case.
- The ring doesn't open in a game. In full-screen games, borderless ones included, Caps Lock works as usual. To use the ring there, turn off Settings > Trigger > Ignore games in full screen.
- Caps Lock is on. Tap Caps Lock to turn it off, or press Shift + Caps Lock.
- AI actions are greyed out. Set a model in Settings > AI models.
- Need Caps Lock for a while. Pause OceanBreeze from the tray menu or Settings > General.