diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 37eeb28..580651d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -28,10 +28,12 @@ see [Screen capture](#screen-capture).
    place (`C:\Program Files\NVIDIA\CUDNN`) is found without changing PATH. The OCR window says
    what, if anything, is missing.
 
-   **On macOS**, labelling runs on the GPU through Core ML, about ten times as fast as the CPU, from
-   a Core ML copy of SigLIP 2's image model made once with `tools/export_siglip_coreml.py` (its first
-   lines say how to set up the Python it needs). Without it, labels are made on the CPU. OCR runs on
-   the CPU: Core ML through onnxruntime was measured slower there.
+   **On macOS**, labelling and OCR run on the GPU through Core ML, from Core ML copies of the models
+   made once with `tools/export_siglip_coreml.py` (SigLIP 2's image model, about ten times as fast as
+   the CPU) and `tools/export_ppocr_coreml.py` (PP-OCRv5 mobile's detector and recognizer, about twice
+   as fast; their first lines say how to set up the Python they need). Without them, each runs on the
+   CPU. The first scan after making them is slower: Core ML prepares each image size the first time it
+   meets it, and macOS keeps that for later runs.
 
 3. **Build and run:** `jai first.jai - release`, then `bin\mcap.exe`. The build copies onnxruntime
    and the models beside the program.
diff --git a/check_targets.jai b/check_targets.jai
index c70023d..ee72276 100644
--- a/check_targets.jai
+++ b/check_targets.jai
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ APP_NAME        :: "mcap";
 APP_FOLDER_NAME :: "mcap";
 GIT_BRANCH    :: "check";
 GIT_HASH      :: "-";
-VERSION       :: "0.1.29";
+VERSION       :: "0.1.30";
 BUILD_DATE    :: "-";
 DEBUG         :: true;
 COMPILE_TESTS :: true;
diff --git a/first.jai b/first.jai
index b43f186..906426e 100644
--- a/first.jai
+++ b/first.jai
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ APP_NAME              :: "mcap";
 APP_FOLDER_NAME       :: "mcap";
 APP_BUNDLE_IDENTIFIER :: "com.example.mcap";
 
-VERSION :: "0.1.29";
+VERSION :: "0.1.30";
 // Where everything goes: bin/, or bin-headless/ for builds made with no_crash_dialog, so automated
 // builds never write over the ones you run by hand.
 build_directory := "bin";
@@ -379,6 +379,7 @@ copy_assets :: () {
     copy_if_changed("modules/OCR/models.config", tprint("%/ocr-models/models.config", build_directory));
     if file_exists("modules/OCR/models") {
         for file_list("modules/OCR/models")  copy_if_changed(it, tprint("%/ocr-models/%", build_directory, path_filename(it)));
+        #if OS == .MACOS  clone_packages("modules/OCR/models", tprint("%/ocr-models", build_directory));
     } else {
         log("OCR: the models have not been fetched; run jai fetch_models.jai in modules/OCR for OCR.");
     }
diff --git a/modules/Core_ML/module.jai b/modules/Core_ML/module.jai
index 3127ba7..08798e7 100644
--- a/modules/Core_ML/module.jai
+++ b/modules/Core_ML/module.jai
@@ -7,9 +7,11 @@
 //   coreml_free(model);
 //
 // Loading compiles the package (Core ML's compileModelAtURL, a fraction of a second) into a temporary
-// .mlmodelc, removed by coreml_free. The model runs on the CPU and GPU, never the Neural Engine
+// .mlmodelc, removed by coreml_free. What Core ML makes of a model for the GPU, the first time each
+// size runs, is kept by macOS across runs (the very first run of the OCR models took 5 s more, later
+// ones none). The model runs on the CPU and GPU, never the Neural Engine
 // unless asked: with float16 weights it can be badly wrong there (SigLIP 2: cosine 0.72 to the CPU).
-// A model runs one call at a time (a mutex), from any thread.
+// A model runs one prediction at a time (a mutex), from any thread; outputs are read outside it.
 
 Coreml_Units :: enum s64 {   // MLComputeUnits
   CPU_ONLY          :: 0;
@@ -72,32 +74,35 @@ coreml_free :: (model: *Coreml_Model) {
   free(model,, context.default_allocator);
 }
 
-// Runs the model on input, a float32 tensor of shape, and copies its output (float32 or float16) into
-// output as float32. ok is false, with why, when it fails or gives a different number of values.
-coreml_run :: (model: *Coreml_Model, input: [] float, shape: [] s64, output: [] float) -> ok: bool, error: string {
-  lock(*model.mutex);
-  defer unlock(*model.mutex);
+// A run's output, as float32 values one after another (C order): a view of Core ML's own array when it
+// is float32 and packed, else a packed copy. Valid until coreml_release_output.
+Coreml_Output :: struct {
+  data: *float;
+  dims: [8] s64;
+  dim_count: s64;
+  count: s64;
+  array: *NSObject;   // the MLMultiArray, retained
+  copy: *float;       // when data is a copy: the default allocator's
+}
+
+// Runs the model on input, a float32 tensor of shape. ok is false, with why, when it fails.
+coreml_predict :: (model: *Coreml_Model, input: [] float, shape: [] s64) -> Coreml_Output, ok: bool, error: string {
+  result: Coreml_Output;
+  init_objective_c();
   pool := objc_new(NSAutoreleasePool);
   defer NSAutoreleasePool.drain(pool);
 
   // The input, over the caller's floats: packed, so each stride is the product of the sizes after it.
-  numbers :: (values: [] s64) -> *NSObject {
-    objects := NewArray(values.count, *NSObject,, temp);
-    func_number :: #type (*void, Selector, s64) -> *NSObject #c_call;
-    for values  objects[it_index] = (cast(func_number) objc_msgSend)(objc_getClass("NSNumber"), selector("numberWithLongLong:"), it);
-    func_array :: #type (*void, Selector, **NSObject, u64) -> *NSObject #c_call;
-    return (cast(func_array) objc_msgSend)(objc_getClass("NSArray"), selector("arrayWithObjects:count:"), objects.data, xx objects.count);
-  }
   strides := NewArray(shape.count, s64,, temp);
   step: s64 = 1;
   for < shape { strides[it_index] = step; step *= it; }
-  if step != input.count  return false, tprint("the input has % values, not % for its shape %", input.count, step, shape);
+  if step != input.count  return result, false, tprint("the input has % values, not % for its shape %", input.count, step, shape);
 
   error: *NSError;
   func_array_init :: #type (*void, Selector, *void, *NSObject, s64, *NSObject, *void, **NSError) -> *NSObject #c_call;
   array := (cast(func_array_init) objc_msgSend)(objc_alloc(objc_getClass("MLMultiArray")), selector("initWithDataPointer:shape:dataType:strides:deallocator:error:"),
                                                 input.data, numbers(shape), MULTIARRAY_FLOAT32, numbers(strides), null, *error);
-  if !array  return false, tprint("Core ML could not take the input: %", error_text(error));
+  if !array  return result, false, tprint("Core ML could not take the input: %", error_text(error));
   autorelease(array);
 
   func_value :: #type (*void, Selector, *NSObject) -> *NSObject #c_call;
@@ -107,30 +112,66 @@ coreml_run :: (model: *Coreml_Model, input: [] float, shape: [] s64, output: []
   dictionary := (cast(func_dictionary) objc_msgSend)(objc_getClass("NSDictionary"), selector("dictionaryWithObject:forKey:"), value, key);
   func_provider :: #type (*void, Selector, *NSObject, **NSError) -> *NSObject #c_call;
   features := (cast(func_provider) objc_msgSend)(objc_alloc(objc_getClass("MLDictionaryFeatureProvider")), selector("initWithDictionary:error:"), dictionary, *error);
-  if !features  return false, tprint("Core ML could not take the input: %", error_text(error));
+  if !features  return result, false, tprint("Core ML could not take the input: %", error_text(error));
   autorelease(features);
 
   func_predict :: #type (*void, Selector, *NSObject, **NSError) -> *NSObject #c_call;
-  result := (cast(func_predict) objc_msgSend)(model.model, selector("predictionFromFeatures:error:"), features, *error);
-  if !result  return false, tprint("Core ML could not run the model: %", error_text(error));
+  lock(*model.mutex);
+  prediction := (cast(func_predict) objc_msgSend)(model.model, selector("predictionFromFeatures:error:"), features, *error);
+  unlock(*model.mutex);
+  if !prediction  return result, false, tprint("Core ML could not run the model: %", error_text(error));
+
+  out_value := (cast(func_value) objc_msgSend)(prediction, selector("featureValueForName:"), NSString.getTempString(model.output_name));
+  out_array := ifx out_value then cast(*NSObject) objc_msgSend_typed(out_value, selector("multiArrayValue")) else null;
+  if !out_array  return result, false, tprint("the model gives no %", model.output_name);
+
+  out_shape   := integers(cast(*NSObject) objc_msgSend_typed(out_array, selector("shape")));
+  out_strides := integers(cast(*NSObject) objc_msgSend_typed(out_array, selector("strides")));
+  if out_shape.count > result.dims.count || out_shape.count != out_strides.count  return result, false, tprint("the model's output has an unexpected shape %", out_shape);
+  result.dim_count = out_shape.count;
+  result.count = 1;
+  for out_shape { result.dims[it_index] = it; result.count *= it; }
 
-  out_value := (cast(func_value) objc_msgSend)(result, selector("featureValueForName:"), NSString.getTempString(model.output_name));
-  out_array := ifx out_value then objc_msgSend_typed(out_value, selector("multiArrayValue")) else null;
-  if !out_array  return false, tprint("the model gives no %", model.output_name);
-  count := cast(s64) objc_msgSend_typed(out_array, selector("count"));
-  if count != output.count  return false, tprint("the model gives % values, not %", count, output.count);
   func_type :: #type (*void, Selector) -> s64 #c_call;
   type := (cast(func_type) objc_msgSend)(out_array, selector("dataType"));
-  // The output is packed (one row of the pooled vector here); dataPointer is read before the pool drains.
+  if type != MULTIARRAY_FLOAT32 && type != MULTIARRAY_FLOAT16  return result, false, tprint("the model's output is of type 0x%, not float32 or float16", formatInt(type, base = 16));
+  packed := true;
+  expected: s64 = 1;
+  for < out_shape { if out_strides[it_index] != expected  packed = false; expected *= it; }
+
   data := objc_msgSend_typed(out_array, selector("dataPointer"));
-  if type == MULTIARRAY_FLOAT32 {
-    memcpy(output.data, data, count * size_of(float));
-  } else if type == MULTIARRAY_FLOAT16 {
-    half := cast(*u16) data;
-    for 0..count - 1  output[it] = float16_to_float32(half[it]);
-  } else {
-    return false, tprint("the model's output is of type 0x%, not float32 or float16", formatInt(type, base = 16));
+  result.array = xx retain(out_array);   // outlives the pool, and with it the data
+  if type == MULTIARRAY_FLOAT32 && packed {
+    result.data = cast(*float) data;
+    return result, true, "";
   }
+  // A copy, packed: float16 widened, and rows Core ML padded (GPU outputs may be) closed up.
+  result.copy = cast(*float) alloc(result.count * size_of(float),, context.default_allocator);
+  result.data = result.copy;
+  index: [8] s64;
+  for i: 0..result.count - 1 {
+    offset: s64 = 0;
+    for d: 0..result.dim_count - 1  offset += index[d] * out_strides[d];
+    result.copy[i] = ifx type == MULTIARRAY_FLOAT32 then (cast(*float) data)[offset] else float16_to_float32((cast(*u16) data)[offset]);
+    d := result.dim_count - 1;
+    while d >= 0 { index[d] += 1; if index[d] < out_shape[d] break; index[d] = 0; d -= 1; }
+  }
+  return result, true, "";
+}
+
+coreml_release_output :: (out: *Coreml_Output) {
+  if out.array  release(out.array);
+  if out.copy   free(out.copy,, context.default_allocator);
+  out.* = .{};
+}
+
+// coreml_predict, its output copied into output (which must hold exactly as many values).
+coreml_run :: (model: *Coreml_Model, input: [] float, shape: [] s64, output: [] float) -> ok: bool, error: string {
+  out, ok, error := coreml_predict(model, input, shape);
+  if !ok  return false, error;
+  defer coreml_release_output(*out);
+  if out.count != output.count  return false, tprint("the model gives % values, not %", out.count, output.count);
+  memcpy(output.data, out.data, out.count * size_of(float));
   return true, "";
 }
 
@@ -139,6 +180,28 @@ coreml_run :: (model: *Coreml_Model, input: [] float, shape: [] s64, output: []
 MULTIARRAY_FLOAT32 :: 0x10000 | 32;   // MLMultiArrayDataTypeFloat32
 MULTIARRAY_FLOAT16 :: 0x10000 | 16;   // MLMultiArrayDataTypeFloat16
 
+numbers :: (values: [] s64) -> *NSObject {
+  objects := NewArray(values.count, *NSObject,, temp);
+  func_number :: #type (*void, Selector, s64) -> *NSObject #c_call;
+  for values  objects[it_index] = (cast(func_number) objc_msgSend)(objc_getClass("NSNumber"), selector("numberWithLongLong:"), it);
+  func_array :: #type (*void, Selector, **NSObject, u64) -> *NSObject #c_call;
+  return (cast(func_array) objc_msgSend)(objc_getClass("NSArray"), selector("arrayWithObjects:count:"), objects.data, xx objects.count);
+}
+
+// An NSArray of NSNumbers, as integers. Temp.
+integers :: (array: *NSObject) -> [] s64 {
+  if !array  return .[];
+  count := cast(s64) objc_msgSend_typed(array, selector("count"));
+  result := NewArray(count, s64,, temp);
+  func_at :: #type (*void, Selector, u64) -> *NSObject #c_call;
+  func_value :: #type (*void, Selector) -> s64 #c_call;
+  for 0..count - 1 {
+    number := (cast(func_at) objc_msgSend)(array, selector("objectAtIndex:"), xx it);
+    result[it] = (cast(func_value) objc_msgSend)(number, selector("longLongValue"));
+  }
+  return result;
+}
+
 error_text :: (error: *NSError) -> string {
   if !error  return "no reason given";
   return copy_string(to_string(NSError.localizedDescription(error)),, temp);
diff --git a/modules/OCR/detect.jai b/modules/OCR/detect.jai
index b5fb184..42cfa5f 100644
--- a/modules/OCR/detect.jai
+++ b/modules/OCR/detect.jai
@@ -63,8 +63,14 @@ ocr_detect_tile :: (engine: *Ocr_Engine, image: Ocr_Image, scale: float, scaled_
   valid_h := tile_bottom - tile_top;
   w := align_up_32(valid_w);
   h := align_up_32(valid_h);
+  #if OS == .MACOS  if engine.det_coreml {
+    // Up to a size the Core ML package takes: its steps, which det_max_side and det_tile_height stay within.
+    w = align_up(valid_w, model.coreml_det_width_step);
+    h = align_up(valid_h, model.coreml_det_height_step);
+  }
 
-  // Planar BGR, normalized; the padding to a multiple of 32 is the normalized zero (the mean colour).
+  // Planar BGR, normalized; the padding to a multiple of 32 (or the Core ML step) is the normalized
+  // zero (the mean colour).
   plane := cast(s64) w * h;
   input := NewArray(plane * 3, float, initialized = true,, context.default_allocator);
   defer array_free(input,, context.default_allocator);
@@ -83,14 +89,31 @@ ocr_detect_tile :: (engine: *Ocr_Engine, image: Ocr_Image, scale: float, scaled_
   }
 
   shape := s64.[1, 3, h, w];
-  out, ok, error := ocr_run(*engine.det, engine.memory_info, input, shape);
-  if !ok  return false, error;
+  probabilities: *float;
+  dims: [] s64;
+  out: Ocr_Output;
   defer ocr_release_output(*out);
-  if out.dim_count != 4 || out.dims[2] != h || out.dims[3] != w {
-    return false, tprint("The detector gave an output of shape %, not [1, 1, %, %].", array_view(out.dims, 0, out.dim_count), h, w);
+  #if OS == .MACOS {
+    coreml_out: Coreml_Output;
+    defer coreml_release_output(*coreml_out);
+  }
+  #if OS == .MACOS  if engine.det_coreml {
+    ok: bool; error: string;
+    coreml_out, ok, error = coreml_predict(engine.det_coreml, input, shape);
+    if !ok  return false, error;
+    probabilities, dims = coreml_out.data, array_view(coreml_out.dims, 0, coreml_out.dim_count);
+  }
+  if !probabilities {
+    ok: bool; error: string;
+    out, ok, error = ocr_run(*engine.det, engine.memory_info, input, shape);
+    if !ok  return false, error;
+    probabilities, dims = out.data, array_view(out.dims, 0, out.dim_count);
+  }
+  if dims.count != 4 || dims[2] != h || dims[3] != w {
+    return false, tprint("The detector gave an output of shape %, not [1, 1, %, %].", dims, h, w);
   }
 
-  regions := ocr_find_regions(out.data, w, valid_w, valid_h, model.det_threshold);
+  regions := ocr_find_regions(probabilities, w, valid_w, valid_h, model.det_threshold);
   defer {
     for regions  array_free(it.outline);
     array_free(regions,, context.default_allocator);
@@ -254,6 +277,12 @@ align_up_32 :: (n: s32) -> s32 {
   return (n + 31) & cast(s32) ~31;
 }
 
+// n rounded up to a multiple of step (at least one step).
+align_up :: (n: s32, step: s32) -> s32 {
+  step = max(step, 1);
+  return max((n + step - 1) / step, 1) * step;
+}
+
 Region :: struct {
   pixels: s64;
   probability_sum: float64;
diff --git a/modules/OCR/models.config b/modules/OCR/models.config
index 28b58f6..a2e5214 100644
--- a/modules/OCR/models.config
+++ b/modules/OCR/models.config
@@ -16,6 +16,12 @@
 #   rec_batch_gpu     text lines recognized together in one run, on the GPU
 #   rec_batch_cpu     the same on the CPU, where one at a time is fastest: a batch is padded to its
 #                     widest line, and the padding costs time and changes what is read a little
+#   detector_coreml, recognizer_coreml
+#                     macOS: the detector and recognizer as Core ML packages, quoted, run on the GPU
+#                     (tools/export_ppocr_coreml.py makes them); without both, onnxruntime runs OCR
+#   coreml_det_height_step, coreml_det_width_step, coreml_rec_batch, coreml_rec_width_step
+#                     the sizes those packages take, as the script made them (the defaults: 128, 256,
+#                     16, 64): detection strips are padded up to the steps, lines to 16 at the step
 
 [model ppocr-v5-mobile]
 title:           "PP-OCRv5 mobile (light)"
@@ -31,6 +37,8 @@ unclip_ratio:    1.5
 rec_height:      48
 rec_batch_gpu:   16
 rec_batch_cpu:   1
+detector_coreml:   "ch_PP-OCRv5_det_mobile.mlpackage"
+recognizer_coreml: "ch_PP-OCRv5_rec_mobile.mlpackage"
 
 [model ppocr-v5-server]
 title:           "PP-OCRv5 server (heavy)"
diff --git a/modules/OCR/models.jai b/modules/OCR/models.jai
index 0f6131d..0ab7c73 100644
--- a/modules/OCR/models.jai
+++ b/modules/OCR/models.jai
@@ -14,6 +14,15 @@ Ocr_Model_Info :: struct {
   rec_height:      s32   = 48;
   rec_batch_gpu:   s32   = 16;
   rec_batch_cpu:   s32   = 1;
+
+  // macOS: the detector and recognizer as Core ML packages (tools/export_ppocr_coreml.py), "" for none,
+  // and the sizes they take, which inputs are padded up to: the detector's height and width multiples
+  // of these steps, and the recognizer coreml_rec_batch lines at a multiple of coreml_rec_width_step.
+  detector_coreml, recognizer_coreml: string;
+  coreml_det_height_step: s32 = 128;
+  coreml_det_width_step:  s32 = 256;
+  coreml_rec_batch:       s32 = 16;
+  coreml_rec_width_step:  s32 = 64;
 }
 
 OCR_MODELS_CONFIG :: "models.config";
@@ -64,6 +73,12 @@ ocr_list_models :: (models_folder: string) -> [] Ocr_Model_Info, error: string {
       case "rec_height";      if number_ok  model.rec_height      = cast(s32) number;
       case "rec_batch_gpu";   if number_ok  model.rec_batch_gpu   = cast(s32) number;
       case "rec_batch_cpu";   if number_ok  model.rec_batch_cpu   = cast(s32) number;
+      case "detector_coreml";   model.detector_coreml   = copy_string(value);
+      case "recognizer_coreml"; model.recognizer_coreml = copy_string(value);
+      case "coreml_det_height_step"; if number_ok  model.coreml_det_height_step = cast(s32) number;
+      case "coreml_det_width_step";  if number_ok  model.coreml_det_width_step  = cast(s32) number;
+      case "coreml_rec_batch";       if number_ok  model.coreml_rec_batch       = cast(s32) number;
+      case "coreml_rec_width_step";  if number_ok  model.coreml_rec_width_step  = cast(s32) number;
       case;  log_error("[OCR] %:%: unknown key %. Ignored.", path, line_number, key);
     }
   }
@@ -98,14 +113,67 @@ ocr_create_sessions :: (engine: *Ocr_Engine, models_folder: string, gpu: bool, i
   if model.textline_ori {
     engine.orientation, ok, error = ocr_create_session(engine.env, tprint("%/%", models_folder, model.textline_ori), gpu, intra_op_threads, engine.options);
     if !ok  return false, error;
-    // PP-LCNet text line orientation takes 160 by 80; a model that says otherwise is taken at its word.
-    shape := engine.orientation.input_shape;
-    engine.orientation_height = ifx engine.orientation.input_rank == 4 && shape[2] > 0 then cast(s32) shape[2] else 80;
-    engine.orientation_width  = ifx engine.orientation.input_rank == 4 && shape[3] > 0 then cast(s32) shape[3] else 160;
+    ocr_orientation_size(engine);
   }
   return true, "";
 }
 
+// PP-LCNet text line orientation takes 160 by 80; a model that says otherwise is taken at its word.
+ocr_orientation_size :: (engine: *Ocr_Engine) {
+  shape := engine.orientation.input_shape;
+  engine.orientation_height = ifx engine.orientation.input_rank == 4 && shape[2] > 0 then cast(s32) shape[2] else 80;
+  engine.orientation_width  = ifx engine.orientation.input_rank == 4 && shape[3] > 0 then cast(s32) shape[3] else 160;
+}
+
+// macOS: the detector and recognizer through Core ML (modules/Core_ML) on the GPU, each run once on
+// its smallest size, and the orientation classifier, if any, through onnxruntime on the CPU. On
+// failure, why; what was made is left for ocr_release_coreml and ocr_release_sessions.
+ocr_create_coreml :: (engine: *Ocr_Engine, models_folder: string, cores: s32) -> ok: bool, error: string {
+  #if OS != .MACOS {
+    return false, "Core ML is macOS's.";
+  } else {
+    model := *engine.model;
+    if !model.detector_coreml || !model.recognizer_coreml  return false, tprint("there are no Core ML models for %; tools/export_ppocr_coreml.py makes them.", model.name);
+    for string.[model.detector_coreml, model.recognizer_coreml] {
+      if !file_exists(tprint("%/%", models_folder, it))  return false, tprint("% is not there; tools/export_ppocr_coreml.py makes it.", it);
+    }
+    ok: bool;
+    error: string;
+    engine.det_coreml, ok, error = coreml_load(tprint("%/%", models_folder, model.detector_coreml), "x", "y");
+    if !ok  return false, error;
+    engine.rec_coreml, ok, error = coreml_load(tprint("%/%", models_folder, model.recognizer_coreml), "x", "y");
+    if !ok  return false, error;
+    if model.textline_ori {
+      engine.orientation, ok, error = ocr_create_session(engine.env, tprint("%/%", models_folder, model.textline_ori), false, max(cores / 4, 1), engine.options);
+      if !ok  return false, error;
+      ocr_orientation_size(engine);
+    }
+
+    // The first runs, at the smallest sizes the packages take.
+    Warm_Up :: struct { model: *Coreml_Model; shape: [4] s64; }
+    runs := Warm_Up.[
+      .{engine.det_coreml, .[1, 3, model.coreml_det_height_step, model.coreml_det_width_step]},
+      .{engine.rec_coreml, .[model.coreml_rec_batch, 3, model.rec_height, model.coreml_rec_width_step]},
+    ];
+    for runs {
+      input := NewArray(it.shape[0] * it.shape[1] * it.shape[2] * it.shape[3], float, initialized = true,, context.default_allocator);
+      defer array_free(input,, context.default_allocator);
+      out, run_ok, run_error := coreml_predict(it.model, input, it.shape);
+      if !run_ok  return false, tprint("Core ML could not run the % on the GPU: %", ifx it_index == 0 then "detector" else "recognizer", run_error);
+      coreml_release_output(*out);
+    }
+    return true, "";
+  }
+}
+
+ocr_release_coreml :: (engine: *Ocr_Engine) {
+  #if OS == .MACOS {
+    coreml_free(engine.det_coreml);
+    coreml_free(engine.rec_coreml);
+    engine.det_coreml, engine.rec_coreml = null;
+  }
+}
+
 ocr_release_sessions :: (engine: *Ocr_Engine) {
   ocr_release_session(*engine.det);
   ocr_release_session(*engine.rec);
diff --git a/modules/OCR/module.jai b/modules/OCR/module.jai
index 203b5cc..b22d46b 100644
--- a/modules/OCR/module.jai
+++ b/modules/OCR/module.jai
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 // then recognition (recognize.jai) reads it level. When the model lists an orientation classifier,
 // lines that look upside down are read both ways; lines read downwards or upwards are read too.
 
-Ocr_Provider :: enum { CPU; CUDA; }
+Ocr_Provider :: enum { CPU; CUDA; COREML; }
 
 // Tightly packed or not: stride is the bytes from one row to the next.
 Ocr_Image :: struct {
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ Ocr_Engine :: struct {
   env: *OrtEnv;
   memory_info: *OrtMemoryInfo;
   det, rec: Ocr_Session;
+  #if OS == .MACOS  det_coreml, rec_coreml: *Coreml_Model;   // the detector and recognizer, when Core ML runs them
   orientation: Ocr_Session;   // the text line orientation classifier; none when its session is null
   orientation_width, orientation_height: s32;   // its input size
   dictionary: [] string;      // class n is dictionary[n - 1]
@@ -117,11 +118,24 @@ ocr_create :: (models_folder: string, model_name: string, prefer_gpu := true, op
   cores := cast(s32) max(get_number_of_processors(.ALL_LOGICAL), 1);   // efficiency cores included
 
   use_gpu := false;
-  if prefer_gpu {
+  #if OS == .MACOS  if prefer_gpu {
+    // Core ML on the GPU: the detector and recognizer, the orientation classifier on the CPU. On any
+    // failure, onnxruntime on the CPU below, with the reason.
+    coreml_ok, coreml_error := ocr_create_coreml(engine, models_folder, cores);
+    if coreml_ok {
+      engine.provider = .COREML;
+      engine.workers = max(options.gpu_workers, 1);
+      engine.rec_batch = max(engine.model.coreml_rec_batch, 1);
+      return engine, true, "";
+    }
+    ocr_release_coreml(engine);
+    engine.gpu_explanation = sprint("OCR runs on the CPU: %", coreml_error);
+  }
+  if prefer_gpu && OS != .MACOS {
     available, explanation := ort_cuda_check("OCR");   // modules/onnxruntime/cuda.jai
     use_gpu = available;
     if !available  engine.gpu_explanation = copy_string(explanation);
-  } else {
+  } else if !prefer_gpu {
     engine.gpu_explanation = copy_string("OCR runs on the CPU, as it was asked to.");
   }
 
@@ -160,7 +174,16 @@ ocr_provider :: (engine: *Ocr_Engine) -> Ocr_Provider {
 
 // Whether the GPU is in use, and when not, why, and what to install so it can be.
 ocr_gpu_status :: (engine: *Ocr_Engine) -> in_use: bool, explanation: string {
-  return engine.provider == .CUDA, engine.gpu_explanation;
+  return engine.provider == .CUDA || engine.provider == .COREML, engine.gpu_explanation;
+}
+
+// What runs the detector and recognizer, for people and the files it reads: "CUDA", "Core ML" or "CPU".
+ocr_provider_name :: (engine: *Ocr_Engine) -> string {
+  if engine.provider == {
+    case .CUDA;   return "CUDA";
+    case .COREML; return "Core ML";
+  }
+  return "CPU";
 }
 
 ocr_destroy :: (engine: *Ocr_Engine) {
@@ -169,6 +192,7 @@ ocr_destroy :: (engine: *Ocr_Engine) {
   if engine.provider == .CUDA  ort_gpu_lock();
   ocr_release_sessions(engine);
   if engine.provider == .CUDA  ort_gpu_unlock();
+  ocr_release_coreml(engine);
   if engine.memory_info  ort.api.ReleaseMemoryInfo(engine.memory_info);
   if engine.env          ort.api.ReleaseEnv(engine.env);
   free(engine.gpu_explanation,, context.default_allocator);
@@ -458,6 +482,7 @@ run_on_workers :: (engine: *Ocr_Engine, count: s64, proc: Work_Proc, data: *void
 #import "Atomics";
 #import "onnxruntime";
 Default_Allocator :: #import "Default_Allocator";   // rpmalloc (modules/Default_Allocator), for thread_idle where the workers wait
+#if OS == .MACOS  #import "Core_ML";
 #if OS == .WINDOWS {
   #import "Windows";
   #import "Windows_Utf8";
diff --git a/modules/OCR/recognize.jai b/modules/OCR/recognize.jai
index 90fd218..0a888b5 100644
--- a/modules/OCR/recognize.jai
+++ b/modules/OCR/recognize.jai
@@ -29,21 +29,44 @@ ocr_recognize_batch :: (engine: *Ocr_Engine, jobs: [] *Line_Job) -> ok: bool, er
     step := max(engine.options.rec_width_step, 1);
     width = (width + step - 1) / step * step;
   }
+  rows := cast(s64) jobs.count;
+  #if OS == .MACOS  if engine.rec_coreml {
+    // The sizes the Core ML package takes: coreml_rec_batch lines (the rest padding), at its width step.
+    width = align_up(width, engine.model.coreml_rec_width_step);
+    rows  = max(rows, cast(s64) engine.model.coreml_rec_batch);
+  }
 
   plane := cast(s64) height * width;
-  input := NewArray(plane * 3 * jobs.count, float, initialized = true,, context.default_allocator);   // 0 is the padding
+  input := NewArray(plane * 3 * rows, float, initialized = true,, context.default_allocator);   // 0 is the padding
   defer array_free(input,, context.default_allocator);
   for job, n: jobs {
     ocr_sample_crop(job.image, job.corners, job.width, height, input.data + plane * 3 * n, width, plane, REC_MEAN, REC_STD);
   }
 
-  shape := s64.[jobs.count, 3, height, width];
-  out, ok, error := ocr_run(*engine.rec, engine.memory_info, input, shape);
-  if !ok  return false, error;
+  shape := s64.[rows, 3, height, width];
+  scores: *float;
+  dims: [] s64;
+  out: Ocr_Output;
   defer ocr_release_output(*out);
-  if out.dim_count != 3 || out.dims[0] != jobs.count  return false, tprint("The recognizer gave an output of shape %.", array_view(out.dims, 0, out.dim_count));
-  steps   := out.dims[1];
-  classes := out.dims[2];
+  #if OS == .MACOS {
+    coreml_out: Coreml_Output;
+    defer coreml_release_output(*coreml_out);
+  }
+  #if OS == .MACOS  if engine.rec_coreml {
+    ok: bool; error: string;
+    coreml_out, ok, error = coreml_predict(engine.rec_coreml, input, shape);
+    if !ok  return false, error;
+    scores, dims = coreml_out.data, array_view(coreml_out.dims, 0, coreml_out.dim_count);
+  }
+  if !scores {
+    ok: bool; error: string;
+    out, ok, error = ocr_run(*engine.rec, engine.memory_info, input, shape);
+    if !ok  return false, error;
+    scores, dims = out.data, array_view(out.dims, 0, out.dim_count);
+  }
+  if dims.count != 3 || dims[0] != rows  return false, tprint("The recognizer gave an output of shape %.", dims);
+  steps   := dims[1];
+  classes := dims[2];
   if classes != engine.dictionary.count + 2 {
     return false, tprint("The recognizer has % classes, but its dictionary % characters (plus blank and space, % expected).", classes, engine.dictionary.count, engine.dictionary.count + 2);
   }
@@ -55,7 +78,7 @@ ocr_recognize_batch :: (engine: *Ocr_Engine, jobs: [] *Line_Job) -> ok: bool, er
     probability_sum: float64;
     characters := 0;
     for t: 0..steps - 1 {
-      row := out.data + (n * steps + t) * classes;
+      row := scores + (n * steps + t) * classes;
       best := 0;
       best_p := row[0];
       for c: 1..classes - 1  if row[c] > best_p { best = c; best_p = row[c]; }
diff --git a/modules/onnxruntime/cuda.jai b/modules/onnxruntime/cuda.jai
index 14ddd87..60f4ccf 100644
--- a/modules/onnxruntime/cuda.jai
+++ b/modules/onnxruntime/cuda.jai
@@ -53,7 +53,8 @@ ort_cuda_check :: (what: string) -> available: bool, explanation: string {
   // (onnxruntime 1.30.0) and is slower than the CPU for these models: OCR's take a new image size
   // nearly every run, which CoreML compiles for each time, and SigLIP 2 converts only with every
   // dimension fixed (its ML Program conversion fails on the patch embedding), then runs at about
-  // half the CPU's speed. So on macOS the models run on the CPU.
+  // half the CPU's speed. So onnxruntime runs them on the CPU on macOS; OCR and labels use native
+  // Core ML instead when their converted models are there (modules/Core_ML).
   #if OS == .MACOS {
     return false, tprint("% runs on the CPU: onnxruntime has no CUDA on macOS, and its CoreML provider was measured slower than the CPU on Apple silicon.", what);
   }
diff --git a/src/app/ocr_ui.jai b/src/app/ocr_ui.jai
index fdc6091..248fd99 100644
--- a/src/app/ocr_ui.jai
+++ b/src/app/ocr_ui.jai
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ ocr_ui_thread_proc :: (thread: *Thread) -> s64 {
       ocr_ui.engine = engine;
       free(ocr_ui.engine_error);
       ocr_ui.engine_error = ifx ok then "" else copy_string(error);
-      if ok  log("[OCR] % on %.%", task.model, engine.provider, ifx engine.gpu_explanation then tprint(" %", engine.gpu_explanation) else "");
+      if ok  log("[OCR] % on %.%", task.model, ocr_provider_name(engine), ifx engine.gpu_explanation then tprint(" %", engine.gpu_explanation) else "");
       else   log_error("[OCR] Could not start %: %", task.model, error);
       ocr_ui.engine_tried = true;
 
@@ -463,7 +463,7 @@ ocr_read_and_store :: (items: [] Scan_Item, set: *Label_Set) -> [] string {
   }
 
   ocr_results := ocr_process(ocr_ui.engine, ocr_images,, temp);
-  engine_text := tprint("onnxruntime %, %", ort.version, ifx ocr_ui.engine.provider == .CUDA then "CUDA" else "CPU");
+  engine_text := ifx ocr_ui.engine.provider == .COREML then "Core ML, GPU" else tprint("onnxruntime %, %", ort.version, ocr_provider_name(ocr_ui.engine));
   for n: 0..items.count - 1 {
     if errors[n]  continue;
     section: Mcap_Ocr_Section;
@@ -715,7 +715,7 @@ ocr_scan_progress_ui :: () { using ImGui;
   ProgressBar(cast(float) done / max(total, 1), .{-FLOAT32_MIN, 0}, temp_c_string(ocr_scan_progress_text(done, total)));
   if scan.erase_ocr || scan.erase_labels || scan.erase_segments  Text("% elapsed, % left, % captures/s, % failed", ocr_duration_text(elapsed), ocr_duration_text(left), FF(rate, 1), failed);
   else if scan.segmenting  Text("% elapsed, % left, % images/s, % failed", ocr_duration_text(elapsed), ocr_duration_text(left), FF(rate, 1), failed);   // the engine is the OCR thread's while it runs
-  else  Text("% elapsed, % left, % captures/s, % failed, on %", ocr_duration_text(elapsed), ocr_duration_text(left), FF(rate, 1), failed, ifx ocr_ui.engine && ocr_ui.engine.provider == .CUDA then "the GPU" else "the CPU");
+  else  Text("% elapsed, % left, % captures/s, % failed, on %", ocr_duration_text(elapsed), ocr_duration_text(left), FF(rate, 1), failed, ifx ocr_ui.engine && ocr_gpu_status(ocr_ui.engine) then "the GPU" else "the CPU");
   if scan.paused {
     if Button("Resume") { scan.paused_seconds += to_float64_seconds(current_time_monotonic() - scan.pause_start); atomic_swap(*scan.paused, false); }
   } else {
@@ -811,7 +811,7 @@ ocr_ui_frame :: () { using ImGui;
         ocr_scan_ui();
       } else {
         in_use, explanation := ocr_gpu_status(ocr_ui.engine);
-        Text("Running on: %", ifx in_use then "the GPU (CUDA)" else "the CPU");
+        Text("Running on: %", ifx in_use then tprint("the GPU (%)", ocr_provider_name(ocr_ui.engine)) else "the CPU");
         SameLine();
         TextColored(app_theme.palette.dim, "onnxruntime %, % worker threads", ort.version, ocr_ui.engine.workers);
         Separator();
diff --git a/src/app/viewer.jai b/src/app/viewer.jai
index 9767465..9ca7ed4 100644
--- a/src/app/viewer.jai
+++ b/src/app/viewer.jai
@@ -1163,7 +1163,7 @@ viewer_ui :: () { using ImGui;
   if IsItemHovered() {
     engine: *Ocr_Engine;
     if !ocr_ui.thread_busy  engine = ocr_ui.engine;   // the background thread owns it while busy
-    if engine  SetTooltip("OCR with %, on %", engine.model.name, ifx engine.provider == .CUDA then "the GPU" else "the CPU");
+    if engine  SetTooltip("OCR with %, on %", engine.model.name, ifx ocr_gpu_status(engine) then tprint("the GPU (%)", ocr_provider_name(engine)) else "the CPU");
     else       SetTooltip("OCR is not loaded, is loading, or could not start; the OCR window says which");
   }
 
diff --git a/src/test/ocr_tests.jai b/src/test/ocr_tests.jai
index ed36589..fb8a5b2 100644
--- a/src/test/ocr_tests.jai
+++ b/src/test/ocr_tests.jai
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ turn_tests :: () {
     if !created  return;
     defer ocr_destroy(engine);
     expect(engine.orientation.session != null, "% has an orientation classifier", OCR_DEFAULT_MODEL);
-    emit("  running on %; classifier input % x %\n", ifx engine.provider == .CUDA then "CUDA" else "the CPU", engine.orientation_width, engine.orientation_height);
+    emit("  running on %; classifier input % x %\n", ocr_provider_name(engine), engine.orientation_width, engine.orientation_height);
 
     level, drawn := drawn_lines();
     expect(drawn, "the test text is drawn");
diff --git a/tools/export_ppocr_coreml.py b/tools/export_ppocr_coreml.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0e68ebe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/export_ppocr_coreml.py
@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+# Converts a PP-OCRv5 detector and recognizer to Core ML models for modules/OCR on macOS, then checks
+# each against the ONNX model on the CPU. Run once, on a Mac, after modules/OCR/fetch_models.jai;
+# mcap only uses the .mlpackage files it writes (into modules/OCR/models, beside the ONNX ones).
+#
+#   python3 -m venv ~/mcap-coreml
+#   ~/mcap-coreml/bin/pip install torch==2.7.0 coremltools==9.0 onnx onnxruntime pillow
+#   ~/mcap-coreml/bin/pip install --no-deps onnx2torch torchvision==0.22.0
+#   ~/mcap-coreml/bin/python tools/export_ppocr_coreml.py [--model mobile|server]
+#
+# There is no PyTorch source for PP-OCR (it is PaddlePaddle's), and coremltools no longer reads ONNX, so
+# each model goes ONNX -> PyTorch (onnx2torch) -> Core ML, as an ML Program in float32: float16 moves
+# the detector's text pixels and changes recognized text, and the Neural Engine gets it wrong.
+#
+# The shapes. Core ML on the GPU cannot take a flexible height and width for the detector (its
+# depthwise convolutions fail to compile: "invalid axis" in mps.expand_dims), so both models take a
+# list of sizes (at most 128 a model), which mcap pads its inputs up to; models.config's coreml_ keys
+# say the same steps, and must be kept in step with these:
+#   detector:   1 x 3 x H x W, H a multiple of 128 up to 1536 (det_tile_height), W of 256 up to 2560 (det_max_side)
+#   recognizer: 16 x 3 x 48 x W, W a multiple of 64 up to 4096 (REC_MAX_WIDTH); fewer lines are padded to 16
+# The recognizer's Reshapes compute their target shape from tensor sizes, which tracing freezes at the
+# traced width; they are rewritten first as constant shapes of 0 (copy the dimension) and -1 (infer it),
+# worked out from the shapes onnxruntime gives at several sizes, and checked to give the same output.
+#
+# Measured on an M5 Pro against onnxruntime on the CPU, each at the same (padded) size: the detector
+# about 5 times as fast, the recognizer about 4 times for 16 lines, with the same text pixels and text.
+
+import argparse, itertools, os, sys, time
+import numpy as np
+import onnx, onnxruntime as ort
+from onnx import helper, numpy_helper
+import torch, onnx2torch
+import coremltools as ct
+
+HERE = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
+MODELS = os.path.join(HERE, "..", "modules", "OCR", "models")
+
+DET_HEIGHTS = list(range(128, 1536 + 1, 128))
+DET_WIDTHS  = list(range(256, 2560 + 1, 256))
+REC_BATCH   = 16
+REC_HEIGHT  = 48
+REC_WIDTHS  = list(range(64, 4096 + 1, 64))
+
+# coremltools 9.0 casts a folded one-element tensor with int(array), which NumPy 2 refuses ("only
+# 0-dimensional arrays can be converted"); the same cast, with the element taken out first.
+from coremltools.converters.mil.frontend.torch import ops as ct_ops
+_original_cast = ct_ops._cast
+def _cast_one_element(context, node, dtype, dtype_name):
+    x = ct_ops._get_inputs(context, node, expected=1)[0]
+    if x.can_be_folded_to_const() and np.ndim(x.val) > 0 and np.size(x.val) == 1:
+        context.add(ct_ops.mb.const(val=dtype(np.asarray(x.val).item()), name=node.name), node.name)
+        return
+    _original_cast(context, node, dtype, dtype_name)
+ct_ops._cast = _cast_one_element
+
+
+def constant_reshapes(model, input_shapes):
+    """The model with each computed Reshape target made a constant of 0s and -1s."""
+    graph = model.graph
+    initializers = {i.name for i in graph.initializer}
+    producers = {o: n for n in graph.node for o in n.output}
+    computed = [n for n in graph.node if n.op_type == "Reshape" and n.input[1] not in initializers
+                and not (n.input[1] in producers and producers[n.input[1]].op_type == "Constant")]
+    if not computed:
+        return model
+    probe = onnx.ModelProto(); probe.CopyFrom(model)
+    names = []
+    for n in computed:
+        for t in (n.input[0], n.output[0]):
+            if t not in names:
+                names.append(t)
+                probe.graph.output.append(helper.make_tensor_value_info(t, onnx.TensorProto.FLOAT, None))
+    session = ort.InferenceSession(probe.SerializeToString(), providers=["CPUExecutionProvider"])
+    name = session.get_inputs()[0].name
+    shapes = []
+    for shape in input_shapes:
+        outs = session.run(names, {name: np.zeros(shape, np.float32)})
+        shapes.append({t: o.shape for t, o in zip(names, outs)})
+    for n in computed:
+        ins = [s[n.input[0]] for s in shapes]
+        outs = [s[n.output[0]] for s in shapes]
+        target = []
+        for d in range(len(outs[0])):
+            sizes = {o[d] for o in outs}
+            if len(sizes) == 1:
+                target.append(sizes.pop())
+            elif all(len(i) > d and i[d] == o[d] for i, o in zip(ins, outs)):
+                target.append(0)
+            else:
+                target.append(-1)
+        if target.count(-1) > 1:
+            sys.exit(f"{n.name}: more than one dimension to infer ({target})")
+        constant = n.name + "_constant_shape"
+        graph.initializer.append(numpy_helper.from_array(np.array(target, dtype=np.int64), constant))
+        n.input[1] = constant
+        print(f"  {n.name}: target shape {target}")
+    return model
+
+
+def convert(onnx_model, example, shape, path):
+    module = onnx2torch.convert(onnx_model).eval()
+    with torch.no_grad():
+        traced = torch.jit.trace(module, torch.from_numpy(example))
+    ml = ct.convert(traced, inputs=[ct.TensorType(name="x", shape=shape)], outputs=[ct.TensorType(name="y")],
+                    convert_to="mlprogram", compute_precision=ct.precision.FLOAT32,
+                    minimum_deployment_target=ct.target.macOS14)
+    ml.save(path)
+    return ct.models.MLModel(path, compute_units=ct.ComputeUnit.CPU_AND_GPU)
+
+
+def ctc(logits):
+    texts = []
+    for row in logits.argmax(-1):
+        seq, last = [], -1
+        for i in row:
+            if i != last and i != 0:
+                seq.append(int(i))
+            last = i
+        texts.append(seq)
+    return texts
+
+
+def main():
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
+    parser.add_argument("--model", choices=["mobile", "server"], default="mobile")
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+    rng = np.random.default_rng(0)
+
+    # Detector.
+    stem = f"ch_PP-OCRv5_det_{args.model}"
+    onnx_path = os.path.join(MODELS, stem + ".onnx")
+    out_path = os.path.join(MODELS, stem + ".mlpackage")
+    shapes = [(1, 3, h, w) for h in DET_HEIGHTS for w in DET_WIDTHS]
+    start = time.perf_counter()
+    det = convert(onnx.load(onnx_path), np.zeros((1, 3, 768, 1280), np.float32),
+                  ct.EnumeratedShapes(shapes=shapes, default=(1, 3, 768, 1280)), out_path)
+    print(f"Wrote {out_path} ({len(shapes)} sizes) in {time.perf_counter() - start:.1f} s.")
+    reference = ort.InferenceSession(onnx_path, providers=["CPUExecutionProvider"])
+    worst = 0.0
+    for (h, w) in [(768, 1280), (1536, 2560), (128, 256)]:
+        x = rng.standard_normal((1, 3, h, w)).astype(np.float32)
+        a = reference.run(None, {"x": x})[0]
+        b = det.predict({"x": x})["y"]
+        flips = float(np.mean((a > 0.3) != (b > 0.3)))
+        worst = max(worst, flips)
+        print(f"  {h} x {w}: max difference {np.abs(a - b).max():.2e}, pixels across 0.3: {flips * 100:.4f}%")
+    if worst > 0.0001:
+        sys.exit("The Core ML detector is too far from the ONNX one.")
+
+    # Recognizer.
+    stem = f"ch_PP-OCRv5_rec_{args.model}"
+    onnx_path = os.path.join(MODELS, stem + ".onnx")
+    out_path = os.path.join(MODELS, stem + ".mlpackage")
+    print("Recognizer: making its reshapes constant")
+    model = constant_reshapes(onnx.load(onnx_path), [(n, 3, REC_HEIGHT, w) for n in (1, 2) for w in (320, 640)])
+    shapes = [(REC_BATCH, 3, REC_HEIGHT, w) for w in REC_WIDTHS]
+    start = time.perf_counter()
+    rec = convert(model, np.zeros((REC_BATCH, 3, REC_HEIGHT, 640), np.float32),
+                  ct.EnumeratedShapes(shapes=shapes, default=(REC_BATCH, 3, REC_HEIGHT, 640)), out_path)
+    print(f"Wrote {out_path} ({len(shapes)} widths) in {time.perf_counter() - start:.1f} s.")
+    reference = ort.InferenceSession(onnx_path, providers=["CPUExecutionProvider"])
+    for w in (64, 640, 4096):
+        x = rng.standard_normal((REC_BATCH, 3, REC_HEIGHT, w)).astype(np.float32) * 0.5
+        a = reference.run(None, {"x": x})[0]
+        b = rec.predict({"x": x})["y"]
+        same = np.mean([p == q for p, q in zip(ctc(a), ctc(b))])
+        print(f"  width {w}: max difference {np.abs(a - b).max():.2e}, decoded the same {same * 100:.0f}%")
+        if same < 1:
+            sys.exit("The Core ML recognizer reads differently from the ONNX one.")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()