LIMA AI NVDA Add-on¶

LIMA AI is an open-source NVDA add-on that brings on-demand AI screen description to NVDA users. It is a light companion to LIMA Desktop: it installs into NVDA and extends the NVDA experience with the same LIMA AI that powers the desktop app.

You control it from the keyboard with five NVDA gestures, no mouse required. The default gestures use the NVDA+Alt layer, so they never override a built-in NVDA command.

What it does¶

Describe the screen: press NVDA+Alt+D and NVDA speaks a brief, factual description of the active monitor: the main elements and any important visible text.
Describe the focused element: press NVDA+Alt+E and NVDA tells you how the control you are on looks and what it does.
Click by description: press NVDA+Alt+C, type what you want to do, such as "click the Send button", and LIMA AI finds the control and clicks it.
Dynamic web narration: press NVDA+Alt+W and the add-on briefly announces meaningful changes on the browser page you are reading, without interrupting your reading or repeating itself.
Check your credit usage: press NVDA+Alt+U to hear how much of this month's AI credit you have used and when it resets.
Sign in with Google: sign in once from NVDA's settings panel; the session is remembered, so you don't have to sign in again at every launch.
Speak in your language: descriptions are spoken in the reply language of your choice (English, Tagalog, or Vietnamese), with a matching voice where one is available.

What you need¶

Requirement	Details
Windows	With NVDA 2023.1 or later installed
Internet connection	Required for the AI features
Google account	Used to sign in — no separate password to create

LIMA AI and LIMA Desktop¶

LIMA AI focuses on quick, on-demand answers while you work in NVDA. LIMA Desktop is the full product — continuous narration, voice control, and computer automation.

	LIMA AI add-on	LIMA Desktop
What it does	Describes your screen or the focused control on demand, clicks controls you describe, and narrates web changes	Reads, understands, and controls your whole computer
Where it runs	Inside NVDA	Windows desktop app
How you control it	Keyboard (NVDA gestures)	Voice and keyboard
Best for	Quick answers while you work in NVDA	Full hands-free computer use
Getting it	NVDA Add-on Store	roscommon.systems/lima

The two work well together: keep the add-on installed for quick questions inside NVDA, and use the desktop app when you want the complete AI experience.

How the add-on works¶

Sign-in uses Google OAuth and Firebase under the hood, and every AI call goes through the LIMA backend proxy, so no API key or provider secret ever lives in the add-on. Screenshots leave your device only when you trigger a feature, and they travel under a Zero Data Retention policy.

Sign in once, stay signed in

Sign in from NVDA menu → Preferences → Settings → LIMA AI → Sign in with Google. Your session is refreshed automatically, so you don't have to repeat the sign-in.

Next steps¶

Using these docs with an AI assistant¶

All of the LIMA AI NVDA Add-on documentation is also available as a single text file: LIMA AI NVDA Add-on documentation for AI assistants. Give this link to an AI assistant and it can read every page at once, rather than one page at a time.