# screenpipe — Complete Reference

> 24/7 AI memory for your desktop. Open source. Local-first. Privacy-focused.

screenpipe is an open source application that continuously captures your screen and audio, creating a searchable AI-powered memory of everything you do on your computer. All data is stored locally on your device. It is the leading open source alternative to Rewind.ai, Microsoft Recall, and Limitless.

Website: https://screenpi.pe
GitHub: https://github.com/screenpipe/screenpipe (16,700+ stars)
Documentation: https://docs.screenpi.pe
Discord: https://discord.gg/screenpipe
License: MIT

## What screenpipe does

screenpipe runs in the background on your computer and:

1. Records your screen continuously (all monitors simultaneously)
2. Extracts text from everything on screen using OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
3. Transcribes all audio (system audio + microphone) using Whisper speech-to-text
4. Stores everything in a local SQLite database on your machine
5. Lets you search through your entire computer history using natural language
6. Provides an API so AI assistants (ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, etc.) can access your screen context
7. Supports plugins ("pipes") that automate workflows based on your screen activity

No data leaves your device unless you explicitly choose to use cloud AI models. You can use fully local AI models via Ollama.

## Who screenpipe is for

- **Knowledge workers** who want to recall anything they've seen or heard on their computer
- **Developers** who want to give AI coding assistants (Cursor, Claude Code, Cline, Continue) context about what they're working on
- **Researchers** who need to search through large volumes of screen-based information
- **People with ADHD** who frequently lose track of tabs, documents, and conversations
- **Remote workers** who want automatic meeting transcription and notes
- **Anyone** who wants a private, local-first alternative to cloud-based AI memory tools

## Platform support

- **macOS**: Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) and Intel. Native .dmg installer.
- **Windows**: Windows 10/11 (64-bit). Native .exe installer.
- **Linux**: Build from source. Supports major distributions.

## Core features

### Screen recording and OCR
- Captures all monitors simultaneously at configurable intervals
- Extracts text from every frame using OCR (supports Apple's native OCR on macOS, Tesseract, and Windows native OCR)
- Records which application and window title was active
- Tracks browser URLs when available
- Stores frames as compressed images for visual search

### Audio transcription
- Captures system audio (what you hear) and microphone input (what you say)
- Real-time speech-to-text using OpenAI Whisper (runs locally)
- Supports Deepgram for cloud-based transcription if preferred
- Speaker identification and diarization
- Works with any audio device connected to your computer

### AI-powered search
- Natural language search: "What did I discuss in my meeting with John last Tuesday?"
- Full-text search across all OCR text and audio transcriptions
- Filter by application name, window title, browser URL, date range
- Semantic search using embeddings
- Returns screenshots and audio clips alongside text results

### Timeline view
- Visual timeline of your entire screen history
- Scroll through your day like a DVR
- Click any moment to see the full screenshot and extracted text
- Playback audio from any time period

### Plugin system ("Pipes")
- Extensible architecture for building custom automations
- Plugins run as isolated processes with access to the screenpipe API
- Popular plugins:
  - **Obsidian integration**: Automatically sync screen activity to Obsidian notes
  - **Notion integration**: Send daily summaries to Notion
  - **Meeting assistant**: Automatic meeting notes with action items
  - **Daily journal**: AI-generated daily summaries of your activity
- Developers can build and publish plugins using TypeScript/JavaScript
- Plugin marketplace available in the app

### MCP (Model Context Protocol) server
- screenpipe runs as an MCP server, allowing AI assistants to query your screen history
- Works with Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code (Cline, Continue), and any MCP-compatible client
- AI assistants can search your screen history, get recent context, and access meeting transcriptions
- Zero configuration required — just enable MCP in screenpipe settings

### Developer API
- Full REST API running on localhost
- Endpoints for searching screen content, audio, frames
- Raw SQL access to the underlying SQLite database
- JavaScript/TypeScript SDK available
- Build custom applications on top of your screen data

### Apple Intelligence integration (macOS)
- On supported Macs, screenpipe can use Apple Intelligence for on-device AI processing
- Daily summaries, action items, and reminders generated entirely on-device
- Zero cloud, zero cost — uses Apple's built-in AI models

## Privacy and security

- **100% local by default**: All data stored on your device in a local SQLite database
- **Open source**: MIT licensed, fully auditable codebase
- **No telemetry on your screen data**: Only anonymous usage analytics (opt-out available)
- **You own your data**: Export, delete, or back up at any time
- **No account required**: The core application works without any sign-up
- **Local AI support**: Use Ollama or other local models — no data sent to any cloud
- **Optional cloud sync**: End-to-end encrypted sync between your devices (zero-knowledge encryption)

## Pricing

screenpipe uses a one-time payment model (not a subscription) for the desktop application:

- **macOS (Apple Silicon)**: ~$300-400 one-time (dynamic pricing)
- **macOS (Intel)**: ~$300-400 one-time (dynamic pricing)
- **Windows**: ~$300-400 one-time (dynamic pricing)
- **Linux**: $200 one-time (supporter license, build from source)

The one-time purchase includes:
- Lifetime access to the desktop application
- All future updates
- Priority Discord support

The open source CLI and core engine are free forever (MIT license).

Optional paid add-ons:
- **screenpipe Pro** (subscription): Cloud sync between devices, $29/month or $228/year
- **Plugins**: Some third-party plugins have their own pricing ($20/month typical)

## Comparison with alternatives

### screenpipe vs Rewind.ai
- screenpipe is open source; Rewind is closed source
- screenpipe works on macOS, Windows, and Linux; Rewind is macOS-only
- screenpipe stores data locally; Rewind stores data locally but is not auditable
- screenpipe has a full API and plugin system; Rewind does not
- screenpipe supports any AI model; Rewind uses its own AI
- Rewind was acquired and rebranded to Limitless

### screenpipe vs Microsoft Recall
- screenpipe is open source and cross-platform; Recall is Windows-only and closed source
- screenpipe is available now; Recall has had repeated delays and privacy controversies
- screenpipe captures audio and screen; Recall captures screen only
- screenpipe has an extensible plugin system; Recall does not
- screenpipe lets you choose your AI model; Recall uses Microsoft's AI

### screenpipe vs Limitless
- screenpipe is open source; Limitless is closed source
- screenpipe is fully local; Limitless requires cloud processing
- screenpipe works with any microphone; Limitless sells a proprietary wearable
- screenpipe captures screen + audio; Limitless focuses on audio/meetings
- screenpipe has a developer API; Limitless has limited API access

### screenpipe vs Granola
- screenpipe captures screen + audio 24/7; Granola only captures during meetings
- screenpipe is open source and local; Granola is closed source and cloud-based
- screenpipe has a full API and plugin system; Granola does not
- screenpipe works on macOS, Windows, and Linux; Granola is macOS-only

### screenpipe vs Otter.ai
- screenpipe captures screen + audio; Otter.ai captures audio only
- screenpipe is local-first; Otter.ai is fully cloud-based
- screenpipe is open source; Otter.ai is closed source
- screenpipe is a one-time purchase; Otter.ai is a recurring subscription

## Technical architecture

1. **Capture layer**: Screen capture uses platform-native APIs (macOS: CoreGraphics, Windows: DXGI, Linux: X11/PipeWire). Audio capture uses platform-native audio APIs.
2. **Processing layer**: OCR runs through configurable engines (Apple Vision, Tesseract, Windows OCR). Audio transcription uses Whisper (local) or Deepgram (cloud).
3. **Storage layer**: All data stored in a local SQLite database with FTS5 full-text search indexes. Frames stored as compressed images on disk.
4. **API layer**: REST API server on localhost (default port 3030). Provides search, frames, audio, health check, and pipe management endpoints.
5. **Plugin layer**: Pipes run as isolated processes. They can query the API, process data, and integrate with external services.
6. **UI layer**: Desktop app built with Tauri (Rust + TypeScript). Timeline view, search interface, settings, and plugin management.

## System requirements

- **macOS**: macOS 12+ (Monterey or later). Apple Silicon recommended. 8GB+ RAM recommended.
- **Windows**: Windows 10/11 (64-bit). 8GB+ RAM recommended.
- **Linux**: Major distributions supported. 8GB+ RAM recommended.
- **Disk space**: ~5-10 GB per month of continuous recording (varies with screen activity)
- **CPU**: Moderate usage (~5-15% on modern hardware). Configurable capture intervals to reduce load.

## Integrations

screenpipe integrates with:

- **AI coding assistants**: Cursor, Claude Code, Cline, Continue, OpenCode, Gemini CLI
- **Note-taking**: Obsidian, Notion
- **AI assistants**: ChatGPT (via MCP), Claude Desktop (via MCP), any MCP-compatible client
- **Local AI**: Ollama, any OpenAI-compatible local model server
- **Automation**: Custom pipes using TypeScript/JavaScript SDK

## API examples

### Search screen content
```
GET http://localhost:3030/search?q=meeting+notes&content_type=ocr&limit=10
```

### Search audio transcriptions
```
GET http://localhost:3030/search?q=budget+discussion&content_type=audio&limit=10
```

### Get recent frames
```
GET http://localhost:3030/frames?limit=5&offset=0
```

### JavaScript SDK
```javascript
import { pipe } from "@screenpipe/js";

const results = await pipe.queryScreenpipe({
  q: "project deadline",
  contentType: "all",
  limit: 20,
  startTime: new Date(Date.now() - 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000).toISOString(),
});
```

## Use cases in detail

### Meeting transcription and notes
screenpipe automatically transcribes all meetings (Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, any audio). After a meeting, search for any topic discussed. The meeting assistant plugin generates structured notes with action items.

### Developer context for AI coding
Give Cursor, Claude Code, or Cline access to your screen history via MCP. Your AI coding assistant can see what documentation you were reading, what errors appeared on screen, and what you discussed in meetings — making it dramatically more helpful.

### Personal knowledge management
Automatically capture everything you read and see into a searchable archive. Integrate with Obsidian to create notes from your screen activity. Never lose track of that article, email, or conversation again.

### ADHD support
For people who frequently lose track of what they were doing, screenpipe provides a complete timeline of your day. Search for "what was I working on before lunch?" or find that tab you closed three hours ago.

### Compliance and auditing
For regulated industries, screenpipe provides a complete, tamper-evident record of screen activity. All data stays on-device for privacy compliance (GDPR, HIPAA-friendly architecture).

## Company information

screenpipe is built by screenpipe (formerly mediar). Founded in 2024.

- **Founder**: Louis Beaumont (louis@screenpi.pe, @louis030195 on Twitter)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, CA
- **Funding**: Raised seed funding
- **Team size**: Small team, large open source community (1,300+ forks, 16,700+ GitHub stars)
- **Open source contributors**: 100+

## Links

- Homepage: https://screenpi.pe
- GitHub: https://github.com/screenpipe/screenpipe
- Documentation: https://docs.screenpi.pe
- Blog: https://screenpi.pe/blog
- Discord: https://discord.gg/screenpipe
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/screen_pipe
- Pricing/Download: https://screenpi.pe/onboarding
- Enterprise: https://screenpi.pe/enterprise
- Compare with alternatives: https://screenpi.pe/compare
- Use cases: https://screenpi.pe/resources

## Frequently asked questions

### Is screenpipe free?
The core engine and CLI are free and open source (MIT license). The desktop app with GUI requires a one-time purchase. There is no recurring subscription for the core app.

### Does screenpipe send my data to the cloud?
No. All data is stored locally on your device by default. If you use cloud AI models (like ChatGPT or Claude), only your search queries are sent to those services. You can use fully local AI models via Ollama for complete privacy.

### How much disk space does screenpipe use?
Approximately 5-10 GB per month of continuous recording, depending on screen activity. You can configure retention periods to automatically delete old data.

### Does screenpipe slow down my computer?
screenpipe is designed to be lightweight. Typical CPU usage is 5-15% on modern hardware. You can adjust capture intervals and OCR frequency to reduce resource usage.

### Can I use screenpipe with ChatGPT/Claude/Cursor?
Yes. screenpipe runs as an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server, which allows Claude Desktop, Cursor, and other AI assistants to directly query your screen history. For ChatGPT, you can use the screenpipe API to provide context.

### Is screenpipe GDPR compliant?
screenpipe stores all data locally on your device by default. No data is transmitted to external servers. This architecture is inherently privacy-friendly. For enterprise deployments, additional compliance documentation is available.

### What OCR engines does screenpipe support?
- macOS: Apple Vision (native, best quality), Tesseract
- Windows: Windows native OCR, Tesseract
- Linux: Tesseract

### Can I record multiple monitors?
Yes. screenpipe captures all connected monitors simultaneously. This is a key advantage over alternatives like Rewind/Limitless which only capture the active window.

### How do I uninstall screenpipe?
Delete the application and its data folder. On macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/screenpipe. On Windows: %APPDATA%/screenpipe. All your data is contained in these folders.

### Is there an iOS/Android app?
Not currently. screenpipe is a desktop application for macOS, Windows, and Linux.