screenpipe

Screenpipe turns day-to-day computer activity into a searchable record, making it a strong fit for people who need to recover details from past work or share context with AI tools. Its local-first storage and developer access are compelling; continuous recording’s storage demands and desktop-only scope are meaningful trade-offs.

Overview

Screenpipe brings screen content, app text, browser context and audio together in one history. Natural-language search can filter that history by date, application, window title or browser URL, returning screenshots and audio clips with extracted text.

Screen capture follows activity changes across connected monitors, using accessibility text extraction with OCR as a fallback. The active app, window title and browser URL are recorded when available, giving searches useful context beyond the image itself. That context depends on what the system can extract, however, so capture is not a guarantee that every screen detail will be searchable.

Key features

System audio and microphone input are transcribed locally with OpenAI Whisper, with speaker identification for conversations. That makes Screenpipe useful for revisiting spoken discussions as well as visual work, though the product is not a substitute for a dedicated meeting service based on the features described.

Developer access is a particular strength: a localhost REST API exposes screen content, transcriptions and frames, and a JavaScript/TypeScript SDK and MCP server provide other routes into the captured history. Official integrations include Cursor, Claude Code, Cline, Continue, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, ChatGPT and Claude Desktop through MCP, plus Obsidian, Notion, Ollama and OpenAI-compatible model servers. This breadth makes it especially relevant to people building AI-assisted workflows; it is less compelling for someone who only wants occasional screenshots.

Captures, audio, extracted text and transcriptions stay by default in a local SQLite database and are not sent to external servers. Users can filter apps or URLs and redact passwords and personally identifiable information on-device; data can also be encrypted at rest with a zero-knowledge key hierarchy. These controls make the privacy approach a clear advantage, while organizations should weigh that the SOC 2 Type 2 report is available under NDA and ISO 27001 certification is still in progress.

Continuous recording has a real resource cost: Screenpipe recommends 8 GB of RAM, estimates 5–10 GB of disk space per month of continuous recording, and reports typical CPU usage of 5–15% on modern hardware. Those demands may be acceptable for a searchable work archive, but they deserve attention on machines with limited storage or memory.

Pricing

The Free plan costs nothing and covers one device, screen, audio and meeting capture, recent-work search, and AI-tool context sharing. It is a sensible way to try the core workflow, but its one-device cap and recent-work search make it a limited choice for anyone who needs a lasting searchable archive.

Basic costs $21 a month, billed $250/yr billed annually; the annual billing saves $50. It adds full searchable history, MCP context for Claude and Codex, and unlimited installed scheduled workflows. For an individual who wants to retrieve older work and connect it to those AI tools, this is the most direct paid step up. Community support is included.

Business costs $42 a month, billed $500/seat/yr billed annually; annual billing saves $100. It adds personal device sync, recurring workflows, centralized billing and managed seats. Shared teammate context is not currently included, so the plan’s team administration does not mean colleagues share one another’s captured context. Priority support is included.

Enterprise has custom pricing and includes managed searchable history, dedicated support, custom models, SSO, MDM, retention and device controls. It is aimed at organizations that need those administration and security controls rather than a published per-seat price. Free and Basic have community support; Enterprise has dedicated support.

Platforms

Screenpipe is a desktop application for macOS, Windows and Linux, with API access also supported. There is no mobile app, which rules it out for people who need to capture or review activity from a phone or tablet. MP4 is the stated export format.

Who it's for

Screenpipe suits developers and other computer-based workers who want to search past screen and audio activity, especially those who will use its API, SDK, MCP server or listed integrations. Its local storage and on-device redaction controls also make it worth considering for privacy-conscious users. It is a weaker fit for mobile-first work, low-storage machines, or teams that require shared teammate context.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Search combines extracted text, app and browser context, screenshots and audio, so a work history is more useful than a collection of images alone.
• Pro: Local storage by default, on-device redaction and optional encryption at rest give users meaningful privacy controls.
• Pro: The REST API, SDK, MCP server and broad AI-tool integrations make captured history accessible to developer workflows.
• Con: Continuous recording is estimated to use 5–10 GB of disk space per month, alongside recommended 8 GB RAM and typical 5–15% CPU usage.
• Con: There is no mobile app, and the Free plan limits use to one device and recent-work search.
• Con: Business includes managed seats and billing but not shared teammate context; formal compliance buyers should also account for ISO 27001 being in progress.

Alternatives

For document automation rather than personal screen-history search, consider Automation Anywhere Document Automation. Its free Community Edition includes Document Automation for eligible small businesses, capped at 5 machines and 100 pages/month.

mindzie Desktop Process Mining is a better fit for desktop process mining: its free edition supports up to 1,000 cases with full functionality and no time-limited trial. Celonis Process Mining Platform is another process-mining alternative, with a free plan.

EdgeVerve AssistEdge offers a free single-user Community Edition for learning and building automations, so it suits that purpose better than Screenpipe’s searchable work memory. Operavix and ARIS are paid alternatives.

MemoryLane is a freemium alternative for macOS and Windows; its Individual plan is $100 a month. Alexandria is a paid alternative for macOS and Windows.

For a broader category comparison, browse Task Mining Software or AI Screen Recorders.

Verdict

Choose Screenpipe if you want a private-by-default, searchable record of desktop activity and will benefit from its AI integrations or developer interfaces. The main reason to look elsewhere is the cost of continuous capture in storage and computer resources, compounded by the absence of mobile support; teams needing shared context should also look beyond Business.