— Productivity Tool

Screenpipe

Last updated 2026-07-11 · Reviewed by ToolForge Editorial

Local, private recorder that turns everything you see and type into searchable, AI-queryable memory.

★ 4.3/5 · 50K+ installs · Since 2023 · Free / OSS

A second brain that runs locally

Screenpipe is like having a private, searchable recording of everything you've done on your computer — except it never leaves your machine and you can query it with natural language.

Who it's for: Knowledge workers, researchers, and anyone who loses track of 'that thing I saw last week' and wants it back instantly.

Key features

Local capture

Records screen and audio on-device — no cloud, no privacy leak.

Semantic search

Find anything by meaning, not just keywords.

AI recall

Ask 'what did we decide about the pricing page?' and get the moment.

Plugins & API

Pipe your history into workflows, notes, and agents.

The honest take

✓ What works

  • Runs fully offline and open source
  • Instant recall of past context
  • Great for meeting and research memory
  • Extensible with plugins

✗ What doesn't

  • Storage grows fast on heavy use
  • Local-only means no cross-device sync by default
  • Setup is technical for non-devs
  • Battery hit on laptops

Verdict

Screenpipe is the privacy-first alternative to 'record everything in the cloud' tools. If you value recall but not surveillance, it's the best $0 you'll ever spend.

💡 Transparency: This review contains affiliate links. If you sign up through our link, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. We only recommend tools we use ourselves. Full disclosure.

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