ScreenpipeOpen-source 24/7 local screen and audio recording for building context-aware AI apps

4.8 (4)

Reviewed by Daniel Nikulshyn·Updated May 2026

Open Source Developer Tools Privacy-First Local-First API Productivity Desktop AI Agents

Overview

Screenpipe is an open-source platform that continuously captures screen activity and audio on your device, storing everything locally so developers can build AI applications grounded in real user context. By indexing what you see, hear, and do, it provides a rich personal data layer that apps and agents can query without sending information to the cloud. The project targets developers creating productivity tools, memory assistants, meeting summarizers, and personalized agents. It exposes APIs and a plugin system so custom pipelines can transform raw recordings into searchable text, transcripts, and structured events that feed downstream LLM workflows. Because all processing happens on the user's machine, Screenpipe emphasizes privacy and ownership of data while remaining extensible through community-built integrations.

Key features

24/7 screen and audio capture
Local storage and on-device processing
OCR and speech-to-text indexing
Plugin and pipeline architecture
APIs for querying captured context
Cross-platform desktop support

Pricing

Model: Free
Category: MCP Servers
Rating: 4.8 / 5 (4)

Use cases

Build a personal memory assistant

Use continuous screen and audio capture to create an AI assistant that can recall anything you've seen, read, or discussed on your device.

Automated meeting summarization

Leverage local speech-to-text indexing to transcribe and summarize meetings without sending sensitive audio to cloud services.

Context-aware AI agent development

Developers can query captured screen and audio context via APIs to ground LLM workflows in real user activity and build personalized agents.

Custom productivity pipelines

Use the plugin architecture to transform raw recordings into searchable text and structured events that power custom productivity or analytics tools.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Fully local processing keeps data private
Open-source and extensible via plugins
Continuous capture of both screen and audio
Developer-friendly APIs for AI workflows

Cons

Requires technical setup and configuration
Continuous recording can use significant disk space
Performance depends on local hardware
Smaller ecosystem than hosted alternatives

Reviews

4.8

Average from 4 ratings.

Grace Okafor

Apr 20, 2026

Compared a few options

Evaluated this against two competitors. Where it wins: cross-platform desktop support and fully local processing keeps data private. Where it lags: performance depends on local hardware. On balance the feature set — especially cross-platform desktop support — justifies the 4 stars for our use case.

Esther Adeyemi

Nov 28, 2025

Skeptical, then convinced

I went in skeptical — most tools in this space overpromise. It actually delivers on oCR and speech-to-text indexing, and developer-friendly APIs for AI workflows caught me off guard. still, I'd recommend giving it a real trial.

Pierre Dubois

Jul 25, 2025

Does the job

Pretty happy overall. APIs for querying captured context just works and developer-friendly APIs for AI workflows. but no dealbreakers — I'd recommend it to a friend without hesitating.

Priya Nair

Jul 11, 2025

Skeptical, then convinced

I went in skeptical — most tools in this space overpromise. It actually delivers on aPIs for querying captured context, and developer-friendly APIs for AI workflows caught me off guard. still, I'd recommend giving it a real trial.