What is Screenpipe?
Screenpipe is an open-source, local-first alternative to Rewind AI — recording your screen and audio continuously and making it searchable via AI. Unlike Rewind, Screenpipe runs fully on your local machine with no cloud storage, and is open source for maximum privacy and customisation.
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Key Features
Here's what makes Screenpipe stand out:
- Continuous screen recording — Records everything on your screen in compressed, searchable format.
- AI search — Ask questions about anything you've seen or done on your computer in natural language.
- Local processing — All data stays on
- Open source — Full source code available; build custom agents and integrations on your data.
- Cross — platform
Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Open-source codebase — self-host for full data control, audit the code, or contribute to the community
- Cross-platform (macOS, Windows, Linux) — especially for continuous screen recording workflows where Screenpipe consistently outperforms manual approaches
- Local-only, strong privacy — especially for continuous screen recording workflows where Screenpipe consistently outperforms manual approaches
- MCP integration with Claude — especially for continuous screen recording workflows where Screenpipe consistently outperforms manual approaches
❌ Cons
- Storage-intensive — needs significant disk space
- Setup more technical than Rewind AI
- Paid plan for advanced features — worth evaluating before committing if this is central to your use case
- Still maturing as a product — worth evaluating before committing if this is central to your use case
Our Rating
Who Should Use Screenpipe?
Best for: Privacy-conscious Mac and Windows users who want AI-powered total recall of their computing history but refuse to use cloud-connected recording tools — or developers who want to build on top of a local screen recording foundation.
- Searching past screen activity with natural language queries without cloud upload
- Finding documents, conversations, and content you've previously viewed
- Building custom applications on top of a local screen recording data layer
- Auditing your own productivity and time allocation across applications
- Recalling specific information from past meetings or research sessions
Screenpipe Pricing
| Plan | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Open Source (Free) | $0 | Fully local, no cloud, MIT license, all features, self-hosted |
Best Screenpipe Alternatives
Depending on your use case, these alternatives may serve you better:
Final Verdict
Screenpipe is the right choice when Rewind AI's local-but-subscription model is insufficient — the fully open-source, local-only approach gives complete data control. Setup requires more technical comfort. For privacy-first power users, Screenpipe's open-source nature is a genuine advantage over Rewind.