screenpipe
Continuous local screen and audio recording with an MCP server and REST API so agents can search what you did.
A Rust desktop app and CLI that captures screen text, accessibility trees, and transcribed audio into a local SQLite database. Agents query it over the Builder's screenpipe-mcp package or the localhost REST API, and scheduled 'pipes' are Markdown prompt files that run an agent against the history.
- I want my agent to answer 'what was that link from this morning's call' from my own machine
- I want a daily standup or meeting summary generated from what I actually did, with the data staying local
- Source license allows personal, non-commercial use only; commercial use of self-built binaries needs a license
- ~20 GB of storage per month and 5 to 10 percent CPU
- README quotes $25 Standard and $50 Pro while the pricing page shows $21 Basic and $33 Business; the page is newer
- Vertical fit is loose: this is screen recording for agent memory, not production video
Last activity Sep 3, 2026. Fit: adaptable 2, operable 3.
Editions
Free · Free open source
- DownloadDownload
- Install
npx screenpipe record - Clone
git clone https://github.com/screenpipe/screenpipe
Basic · $21 per month closed source
- HostedOpen the hosted app
Business · $33 per month closed source
- HostedOpen the hosted app
Enterprise · Free closed source
- HostedOpen the hosted app
Adaptable: what is yours to change
Make it yours
Config only8 things to edit
Write a pipe.md under ~/.screenpipe/pipes/ with a prompt, schedule, and YAML frontmatter permissions (allow-apps, deny-windows, time-range, allow-raw-sql) and screenpipe runs a coding agent on it. Exclude apps from audio capture in ~/.screenpipe/audio-exclusions.json. The MCP server reads SCREENPIPE_LOCAL_API_KEY. Changing capture behavior itself means Rust.
- Env vars
SCREENPIPE_LOCAL_API_KEYSCREENPIPE_AUDIO_EXCLUSIONS_PATHSCREENPIPE_ENTERPRISE_TOKENSCREENPIPE_TEAM_API_URL- Config files
~/.screenpipe/audio-exclusions.json~/.screenpipe/pipes/<name>/pipe.md- Prompt files
~/.screenpipe/pipes/<name>/pipe.mdcrates/screenpipe-core/assets/skills/screenpipe-cli/SKILL.md- Accounts you need
- screenpipe account (paid plans, cloud AI, sync)
Source
- github.com/screenpipe/screenpipe
- Screenpipe Commercial License (source-available; free for personal, non-commercial use) license
- Last commit Sep 3, 2026
- 21,376 stars
Operable: what an agent can drive
Interface
NativeMCP serverpublished by the builderremote or local
How an agent can drive an Operable Listing, in five levels: native (built for the agent as the primary interface), official (the Builder ships an agent interface), wrapped (a third party wraps the software's API), config (an agent can only drive it by editing files), gui (screen control only). An interface is official only when it is published by the same organization that ships the software. GUI-level Listings are allowed and sorted last.
- Docs
- github.com/screenpipe/screenpipe/tree/main/packages/screenpipe-mcp
- Tools
screenpipe-mcp search and context toolsteam-* tools (enterprise)
Reach
Partial coverage. 7 of 10 jobs reachable through the stated interface.
| Job | Through the interface | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Search screen text and OCR history | Reachable | packages/screenpipe-mcp README: search your screen recordings; REST API on :3030 |
| Search audio transcriptions and meetings | Reachable | packages/screenpipe-mcp README: audio transcriptions; README MCP section: meeting transcriptions |
| Get recent context for the current task | Reachable | README MCP section: get recent context |
| Run raw SQL against the history | Reachable | README Developer API: raw SQL access; pipes gate it with allow-raw-sql |
| Create and schedule pipes | Reachable | README: pipes are pipe.md files in ~/.screenpipe/pipes; CLI skill covers pipes |
| Start or verify always-on capture | Reachable | README: screenpipe CLI skill covers recorder service, status, and freshness |
| Control the computer | Reachable | packages/screenpipe-mcp README: 'control your computer with AI' |
| Scroll the visual timeline | Not reachable | Desktop app view only |
| Sync history across devices | Not reachable | Paid Business feature done by the app, not an agent tool |
| Central team config and permissions | Not reachable | Enterprise admin dashboard; team-* tools read, they do not administer |
Code stack
- Languages
- RustTypeScript
- Frameworks
- TauriWhisper
- Package manager
- cargo
- Database
- SQLite
- Hosting target
- macOSWindowsLinux (build from source)
- Built
- Unknown (recorded, never ranked)
Model stack
- Providers
- local WhisperDeepgram (optional)Ollama or any local modelscreenpipe cloud AI (paid)
- Models
- Whisper Large-V3-Turbo
- Keys you need
SCREENPIPE_LOCAL_API_KEYSCREENPIPE_ENTERPRISE_TOKENSCREENPIPE_TEAM_API_URL- Prompts live in
~/.screenpipe/pipes/*/pipe.mdcrates/screenpipe-core/assets/skills/screenpipe-cli/SKILL.md
Skills
Screenpipe ships skills as core assets so an agent can query the screen-recording API, chats and CLI; the repo separately carries contributor-only skills under .claude/skills/.
- Kind
- bundled
- Paths
crates/screenpipe-core/assets/skills/*/SKILL.md
Evidence and confidence
| Field | Where it was seen | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| formFactor | README: native .dmg and .exe installers; CLI with npx | 95% |
| executionModel | README: local Whisper transcription and OCR at runtime; pipes call an agent | 85% |
| operability | packages/screenpipe-mcp in the same repo, published to npm as screenpipe-mcp; README states the purpose is providing context to agents | 80% |
| effort | README: pipes are Markdown files with YAML frontmatter; audio-exclusions.json and SCREENPIPE_AUDIO_EXCLUSIONS_PATH documented | 80% |
| editions | screenpipe.com/pricing: Free $0, Basic $21/mo, Business $33/seat/mo, Enterprise custom | 85% |
| active | GitHub pushedAt 2026-09-03 | – |
| reach | 75% |
Open questions
- native versus official: the desktop app is the human interface, but the Builder frames agents as the primary consumer; Curator call
- Exact MCP tool names in packages/screenpipe-mcp/src were not read
- Whether this belongs in video-streaming or in a productivity vertical
Sources
- screenpi.pe/ sourcing:video-streaming:registries
- www.pulsemcp.com/servers/mediar-ai-screenpipe sourcing:video-streaming:registries
- screenpipe.com/pricing analysis