Rewind, Limitless and Recall alternatives
Screen memory apps remember what you see so you can ask about it later. Rewind has shut down. Here is what else there is.
Checked October 2026 against each project's own pages (sources).
Comparison
| xCreen | Rewind | screenpipe | Retrace | Goldfish | Microsoft Recall | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | Capture on macOS 14+; server on macOS or Linux | macOS[1] | macOS, Windows, Linux[3] | macOS 13+, Apple Silicon[5] | macOS, Windows[7] | Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs[9] |
| License / source | Apache-2.0, open source | — | Source-available Screenpipe Commercial License; personal non-commercial use free, commercial use needs a license[4] | MIT, open source[6] | Not covered here | Windows feature |
| Capture method | Focused-display screenshots + local Vision OCR | Screen and audio recording[1] | Accessibility tree, OCR fallback, audio transcription[3] | Screenshots every 2 s + Vision OCR, SQLite FTS5[5] | Foreground-window text via Accessibility, no screenshots[8] | Periodic snapshots[9] |
| Where AI runs | Whichever provider your Hermes route uses (OCR is local, inference usually isn't) | — | Local models (e.g. Ollama) or cloud AI, as you configure[3] | No model inference listed as active[5] | Cloud: Azure OpenAI via Cloudflare; memory stored locally[8] | Processed locally on the PC[10] |
| Writes to your notes | Yes, short takeaways in Obsidian daily notes | — | — | — | Keeps its own local memory, exposed over MCP[8] | — |
| Status | 2.0.0 | Shut down: capture disabled Dec 19, 2025 after Meta acquired Limitless[1][2] | Actively developed[3] | "Very early development"[5] | Free beta[7] | Available on supported PCs[9] |
"—" and "Not covered here" mean we did not check a primary source for that cell. Rewind's AI features are left out because the app has been discontinued.
More screen history and activity apps
| Platforms | Source | Data and AI | Access for other tools | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActivityWatch | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android[11] | MPL-2.0, open source[11] | Automatic time tracker; app, window and AFK events stored locally[11] | Local REST API and client libraries[11] |
| Dayflow | macOS 14+[12] | MIT, open source[12] | Records screen chunks into a timeline of your day; local models (Ollama, LM Studio) or Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude[12] | Markdown timeline export[12] |
| OpenRecall | Windows, macOS, Linux[13] | AGPL-3.0, open source[13] | Screenshots, local OCR and semantic search, stored locally[13] | Local web UI[13] |
| Pensieve | macOS, Windows; Linux in development[14] | Apache-2.0, open source[14] | Screenshots of all screens, indexed locally; Ollama or OpenAI-compatible models[14] | Local web UI, HTTP search API and an agent skill[14] |
| LUCI (Memories.ai) | Mac, Windows[15] | — | Free app; screen and meeting memory stored on device, encrypted at rest[15] | Shares memory with agents such as Claude Code, Cursor and Codex[15] |
| Limitless | — | — | Acquired by Meta; sunsetting non-Pendant features such as Rewind; no new Pendant sales[16] | — |
ActivityWatch
An open source (MPL-2.0) automatic time tracker for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android that stores events locally and serves a REST API[11].
How xCreen differs: ActivityWatch records which app and window were active; xCreen reads what was on screen with OCR and has your Hermes Agent write takeaways into Obsidian. xCreen has a local CLI, not a REST API.
Dayflow
An open source (MIT) Mac app, macOS 14+, that turns screen recordings into a timeline of your day, using local models or Gemini, ChatGPT or Claude[12].
How xCreen differs: Dayflow builds its own timeline view; xCreen has no timeline view. It hands batches to your Hermes Agent, which writes only the parts worth keeping into your Obsidian daily notes.
OpenRecall
An open source (AGPL-3.0) Recall alternative for Windows, macOS and Linux with local OCR, semantic search and a local web UI[13].
How xCreen differs: OpenRecall is a searchable screenshot archive you browse; xCreen is macOS-only and feeds your Hermes Agent and notes instead of a browser UI.
Pensieve
An open source (Apache-2.0) passive recorder for macOS and Windows that screenshots all screens, indexes them locally, and offers an HTTP search API and an agent skill[14].
How xCreen differs: Pensieve captures every screen into a searchable archive; xCreen captures only the display you're working on, without excluded apps, deletes raw evidence after 7 days, and works through Hermes Agent.
LUCI (Memories.ai)
A free Mac and Windows app from Memories AI that remembers your screen and meetings on your device and gives that memory to agents like Claude Code, Cursor and Codex[15].
How xCreen differs: xCreen is Apache-2.0 open source, does not record meetings or audio, and is built for Hermes Agent and Obsidian.
Limitless and Rewind
Limitless, which made Rewind, was acquired by Meta and says it is sunsetting non-Pendant functionality like Rewind[16]. There is no Rewind desktop app to install in 2026.
How xCreen differs: xCreen is open source and runs on your own machines (your Mac, plus optionally your own server) with your own Hermes Agent, so it does not depend on one company's service staying up.
When to choose another tool
xCreen is for Mac users who run Hermes Agent and keep notes in Obsidian. Otherwise:
- You need Windows or Linux, or audio transcription: consider screenpipe, which lists macOS, Windows and Linux and transcribes audio[3]. Check its license terms if you plan commercial use[4]. xCreen is macOS-only and does not capture audio.
- You want an MIT-licensed, searchable screen history with no AI agent to set up: consider Retrace, which captures screenshots with Vision OCR into SQLite full-text search and lists no active model inference[5]. It describes itself as in very early development. xCreen requires a working Hermes Agent.
- You don't want screenshots at all: Goldfish reads foreground-window text via Accessibility without screenshots and exposes its memory over MCP; its AI runs in the cloud[8]. It is a free beta on macOS and Windows[7].
- You want time tracking with a local REST API: ActivityWatch tracks active apps and windows across Windows, macOS, Linux and Android[11].
- You want a visual timeline of your day on a Mac: Dayflow builds one and can run with local models[12].
- You want a searchable screenshot archive with an HTTP API: Pensieve[14] or OpenRecall[13].
- You use a Windows 11 Copilot+ PC and want processing to stay on the device: Microsoft Recall is built in on supported PCs[9] and processes snapshots locally[10].
When xCreen fits
- You run Hermes Agent on a Mac and want it to know what you've been working on, with the models you already use.
- You want short takeaways in your Obsidian daily notes, not another archive to dig through.
- You want Apache-2.0 code you can read, change and use commercially.
- You want capture off until you turn it on, one switch to stop it, and screenshots gone after seven days.
What xCreen doesn't cover is in SECURITY.md: browser password fields, password-manager extensions and private windows are not detected or redacted, and model inference goes to whichever provider your Hermes route uses.
What xCreen is and how it works · FAQ
Sources
- 9to5Mac, "Rewind Mac app shutting down following Meta acquisition", 2025-12-05 — 9to5mac.com/2025/12/05/rewind-limitless-meta-acquisition/
- "What happened to Rewind" (the rewind.ai domain now belongs to an unaffiliated site) — rewind.ai/what-happened-to-rewind/
- screenpipe README — github.com/screenpipe/screenpipe
- screenpipe LICENSE.md — github.com/screenpipe/screenpipe/blob/main/LICENSE.md
- Retrace README — github.com/haseab/retrace
- Retrace LICENSE — github.com/haseab/retrace/blob/main/LICENSE
- Goldfish website — goldfish.sh
- Goldfish privacy documentation — docs.goldfish.sh/privacy.md
- Microsoft Support, "Retrace your steps with Recall" — support.microsoft.com
- Microsoft Support, "Privacy and control over your Recall experience" — support.microsoft.com
- ActivityWatch README — github.com/ActivityWatch/activitywatch
- Dayflow README — github.com/JerryZLiu/Dayflow
- OpenRecall README — github.com/openrecall/openrecall
- Pensieve README — github.com/arkohut/pensieve
- LUCI, About — luci.memories.ai/about
- Limitless, "Limitless has been acquired by Meta" — limitless.ai