GoKawiilNew macOS app Ambient Context logs on-screen text to daily Markdown files for LLMs
Ambient Context is a macOS menu bar utility that periodically reads the text of your active window through the accessibility API and appends it to a local, per-day markdown file. It's designed so tools like Claude Code or other agents can read that folder later to answer questions about your work history or draft summaries such as standups.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Unlike screenshot-based memory tools, this approach avoids storing images or video and keeps everything local, with password fields and sensitive data redacted before writing to disk. It reflects a growing trend of building lightweight, privacy-conscious personal context stores that feed directly into LLM agents rather than relying on cloud services or bundled models.
- Captures window text via macOS accessibility API, not screenshots, and writes it to daily markdown files.
- Runs fully offline with no telemetry, accounts, or servers; redacts passwords and credentials before saving.
- Outputs plain, greppable markdown with an AGENTS.md guide, intended for LLM agents to build memory or write summaries.
Samsung T7 Portable SSD — If you're building a growing local archive of daily markdown logs and want it fully under your control, a fast external SSD is the perfect companion. The Samsung T7 is pocket-sized, USB-C, and works plug-and-play with macOS, so you can keep your context folder off your main drive and back it up on your own terms.
See Samsung T7 Portable SSD on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: github.com, 2026-08-25
Published there as: “Show HN: Screen memory without screenshots, just text to Markdown”
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