DeskLore

Open-source Computer History for macOS.

Semantic activity events first. No continuous screen recording. Local by default.

简体中文

_{Real DeskLore interface with a fully synthetic activity history.}

DeskLore turns ordinary Mac activity into a searchable timeline and layered personal memory. It uses macOS Accessibility semantics instead of continuously recording the screen. An optional visual fallback exists for gaps in Accessibility evidence, but it is disabled by default.

Status: 0.2.0 is an early source release for macOS 14+ on Apple Silicon. There is no official signed binary yet.

Why DeskLore

• History is the product. The core output is a readable timeline and local memory, not a raw recording archive or a general agent platform.
• Semantic capture first. App, window, interaction, URL, and Accessibility context are normalized into evidence-aware events.
• Local-first storage. Raw events, Markdown timelines, memory rollups, settings, and encrypted API credentials stay on your Mac unless you explicitly enable a model-backed feature.
• Explicit recording consent. The native collector does not start before the first-run consent screen is accepted.
• Bilingual interface. English is the default; Simplified Chinese can be selected during onboarding or later in Settings.
• Inspectable artifacts. Timeline and memory outputs are Markdown files with source IDs and deterministic fallbacks.

Privacy defaults

After explicit consent, DeskLore observes ordinary applications and URLs by default. It excludes DeskLore itself, sensitive macOS system surfaces, private-browsing windows, and password-like fields. Recording can be paused at any time.

Capability	Default	Network	Retention
Semantic events	On after consent	None	Raw segments: 48 hours
Timeline and memory	On	None with deterministic summaries	Until deleted
Visual fallback	Off	None for capture; optional model use	Text evidence: 24 hours; pixels are not stored
Model summaries	Off	User-configured HTTPS endpoint	Generated Markdown stays local
Telemetry	Not included	None	N/A

Deleting a timeline item also deletes its source segment and related visual evidence; affected memory rollups are regenerated without it. Clear all history removes raw events, timelines, memory, and visual evidence, then leaves recording paused. See PRIVACY.md for the complete boundary.

Requirements

• macOS 14 or newer
• Apple Silicon
• Node.js 24+
• pnpm 11+
• Xcode Command Line Tools with Swift 6.2+

Run from source

git clone https://github.com/FoundDream/desklore.git
cd desklore
pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
pnpm dev

On first launch, DeskLore remains stopped until you accept the local recording boundary. macOS then asks for Accessibility permission for DeskLore Collector, the embedded native capture component. Screen Recording permission is requested only if you later enable visual fallback.

Useful commands:

pnpm check           # format, lint, and TypeScript checks
pnpm test            # renderer/main tests and evaluator tests
swift test          # native collector/core tests
pnpm build           # production Electron and Swift build
pnpm package:mac     # local DMG and ZIP; signing depends on your keychain

Architecture

React renderer
  -> narrow preload API and validated IPC
  -> Electron main process
     -> policy, coalescing, storage, timeline, memory, optional model calls
     -> NDJSON over stdio
        -> DeskLore Collector (Swift)
           -> Accessibility, AXObserver, NSWorkspace, global interaction events
           -> native redaction, optional ScreenCaptureKit fallback

The renderer receives sanitized DTOs only. API keys and raw JSONL never enter the renderer. Collector and UI have separate bundle identifiers so macOS can sign and authorize the native capture boundary independently.

Local data lives at:

~/Library/Application Support/DeskLore/history/
  segments/       # 10-minute raw JSONL buckets, retained for 48 hours
  timeline/       # derived Markdown timeline cards
  memory/6h/      # six-hour Markdown rollups
  memory/day/     # daily Markdown rollups
  state/          # consent, language, policy, visual, and model settings

Files are created with owner-only permissions where supported. DeskLore does not add application- level encryption to timeline or memory files; use macOS FileVault if disk-at-rest protection is required.

DeskLore's public release line uses a new, versioned local schema. It does not import data or unversioned settings created by pre-release Computer History builds.

Optional model features

DeskLore works without an API key. Deterministic rules create timeline and memory artifacts offline. If you enable model summaries, DeskLore sends filtered evidence to the HTTPS endpoint you configure. API keys are encrypted with Electron safeStorage and are not exposed to the renderer. Model settings support both OpenAI Responses and Chat Completions wire protocols, including compatible custom endpoints.

Visual fallback has three independently configured parts:

1. AX sufficiency judgment (rules by default, optional model judgment).
2. Window capture (off by default).
3. Understanding (off, local OCR, or an explicitly configured model).

Raw screenshots stay in memory and are not written to event files. See docs/EVALUATION.md before making quality claims from the included benchmarks.

Contributing

Read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request. Privacy, deletion semantics, native permission boundaries, and evidence integrity are compatibility contracts in this project. Security issues should follow SECURITY.md.

License

Copyright 2026 Ziwen Song.

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0.