Documentation & FAQ.

Everything you need to know about using Screengrep.

Getting started

How do I install Screengrep?

Download Screengrep from the Mac App Store. Open the app, grant the required permissions (Screen Recording, Accessibility, Microphone), and you're done.

Screengrep will appear as an eye icon in your menu bar. When the eye is open, it's recording. Click the icon to pause, adjust settings, or search.

What are the system requirements?

Screengrep requires:

  • macOS 26 or later
  • Apple Silicon (M1 or newer)
  • 16 GB of RAM or more
  • Free storage depends on your setup (see storage FAQ below)

Intel Macs are not supported. The on-device AI features require the Apple Neural Engine available only on Apple Silicon.

What permissions does Screengrep need?

Screengrep requests three macOS permissions on first launch:

  • Screen Recording — to capture your displays
  • Accessibility — to read notifications and app activity
  • Microphone — to transcribe audio (optional, can be skipped)

These permissions are managed in System Settings > Privacy & Security. You can revoke any permission at any time.

How it works

How much storage does Screengrep use?

It depends on your setup and how you work. Screenshots are highly compressed and Screengrep deduplicates frames that haven't changed, so actual storage varies widely:

  • ~2 GB/day — MacBook, single display, 4 hours of focused work with lots of static screens (reading, writing). Heavy deduplication keeps this low.
  • ~12 GB/day — Mac Studio with 3 Studio Displays, 16-hour day, heavy task switching across many apps. Lots of unique frames, minimal deduplication.

Most users land somewhere in the 3-8 GB/day range.

You can manage storage in two ways: set a retention limit (e.g., keep 30 days, 90 days, or unlimited) and/or set a maximum storage cap (e.g., 100 GB). When either limit is reached, the oldest data is cleaned up automatically.

Does it slow down my Mac?

No. Screengrep uses Apple's hardware-accelerated screen capture and encoding — the same technology that powers screen sharing in FaceTime. Typical CPU usage is under 5%. Transcription runs on the Neural Engine, not your CPU.

Can I exclude specific apps from capture?

Yes. In Settings > Excluded Apps, add any application you want Screengrep to ignore. When an excluded app is in the foreground, screen capture pauses automatically. Audio transcription continues unless you also exclude it from audio capture.

How do I search?

Press ⌘+Shift+Space to open the search bar. Type anything you remember — a word, a name, a phrase. Screengrep searches across screen text, transcripts, notifications, clipboard history, and file names.

Results show the source (screen, audio, or signal), a preview of the match, and the exact timestamp. Click any result to see the full screenshot from that moment.

Keyboard shortcuts

Open search ⌘+Shift+Space
Open timeline ⌘+Shift+T
Pause / resume recording ⌘+Shift+P
Today's digest ⌘+Shift+D
Clipboard history ⌘+Shift+V

MCP Server Pro

How do I connect Screengrep to Claude or Cursor?

Screengrep exposes a local MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that AI assistants can connect to. To set it up:

  1. Open Screengrep Settings > MCP Server
  2. Toggle "Enable MCP Server" on
  3. Copy the configuration snippet
  4. Paste it into your AI tool's MCP settings

Once connected, your AI assistant can search your screen history, read meeting transcripts, and understand what you've been working on — without you copying and pasting anything.

What tools does the MCP server provide?

The MCP server exposes these tools to connected AI assistants:

search_content — full-text search across all captures
get_recent_context — what's on screen right now
get_audio_transcripts — audio transcripts in a time range
get_notifications — recent notifications by app
list_apps_used — app activity over a time range
get_files_accessed — recently opened files

All data stays local. The MCP server runs on localhost and is only accessible to apps on your Mac.

Comparison

How is Screengrep different from Rewind or screenpipe?

Screengrep is built natively for macOS in Swift — not a cross-platform Electron app. It uses Apple's own APIs for screen capture, OCR (Apple Vision), transcription (WhisperKit), and AI (Apple Intelligence), resulting in better performance, lower battery usage, and deeper system integration.

It's also available on the App Store for SGD 99 one-time, with no subscription.