Screen memory without screenshots, just text to Markdown
It's a macOS menu bar app that reads the text of your focused window every few seconds through the Accessibility API. No screenshots, no video, or OCR. It writes plain markdown, one file per day, into a folder you choose. Point Claude Code (or anything with file access) at the folder and ask "what did I work on Tuesday?" or have it build memory about your projects. The folder contains an AGENTS.md explaining the format to the model. Thought it might be useful for someone so chucked it up on GitHub
In plain words
Ambient Context is a macOS menu bar app that passively records the text from your focused window throughout the day, converting it to plain Markdown without taking screenshots or using OCR. It stores one file per day in a folder you control, allowing AI assistants like Claude Code or Cursor to access your work history and provide better context when you ask questions about your activities. The app requires macOS 14 or later on Apple Silicon and is free and open source.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
A menu bar app that keeps a written record of what you worked on. - dragthelake/ambient-context
Ambient Context writes down what you work on during the day to give your AI assistant better context. A macOS menu bar app that keeps a written record of what you work on, in plain markdown, in a folder you own. Point Claude Code, Cursor, Codex or any MCP client at your context folder. Signed and notarised DMG. macOS 14 or later, Apple Silicon. Free and open source. You spend the day reading, writing, replying and deciding. None of it reaches the AI assistant you open at 4pm. So you paste in the email, explain the ticket, summarise the call, and the model still works from a fraction of what you actually saw. The context existed. It was on your screen. Nobody wrote it down. While the eye in…from github.com
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