OpenHistory adds MCP access to local work history

• OpenHistory has shipped an open-source Mac timeline that turns permitted activity into hourly and daily summaries with on-device inference, according to zachtratar's launch announcement.
• Its agent bridge is local by default, zachtratar's reply on data export says, while the project README describes a redacted, read-only MCP view.
• The collector uses activity events rather than screenshots, and zachtratar's battery estimate puts its power use at 20 times lower than a high-volume screenshot processor.
• Apple on-device inference is part of the launch framing in zachtratar's announcement, but the code also supports opt-in OpenAI, Anthropic, and Kimi providers through its inference configuration.

Raw JSONL, rather than generated summaries, remains the source of truth, with timeline items tied to source event IDs in the project architecture. The full-delete control also removes saved provider keys and agent connections alongside activity, summaries, and settings, per its privacy documentation.

The collector records permitted foreground-app activity and Accessibility changes, then groups them into deterministic episodes before producing timeline, hourly, and daily indexes, according to the repository's architecture.

Its stated exclusions are screenshots, audio, individual key events, password fields, private browser windows, and protected apps or sites. First-run setup does select email activity and recognized Messages, iMessage, and chat activity by default, though each can be disabled.

The local MCP server exposes a sanitized projection rather than the raw activity log. Its documented tools can:

• search work history;
• retrieve a day or timeline item;
• find referenced files, links, and work surfaces;
• identify unfinished work.

Each connection receives a dedicated revocable credential, stored as a SHA-256 hash. The server binds to loopback and requires bearer authentication, details in the security policy.

OpenHistory can run summaries through Apple's experimental on-device model, an explicitly configured cloud provider, or not generate summaries at all. When automatic summaries are enabled with a provider key, the README says completed episode evidence is sent directly to that provider about every 10 minutes.

Provider keys are encrypted in macOS-backed Electron secure storage and are not returned to the renderer, collector, or MCP clients. The launch itself foregrounded on-device inference in zachtratar's announcement.

The collection-rate tradeoff is central to the design. In a reply about screenshot capture, zachtratar argued that screenshot-based systems must repeatedly capture and analyze far more data, which sharply increases battery cost.

The app requires macOS 14 or later. Apple Intelligence summaries additionally require macOS 26 or later; source builds require Node.js 22 and Xcode with Swift 6.1 or later, while the repository also provides a Mac download path.

Its default MCP endpoint is http://127.0.0.1:47831/openhistory/mcp. Collection remains paused on first launch until the privacy notice is accepted.