appears

Your Mac remembers, so you don't have to.

Appears notices what you're working on and brings back the messages, notes, photos and files that go with it. You don't need to search or remember where you put them. Everything stays on your Mac.

Download for MacSee how it works

Free and open source. Apple silicon · macOS 26+.

You're writing a plan. Appears finds an earlier decision in Messages, the original project brief and your notes from the last review. You can check them from the menu bar without typing a search. A made-up example.

How it works

You keep working. It finds what you'll need.

  1. It starts with what you're doing

    Writing an email, reading a document or making a plan: Appears uses the window in front of you to look for relevant information. It doesn't store what it reads.

  2. It looks across your Mac

    Appears searches the contents of messages, Apple Notes, documents, screenshots and photos. Useful details can turn up together, even when they're in different places.

  3. It brings back forgotten details

    An older conversation or a note from last year can still help. Appears favours information you haven't opened in a while, so useful details don't stay buried.

  4. It tells you why

    A short list of suggestions, each with a reason to take a look. Open one, preview it, or drag it into what you're writing.

Quiet by design

Quiet by default.

When Appears finds something worth a look, the little ring in your menu bar gets a dot and keeps slowly rotating until you open it. Reduce Motion keeps the mark still. In Settings, choose motion, a still dot, or a brief toast with the match's details. Every option is silent. Click when you're ready, or press a shortcut to ask any time.

  • Nothing to show
  • Building your index
  • Found something relevant
  • Paused
  • Needs setup
The little ring in your menu bar, and what it's telling you.

Privacy

Your information stays on your Mac.

Your messages, notes, photos and documents are personal. Appears processes them on your Mac, without uploading them.

Everything happens on your Mac
No account, no cloud, nothing uploaded. During setup, a sandboxed helper that can't see your files or screen downloads the on-device models. After that, Appears works offline.
It forgets what it sees
It reads what you're working on, uses it, and lets it go. The only thing it remembers is which suggestions you found useful.
It skips private things
Password managers, password fields and private browser windows are off limits. Pause it from the menu bar whenever you like.
Anyone can check
It's open source under the MIT license, so these promises aren't just promises.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

How does it know what's related?

It runs Google's EmbeddingGemma 2, a small open model, on your Mac. The model matches the meaning of what's on your screen with information in your messages, notes, documents and pictures, even when the wording is different.

A plain text search catches names and numbers alongside it. Things you haven't opened in a while get a boost.

What does it look at on my screen?

Only the window in front of you: its title, what it shows, and what you're typing.

That text stays in memory for one search, then it's gone.

Which sources does it look through?

Documents, PDFs, images and screenshots in your home folder, plus Apple Notes, Messages and their locally downloaded photos when you grant Full Disk Access. It skips system files, code projects and caches. Settings → Sources lets you include or exclude folders and turn Notes or Messages off. Only content already downloaded to this Mac can be searched by meaning.

Optional Contacts access adds names and contact photos to Messages results. Contact details stay in memory on your Mac.

Mail, Photos, audio and video aren't supported yet.

Why is there a separate download during setup?

The models are about 3.3 GB together, so the app downloads them while you set up, to keep the app itself small. Search works once the first, smaller one is ready; the answer model, which decides what to suggest, follows.

A sandboxed helper does the download. It can't see your files or screen, and every file is checked before use. After that, Appears works offline.

How can I be sure nothing leaves my Mac?

The part that reads your files and runs the model has no network access; macOS blocks it. The app itself has no networking code, and every build is checked for it.

No account, no analytics, no crash reports.

How often will it suggest something?

When it finds a confident match, after one second in a window, document or conversation, or a one-second pause after typing. You can choose a longer wait in Settings. New suggestions are at least one minute apart, and the same item won't repeat in that conversation. By default, the menu bar ring gets a dot and slowly rotates until you open or clear the result. Reduce Motion keeps it still. Settings also offers a still dot or a silent toast with match details.

Press Shift–Command–Space to ask any time.

Can it help me get ready for meetings?

With Calendar access (optional), it looks about 10 minutes before each meeting, using the title, who's invited and the notes. Join links and passcodes are left out.

Will it slow down my Mac?

The first pass through your files takes a while, and pauses in Low Power Mode. After that it checks for changes. Search time depends on your Mac, your library and whether indexing is still running.

What does it cost, and what do I need?

Nothing: it's free and open source (MIT). It needs a Mac with Apple silicon running macOS 26 or later.

Get back what you already have.

Download Appears and pick the apps and folders it can look through. The on-device models download during setup. Once everything is indexed, things start turning up while you work.

Download for Mac

Free and open source. Apple silicon · macOS 26+.