You want to find yesterday’s detail without writing everything down.
When you enable supported Pro background capture, OGAD (Off Grid AI Desktop) can retain sampled screen activity and use it to build searchable work context. Capture is opt-in with a visible recording state. It is not a continuous video of every second, a complete copy of your files or proof that the microphone is always recording.
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What is the useful result of background capture?
You can return to retained clues from work that was on screen: a reference, a decision, a page title or a project discussion. Instead of reconstructing the entire day from memory, you can search the retained information and inspect its source.
Suppose you saw a client’s requested wording during a review, then switched to another task. Later, you remember the project but not the phrase. A captured sample may give you enough context to find it again. The source still has to exist in the retained history; the app cannot guarantee recovery of every detail you saw.
The benefit comes from useful coverage over time, after setup. It does not require pretending the record is complete.
What does the capture workflow save?
The desktop pipeline can retain screen frames and process them into observations about the work. Available context can include application, window and URL information, with platform-specific differences in how that context is obtained. Derived records can help group activity around people, projects or topics.
| Information | How to understand it |
|---|---|
| Screen sample | A retained view at a point in time |
| Extracted or recognised text | Material the pipeline could read from the available input |
| App, title or URL context | Clues about where the activity happened, when available |
| Observation or summary | A model’s interpretation of the captured material |
| Suggested action | A possible commitment that you still need to review |
A summary is not the original screen. A suggested action is not a confirmed instruction. Keep the distinction visible when you use the results.
What does it not automatically establish?
Background screen capture does not establish that every file on disk was indexed. A file you never opened may have no captured content. A detail that appeared briefly between samples may be missing. An excluded application or paused period creates an intentional gap.
Meeting recording is a separate workflow with audio permissions and recording controls. Chat dictation is another separate workflow. Turning on screen history should not be described as turning on a permanent room microphone.
Similarly, an app can retain a clue about a webpage without retaining the whole website. A URL may change, disappear or require access when you open it later. Use the saved context as evidence of what was retained, not a promise that every external source remains available.
What do you need before enabling it?
This guide uses the established Mac Pro capture route. Use a supported OGAD release, active Pro access, the required processing models and the requested macOS permissions. Screen Recording permits screen capture; Accessibility can provide exposed application text and context.
Windows has supported Pro capture and Replay routes, but platform-specific extraction differs. Linux beta108 does not bundle Pro capture. Do not infer Linux support from the fact that local chat works there. Beta108 release.
Complete the setup before relying on the record. A capture control can report paused, stopped or permission-required states. A visible status tells you more than assuming capture began because you installed the app.
How do you test it without recording private work?
Use a short synthetic example that you can recognise later.
- Open the capture controls and check the required permissions.
- Enable capture and confirm the visible active state.
- Open a harmless note containing a distinctive phrase, such as “Garden brochure: use the blue cover.”
- Leave the note visible while the capture workflow runs.
- Let processing complete, then search for the distinctive phrase or project.
- Open the matching result and compare it with the sample note.
You are checking several stages: capture, processing, storage and retrieval. If the search result is absent, inspect the capture status and pending processing before concluding that the note was never sampled.
Repeat the check after changing an important setting. This gives you a known example when diagnosing a later gap.
How can you control what is included?
Use the capture pause control and configured app exclusions. Pause before work you do not want added to the record. Check the visible state after you pause, then deliberately resume when appropriate.
The capture policy also contains exclusions for specified sensitive applications, recognised private-window titles and certain credential pages. Treat those as defined safeguards rather than a universal detector of sensitive content. An ordinary browser tab can contain private information without a distinctive title.
Your own exclusions and the pause control remain useful. For a small client-service firm, that might mean retaining general project work while excluding an app used for sensitive account access.
Pausing affects subsequent capture. It does not remove an earlier screenshot, summary or source from storage. Use the appropriate data controls when your goal is removal.
Can you ask questions about the captured work?
Yes, when the relevant source has been retained, processed and is available to the selected memory scope. Ask a bounded question such as:
What did the garden brochure note say about the cover? Show the source. If you cannot find it, say so.
Inspect the cited result. If you instead ask “What should I do next?”, the model may need to infer much more from incomplete material. Begin with retrieval questions where you can verify the answer.
Captured context can also contribute to suggested to-dos. Review the wording, owner and date. Seeing a commitment on your screen does not mean the app knows whether someone else completed it later.
How much should you retain?
Keep enough history for the questions you actually need to answer. Review storage and retention settings, especially for captures and meetings. Longer retention can preserve useful context, while increasing the amount of work material stored on the device.
Deleting original source data can also reduce what you can verify later. Decide deliberately rather than treating permanent storage or immediate deletion as the only options.
Open OGAD, enable the supported capture workflow and test one harmless note. Once you can find and inspect that sample, you have a clearer basis for using background history in real work.