Getting Started
Updated
Welcome to Recall
Recall indexes every screenshot in your watched folders so you can search them by the text they contain. OCR, tagging, and source-app detection all happen on your Mac — nothing is sent anywhere.
First Launch
When you open Recall for the first time, an onboarding sheet explains the two folders it watches and confirms that all processing is on-device. Click Get Started to dismiss it and begin using the app.
If Recall can’t read your Desktop or Screenshots folder, a yellow warning appears with a direct link to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Files and Folders. Enable access there and Recall will immediately begin scanning.
What Recall Watches
| Folder | Notes |
|---|---|
~/Desktop | Watched automatically |
~/Screenshots | Watched automatically |
Any PNG or JPG saved to either location is picked up within seconds, OCR’d, and added to the library. Files that were already there before you installed Recall are scanned on first launch.
Main Areas
| Area | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Library sidebar | Filter by date, tag, source app, or archived status |
| Gallery | Browse and select screenshots in a date-grouped grid |
| Search bar | Full-text search across all indexed OCR content |
| Detail panel | Metadata, tags, and actions for the selected screenshot |
Menu Bar
Recall adds an icon to your menu bar (a stack of photos). Click it to open the library window from anywhere without switching apps.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Space | Quick Look the selected screenshot |
⌘ F | Focus the search bar |
⌘ A | Select all visible screenshots |
Next Steps
- Searching Screenshots — how OCR search works
- Auto-Tagging — how Recall classifies your screenshots
- Archiving & Deleting — keep your library tidy
- Privacy & Security — what data Recall stores and where