Overview
- OpenAI released Chronicle for its Codex Mac app as an opt-in research preview for ChatGPT Pro subscribers, with access not yet available in the EU, UK, or Switzerland.
- The feature builds short-term memories from periodic screenshots of recent activity so Codex can understand references like “this” or “that” without users restating context.
- Users must grant Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions, can inspect or edit the local memory files, and can pause or turn Chronicle off from the menu bar.
- OpenAI and Codex’s lead say the current design consumes many tokens and can hit rate limits quickly, signaling an early-stage feature that may feel costly to run.
- OpenAI says captures are processed in an ephemeral session, stored locally as unencrypted files, and older frames are auto-deleted, yet other apps can read those files and reporters are comparing the screenshot approach to Microsoft’s contentious Windows Recall.