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OpenAI added Chronicle to Codex Desktop on April 20: a passive screen-capture layer that gives the AI coding agent long-running memory of what you were working on, without requiring you to re-explain context at the start of each session.

How It Works

Chronicle watches the macOS screen at periodic intervals. When it detects activity — a file open in an editor, a terminal session, a browser tab — it captures a frame, sends it to OpenAI’s servers for processing, extracts OCR text and infers file paths and workflow context, then writes a plain-text summary to a local directory on the user’s machine.

The next time Codex runs, it pulls that local context. A prompt like “fix the bug I was working on” or “sync that draft” can now resolve correctly without the user rebuilding the session’s missing state.

What OpenAI Disclosed

The release notes are unusually explicit about the tradeoffs:

• Unencrypted storage. Memory summaries are written as Markdown files with no local encryption. Any process or user with filesystem access can read them.
• On-device screenshot retention. Screenshots are kept temporarily on-device for up to six hours before deletion.
• Prompt injection risk. OpenAI flagged this directly — hostile content in a document or code comment could manipulate Chronicle’s summaries before they reach the model.
• Rate limits burn fast. The feature consumes significantly more API budget than standard Codex use; OpenAI warned users they will hit rate limits quickly.
• Permissions required. Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions must both be granted.

Geographic Exclusion

Chronicle is not launching in the EU, UK, or Switzerland. OpenAI gave no explicit reason, but the restriction is consistent with GDPR’s treatment of continuous screen capture as a high-risk processing activity — particularly because screen content may include personal data from third parties visible on screen.

Why It Matters

Context loss between sessions is the primary friction point in agent coding workflows. Claude Code and Codex both drop session context on restart, forcing users to re-describe file structure, in-progress work, and relevant constraints at every new session. Chronicle sidesteps this with ambient capture rather than explicit memory tagging.

The tradeoff is meaningful. Developers working on proprietary code, credentials, or customer data are now asked to trust that unencrypted plaintext summaries derived from full-screen captures are safe to store locally and transmit to OpenAI’s servers. Chronicle is framed as a research preview — OpenAI’s standard hedge before general availability decisions — which leaves its data retention and encryption posture subject to change.

Key Details

• Availability: Pro users on macOS only; research preview
• Geographic exclusion: EU, UK, Switzerland
• Storage format: Local unencrypted Markdown
• Screenshot retention: Up to 6 hours on-device
• Data flow: Frames sent to OpenAI servers for processing
• Required permissions: Screen Recording + Accessibility