Getting Started with Chronicle
Chronicle is in an **opt-in research preview**.
Chronicle is in an opt-in research preview. It is only available for ChatGPT Pro subscribers on macOS. Please review the Privacy and Security section for details and to understand the current risks before enabling.
Chronicle augments Codex memories with context from your screen. When you prompt Codex, those memories can help it understand what you’ve been working on with less need for you to restate context.
Chronicle is available as an opt-in research preview in the ChatGPT desktop app on macOS. It requires macOS Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions. Before enabling, be aware that Chronicle uses rate limits quickly, increases risk of prompt injection, and stores memories unencrypted on your device.
We’ve designed Chronicle to reduce the amount of context you have to restate when you work with Codex. By using recent screen context to improve memory building, Chronicle can help Codex understand what you’re referring to, identify the right source to use, and pick up on the tools and workflows you rely on.
With Chronicle Codex can understand what you are currently looking at, saving you time and context switching.
Why is this failing?
That depends on what “this” refers to, so I will inspect your recent screen context before guessing.
Using skill Chronicle
Read GitHub Actions run
Chronicle shows a failed GitHub Actions run for the docs preview workflow. I will check the run logs directly.
Explored 2 files
The error is in chronicle.mdx: Astro is treating Settings > Personalization as a block quote. Escape the > or wrap the setting path in code, then rerun the check.
5.6 Sol
No need to carefully craft your context and start from zero. Chronicle lets Codex fill in the gaps in your context.
Sync the latest docs draft changes and message Romain when you are done
I need to identify which draft and which Romain from recent context, so I will inspect Chronicle memories first.
Using skill Chronicle
Explored 1 file
Memory points to the Google Doc Chronicle docs draft and Romain Huet on Slack. I will sync the doc into the repo and then message him.
Explored 3 files
Editedchronicle.mdx+42-18
Read Slack completion message
Done. I synced the latest draft changes into chronicle.mdx and messaged Romain Huet on Slack.
5.6 Sol
No need to explain to Codex which tools to use to perform your work. Codex learns as you work to save you time in the long run.
I will use Chronicle to infer the normal collaboration pattern for launch comms before creating anything.
Using skill Chronicle
Searched for launch comms internal sharing workflow in Chronicle memories
Your recent launch comms work usually starts as a Google Doc for internal collaboration. I will create one there.
Explored 2 files
Created a Google Doc named Internal launch comms draft for the team to collaborate on.
5.6 Sol
In these cases, Codex uses Chronicle to provide additional context. When another source is better for the job, such as reading the specific file, Slack thread, Google Doc, dashboard, or pull request, Codex uses Chronicle to identify the source and then use that source directly.
- Open Settings in the ChatGPT desktop app.
- Go to Personalization and make sure Memories is enabled.
- Turn on Chronicle below the Memories setting.
- Review the consent dialog and choose Continue.
- Grant macOS Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions when prompted.
- When setup completes, choose Try it out or start a new task.
If macOS reports that Screen Recording or Accessibility permission is denied, open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording or Accessibility and enable ChatGPT. If a permission is restricted by macOS or your organization, Chronicle will start after the restriction is removed and ChatGPT receives the required permission.
You control when Chronicle generates memories using screen context. Use the ChatGPT menu bar icon to choose Pause Chronicle or Resume Chronicle. Pause Chronicle before meetings or when viewing sensitive content that you do not want Codex to use as context. To disable Chronicle, return to Settings > Personalization > Memories and turn off Chronicle.
You can also control whether memories are used in a given task. Learn more.
Chronicle works by running sandboxed agents in the background to generate memories from captured screen images. These agents currently consume rate limits quickly.
Chronicle uses screen captures, which can include sensitive information visible on your screen. It does not have access to your microphone or system audio. Don’t use Chronicle to record meetings or communications with others without their consent. Pause Chronicle when viewing content you do not want remembered in memories.
Screen captures are ephemeral and will only be saved temporarily on your computer. Temporary screen capture files may appear under $TMPDIR/chronicle/screen_recording/ while Chronicle is running. Screen captures that are older than 6 hours will be deleted while Chronicle is running.
The memories that Chronicle generates are just like other Codex memories: unencrypted markdown files that you can read and modify if needed. You can also ask Codex to search them. If you want to have Codex forget something you can delete the respective file inside the folder or selectively edit the markdown files to remove the information you’d like to remove. You should not manually add new information. The generated Chronicle memories are stored locally on your computer under $CODEX_HOME/memories_extensions/chronicle/ (typically ~/.codex/memories_extensions/chronicle).
Both directories for your screen captures and memories might contain sensitive information. Make sure you do not share content with others, and be aware that other programs on your computer can also access these files.
Chronicle captures screen context locally, then periodically uses Codex to summarize recent activity into memories. To generate those memories, Chronicle starts an ephemeral Codex session with access to this screen context. That session may process selected screenshot frames, OCR text extracted from screenshots, timing information, and local file paths for the relevant time window.
Screen captures used for memory generation are stored temporarily on your device. They are processed on our servers to generate memories, which are then stored locally on device. We do not store the screenshots on our servers after processing unless required by law, and do not use them for training.
The generated memories are Markdown files stored locally under $CODEX_HOME/memories_extensions/chronicle/. When Codex uses memories in a future session, relevant memory contents may be included as context for that session, and may be used to improve our models if allowed in your ChatGPT settings. Learn more.
Using Chronicle increases risk to prompt injection attacks from screen content. For instance, if you browse a site with malicious agent instructions, Codex may follow those instructions.
If you do not see the Chronicle setting, make sure you are using a ChatGPT desktop app build that includes Chronicle and that you have Memories enabled inside Settings > Personalization.
Chronicle is currently only available for ChatGPT Pro subscribers on macOS.
If setup does not complete:
- Confirm that ChatGPT has Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions.
- Quit and reopen the ChatGPT desktop app.
- Open Settings > Personalization and check the Chronicle status.
Chronicle uses the same model as your other Memories. If you did not configure a specific model it uses your default Codex model. To choose a specific model, update the consolidation_model in your configuration.
[memories]consolidation_model = "gpt-5.4-mini"