Blog Comparisons 3 min read
Work journal apps for Mac in 2026: Dayflow, Everpaper and the rest
Dayflow is a free, MIT-licensed Mac app that turns screen activity into a timeline you can ask questions about, and it runs on macOS 14 or later. Everpaper also writes the day from your screen history and adds meeting recording and transcription on the Mac, but it needs macOS 15 on Apple silicon and is in private beta. Pick Dayflow if you want it free today, Everpaper if meetings are part of the day you want recorded.
Disclosure. Everpaper is our product, and it is in this article. We say where it falls short, and every competitor fact below carries the date we checked it.
Facts as of November 2026. Prices and features change. Each source is linked at the end.
A work journal that writes itself sounds simple: something watches your screen, and at the end of the day you get a list of what you did. A few Mac apps do this now. They differ in what they capture, which AI they send it to and what they ask of your Mac.
Dayflow
Dayflow is open source under the MIT License and runs on macOS 14 or later. According to its README, it captures lightweight screen chunks, analyzes them with the AI provider you choose, and turns the day into activity cards. You can ask questions about a day, a week or a year and get answers tied to the timeline.
For AI you can use local models through Ollama or LM Studio, Gemini with your own API key, or ChatGPT or Claude through their command-line tools. The README says that with a cloud provider, the activity data needed for analysis goes to that provider, and with local models it stays on your machine. Recordings, the timeline and the database are stored under ~/Library/Application Support/Dayflow/. The README does not describe meeting transcription, and we did not find a statement about analytics.
Everpaper
Everpaper is our product. You start the workday journal, and from then on it takes a screenshot of each display every 2 minutes by default and reads it on the Mac. There are two other modes: one adds extra images of the window you are working in, at most one every 30 seconds, and Activity only keeps a timeline of apps and windows with no screenshots. If you set up an AI provider, it writes the day up and you review it at the end.
It also records meetings. Press ⇧⌘M and it captures your microphone and the call’s audio as separate tracks, then transcribes them on the Mac with no bot in the call. Ask answers questions across your days and meetings and shows the screenshot or the moment in the recording.
Screenshots and recordings are never uploaded. Text such as screen text and transcripts reaches a cloud AI provider only after you turn on a switch that is off by default. On-device providers keep it on the Mac. It needs macOS 15 or later on an Apple silicon Mac, has no Windows or Linux version, and is in private beta with no public price.
Side by side
| Dayflow | Everpaper | |
|---|---|---|
| Needs | macOS 14 or later | macOS 15 or later, Apple silicon |
| Price | Open source (MIT) | Private beta, no public price yet |
| Screen capture | Lightweight chunks | Screenshots every 2 minutes by default; Activity only mode has none |
| Meeting recording and transcripts | Not described in the README | Yes, on the Mac, no bot |
| AI | Local (Ollama, LM Studio) or cloud (Gemini, ChatGPT or Claude via CLI) | Optional; on-device or cloud, cloud off by default |
| Ask about your history | Yes | Yes, with screenshot or recording moment as the source |
Which to pick
- You want a free, open work journal on a Mac that runs macOS 14: Dayflow.
- Your day is half meetings and you want them recorded and transcribed in the same place: Everpaper.
- You want to write the entries yourself, on every device: see Day One alternatives.
Apply for the Everpaper private beta.
Frequently asked questions
What is Dayflow?
Dayflow is a macOS app that captures lightweight screen chunks, analyzes them with the AI provider you choose, and turns the day into activity cards. Its README says recordings, timeline and database stay on your Mac by default.
Is Dayflow free?
Its GitHub page names the MIT License. If you pick a cloud AI provider, that provider's own charges and terms apply.
Which Mac versions does Dayflow support?
The README lists macOS 14 or later, with Screen and System Audio Recording permission.
What does Everpaper add over a screen-based work journal?
Meeting recording with transcription and speaker labels on the Mac, a launcher with clipboard history, and a memory of people, files and topics that Ask can search with sources. It needs macOS 15 or later on Apple silicon and is in private beta.
Does either app keep my screen off the cloud?
Both keep recordings on the Mac by default. With Dayflow and a cloud provider, the activity data needed for analysis goes to that provider. With Everpaper, screenshots and recordings are never uploaded, and only text can reach a cloud provider after you switch that on.
Sources
Written by Marco Iannello Updated 4 November 2026 How we write comparisons