Contextify — Searchable History for Claude Code and Codex

TL;DR

TL;DR: Contextify watches your Claude Code and Codex sessions, indexes them locally, and gives you full-text search, Apple Intelligence summaries, and optional cross-device sync — so your AI coding history never disappears.

Source and Accuracy Notes

⚠️ This section is MANDATORY. All links must be verified from actual source, not guessed.

• Project page: contextify.sh ← visited and verified
• Documentation: contextify.sh/docs/ ← visited and verified
• Pricing page: contextify.sh/pricing/ ← visited and verified
• License: Proprietary (free local tier, paid commercial tier) ← verified via pricing page
• HN launch thread: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48777790 (7 points)
• Source last checked: 2026-07-08

What Is Contextify?

Claude Code and Codex both delete their conversation history after 30 days — leaving you with no searchable record of past sessions, fixes, or decisions.

Contextify solves this by running as an ambient monitor on your machine. It watches both CLI tools, extracts and indexes every message into a local SQLite database, and surfaces it through a searchable timeline UI.

On macOS 26 (Tahoe), Apple Intelligence generates LLM summaries of each session locally — no API keys, no cloud processing. On macOS 15 (Sequoia), you get the timeline and search without summaries.

Setup Workflow

Step 1: Download and Install

Head to contextify.sh and download the macOS app (requires macOS 15 Sequoia or later). AI summaries require macOS 26.

For Linux, a CLI-only version is available.

Step 2: First Run

Launch Contextify. It will ask for permission to monitor your Claude Code and Codex transcript directories. Grant access and the indexing begins automatically.

On first run, Contextify backfills your existing history — this can take a few minutes depending on how long you’ve been using the tools.

Step 3: Search Your History

Open the Contextify window and use full-text search to find any past conversation. Results show the matching message, session date, and a summary from Apple Intelligence (on supported macOS versions).

You can also query from the terminal:

contextify search "how did I fix the CORS issue"

Step 4: Connect Cloud Sync (Optional)

Create a free Contextify Cloud account to sync history across multiple Macs. The free tier covers two Macs with 60 days of cloud history.

For commercial teams or privacy-sensitive setups, a self-hosted option is available.

Step 5: Use Total Recall (AI Context Injection)

Contextify’s “Total Recall” feature lets Claude Code or Codex pull relevant past sessions as live context when starting a new task. This requires the MCP server to be configured in your AI tool.

Pricing

| Plan | Price | Details | |---|---|---| | Local Free | Free | One Mac, no account, local-only | | Local Commercial | $8/seat/month | Same as local, licensed for commercial use | | Cloud Free | Free | Up to 2 Macs, 60-day history | | Cloud Pro | $12/month | Unlimited devices, unlimited history, priority support |

Annual billing saves 17–20%. Linux is CLI-only (no native app).

Key Features

• Ambient monitoring — watches Claude Code and Codex in the background, no manual export needed
• Full-text search — find any past message, command, or fix across your entire history
• Apple Intelligence summaries (macOS 26 only) — session summaries generated locally
• Local-first — all data stays on your machine by default; cloud sync is opt-in
• Cross-device sync — optional Contextify Cloud for multi-Mac workflows
• Self-hosted option — run your own sync server for full data ownership
• Total Recall MCP — lets AI tools pull relevant history as context for new tasks
• Linux CLI — works on Linux machines without a GUI app

FAQ

Q: Does this work with both Claude Code and Codex simultaneously? A: Yes. Contextify monitors both tools and keeps their histories in the same searchable database, so you can search across both.

Q: Is my coding history sent to Contextify’s servers? A: By default, no. The Local Free tier stores everything on your Mac with no account required. Cloud tiers encrypt data in transit (TLS) but do sync to Contextify’s hosted infrastructure. Self-hosted Cloud is available if you need full control.

Q: What happens to my data if I cancel Cloud Sync? A: Contextify deletes your cloud data on request. Local history remains untouched on your machine.

Q: Does Total Recall work on Linux? A: Total Recall (MCP-based context injection) is available via the CLI on Linux, but the native GUI and Apple Intelligence summaries require macOS.

Q: How does the commercial license work? A: The Local Commercial license ($8/seat/month) lets you use Contextify at work. It covers all your machines (Mac and Linux CLI) under one seat. Cloud Commercial (Cloud Pro at commercial-use rates) includes unlimited devices and priority support.

Conclusion

If you use Claude Code or Codex regularly, Contextify fills the gap that both tools leave — a persistent, searchable record of every decision and fix you’ve made. The local-first approach means no mandatory accounts and no cloud dependency for personal use. The free tier is genuinely useful; the commercial tier is reasonably priced for teams. Total Recall (MCP context injection) is the killer feature for power users who want AI tools that actually remember your work.