Mac quickstart
Install the app and find your first conversation.
The Mac app is the center of Contextify. It discovers supported AI coding sessions, shows timelines, and gives you search without requiring Cloud sync.
Before you start
macOS compatibility
On macOS 26, Contextify can use richer local summaries. On macOS 15, Lite Mode still supports project discovery, timeline, transcript indexing, and search.
Use either Claude Code, Codex, or both
Contextify indexes conversations from either of these CLI clients.
Set up the app
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Download and open Contextify
Install from the Mac App Store or the direct DMG download. We recommend the DMG when you can: it is faster and gets new features first.
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Let it scan supported transcript folders
The app looks for Claude Code and Codex sessions in their normal local locations. If you have a lot of old sessions, this first local ingestion pass can take time before everything is searchable.
App Store builds may ask for folder access before they can read those locations.
A long first run is local processing, not a Cloud problem; let it finish before troubleshooting Cloud. Learn more about CLI AI transcript ingestion.
See it work
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Open a project you are already using
Pick a project where you have recent Claude Code or Codex sessions. Contextify fills in its project list and timeline from the history it already indexed.
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Send a few prompts and watch the timeline
Run Claude Code or Codex in that project and send a few prompts. The timeline picks up the new messages and summarizes them in real time.
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Send an image, see the thumbnail
Paste or attach an image in your session. Contextify shows a thumbnail preview of it right in the timeline.
Where to go next
If a project is missing
A missing project usually means Contextify has not found a supported transcript yet, cannot read the transcript folder, or is looking before the first session has been written.
Start with the missing-projects guide. It lists the checks in the order that saves the most time.
Last updated: May 30, 2026