Comparison
Shelf vs Eagle
An asset manager and a second memory look similar from a distance. They're built for different moments.
Eagle is a desktop app for collecting and organising images and design assets at scale. Shelf is a local-first memory layer that reads what you save and brings it back with its context.
01 · The difference
Same problem. Different product.
Eagle
Design asset manager
- Import images.
- Organise into folders.
- Tag and colour-filter.
- Browse a big library.
- Find an asset.
Shelf
Personal memory
- Save things.
- Forget about them.
- Let Shelf understand them.
- Find them again.
- Rediscover them later.
02 · Eagle
What is Eagle?
Eagle presents itself as a way to organise design assets: import large numbers of images, sort them into folders, tag them, filter by colour or shape, and browse a serious visual library on the desktop.
For managing an asset library on purpose, it's built for exactly that.
03 · Shelf
What is Shelf?
Shelf is a local-first memory layer for your Mac.
Shelf is built around a simpler question: what will I remember about this later?
You save something from anywhere on your Mac. Shelf reads it, describes it in its own words, links it to the other things it belongs with, and waits until you come looking.
- Capture
- Send a screenshot, link, PDF, image or note to Shelf without leaving what you are doing.
- Understanding
- Text is read out of images with OCR, audio is transcribed, and short summaries and topics are written on device.
- Relationships
- Saved things are connected to each other, with the evidence for each connection shown.
- Semantic retrieval
- Full-text and meaning-based search run side by side, so a rough description usually lands.
- Contextual retrieval
- What you saved around the same time, and about the same subject, comes back with it.
- Local-first privacy
- Your library and its index live on your Mac. No account, no sync server.
- Rediscovery
- Shelf brings older saves back to the surface when they line up with what you are doing now.
04 · Head to head
Head to head.
| Capability | Eagle | Shelf |
|---|---|---|
| Category | ||
| Core idea | A managed library of visual assets | A memory layer that remembers what you saved |
| Primary use | Collecting and organising images at scale | Saving, then finding again |
| Platform | Desktop, macOS and Windows | Native macOS 14 and later, Apple Silicon and Intel |
| Memory and retrieval | ||
| Personal memory | Not the framing | The whole product |
| Semantic search | Powerful filters and tags; keyword-based | Full-text and semantic search, on device |
| Contextual relationships | Folders and tags you create | Connections between saves, with visible evidence |
| Visual retrieval | Strong: colour, shape and format filters | Browse and search visually by what a thing looked like |
| Rediscovery | Not the focus | Older saves resurface when they become relevant |
| Long-term accumulation | Grows with the structure you maintain | Gets more useful the longer you keep saving |
| What you put in | ||
| Screenshots | Images are the core content type | First-class, with text read out of the image |
| Bookmarks and web references | Links can be saved | First-class, saved with their content |
| Notes | Annotations on assets | Quick notes, kept alongside everything else |
| Files and PDFs | Many file formats supported | PDFs and documents, read and indexed locally |
| Effort | ||
| Setup before it's useful | A folder and tag structure pays off | None. Save something and it works |
| Filing and tagging | Central to how it works | Optional. Meaning does the grouping |
| Maintenance | Yours to keep tidy | Nothing to prune, rename or reorganise |
| Architecture | ||
| Local-first | Library stored locally on your machine | Library and index stay on your Mac |
| Privacy model | Local library; governed by Eagle's own terms | Nothing to sync, because there is no sync server |
| Account requirement | A licence, with local library storage | No account |
| Offline behaviour | Works with a local library | Capture, understanding and search work offline |
| Export | Your files remain accessible | Export your library, plus encrypted local backups |
Shelf rows describe what Shelf does today. Eagle rows describe only what Eagle publicly presents about itself. Where a product does not focus on something, that is a choice, not a defect.
Category
- Core idea
EagleA managed library of visual assets
ShelfA memory layer that remembers what you saved
- Primary use
EagleCollecting and organising images at scale
ShelfSaving, then finding again
- Platform
EagleDesktop, macOS and Windows
ShelfNative macOS 14 and later, Apple Silicon and Intel
Memory and retrieval
- Personal memory
EagleNot the framing
ShelfThe whole product
- Semantic search
EaglePowerful filters and tags; keyword-based
ShelfFull-text and semantic search, on device
- Contextual relationships
EagleFolders and tags you create
ShelfConnections between saves, with visible evidence
- Visual retrieval
EagleStrong: colour, shape and format filters
ShelfBrowse and search visually by what a thing looked like
- Rediscovery
EagleNot the focus
ShelfOlder saves resurface when they become relevant
- Long-term accumulation
EagleGrows with the structure you maintain
ShelfGets more useful the longer you keep saving
What you put in
- Screenshots
EagleImages are the core content type
ShelfFirst-class, with text read out of the image
- Bookmarks and web references
EagleLinks can be saved
ShelfFirst-class, saved with their content
- Notes
EagleAnnotations on assets
ShelfQuick notes, kept alongside everything else
- Files and PDFs
EagleMany file formats supported
ShelfPDFs and documents, read and indexed locally
Effort
- Setup before it's useful
EagleA folder and tag structure pays off
ShelfNone. Save something and it works
- Filing and tagging
EagleCentral to how it works
ShelfOptional. Meaning does the grouping
- Maintenance
EagleYours to keep tidy
ShelfNothing to prune, rename or reorganise
Architecture
- Local-first
EagleLibrary stored locally on your machine
ShelfLibrary and index stay on your Mac
- Privacy model
EagleLocal library; governed by Eagle's own terms
ShelfNothing to sync, because there is no sync server
- Account requirement
EagleA licence, with local library storage
ShelfNo account
- Offline behaviour
EagleWorks with a local library
ShelfCapture, understanding and search work offline
- Export
EagleYour files remain accessible
ShelfExport your library, plus encrypted local backups
05 · Shelf
Where Shelf is different.
- Memory-first designShelf is built around remembering saved things, not around managing a system. There is nothing to set up before it is useful.
- Mac-nativeShelf is a native macOS app, designed around how you already use the Mac.
- Local-firstYour library and its index live on your Mac. OCR, transcription, summaries, search and connections run on device.
- ContextSaved things are connected through relationships and shared subjects, so one memory brings back the ones around it.
- Retrieval from imperfect memoryYou describe what you half-remember. Shelf is designed for that, not for exact filenames.
- Long-term accumulationThe value grows quietly as your library grows. Nothing needs maintaining for that to happen.
06 · Eagle
Where Eagle makes more sense.
Eagle is the stronger asset manager, and that job is real work.
- You manage a large, deliberate library of design assets.
- You need colour, shape and format filtering across thousands of images.
- You want folder structures you control precisely.
- You're on Windows, or you move between Windows and Mac.
- You work with fonts, sequences and asset formats a memory app won't handle.
Shelf is intentionally narrower.
Shelf is for people who don't want another system. They want their computer to remember.
07 · Decide
Which one should you choose?
Choose Eagle if
You maintain a serious visual asset library and want precise control over it.
Choose Shelf if
You want a personal memory layer for the things you save on your Mac.
If your problem is “my asset library needs managing”, Eagle may be the better fit. If your problem is “I screenshotted it and can't find it”, Shelf is built for you.
08 · In practice
Three ordinary moments.
Scenario 01
“A dark dashboard with a green chart.”
- Eagle
- You filter by colour and browse until you spot it.
- Shelf
- You describe it in a sentence and Shelf returns it, with the text inside the image already read.
Scenario 02
“I never got round to filing these.”
- Eagle
- The library rewards a structure you maintain.
- Shelf
- There's nothing to file. Saved things group themselves by meaning.
Scenario 03
“What else was I looking at that week?”
- Eagle
- Folders show what you put in them.
- Shelf
- Shelf returns what you saved around the same time and about the same subject.
Eagle helps you manage a visual library.
Shelf helps you remember what you've seen.
One is an asset manager.
The other is a memory layer.
10 · Privacy
Personal memory is personal.
Shelf is designed around the idea that the things you save about your own life should stay with you. Your library and its index live on your Mac, there is no account, and there is no sync server holding a copy.
OCR, transcription, summaries, topics, search and connections all run on device, which is why Shelf keeps working with the network off.
11 · Questions
Straight answers.
- Is Shelf an Eagle alternative?
- For finding a screenshot or reference you half-remember, yes. For managing a large, deliberate design asset library with fine-grained filters, Eagle is the stronger tool.
- Does Shelf store my images locally like Eagle?
- Yes. Your library and its index live on your Mac, and the understanding work runs on device.
- Does Shelf work on Mac?
- Shelf is a native Mac app. It runs on macOS 14 and later, on Apple Silicon and Intel.
- Is Shelf local-first?
- Yes. Your library and its index stay on your Mac, and the understanding work, OCR, transcription, summaries, topics, search and connections, runs on device.
- Can Shelf search screenshots?
- Yes. Shelf reads the text out of images with OCR and indexes both the words and the meaning, so you can find a screenshot by describing it.
- Does Shelf require an account?
- No. Shelf works without an account and without a sync server.
Your computer already stores everything.
It should remember some of it.
Free. macOS 14 and later, Apple Silicon and Intel. No account.
Keep reading
Related pages
Shelf V3 is out now
Shelf V3 is the current build. Shelf does not use automatic updates, so download the latest build here and install it over your current version.
This is intentional. Shelf is built around a local-first, privacy-focused philosophy. An automatic updater requires additional background processes, network connections, update infrastructure, and another system with permission to modify the app. We prefer to keep Shelf’s network footprint and background activity as small as possible.
Manual updates keep the process explicit: Shelf only checks the internet when a feature actually needs it, and you decide when a new version is downloaded and installed.