Comparison
Shelf vs Fabric
Two products that help you work with information, built around very different ideas.
Fabric is an AI workspace for bringing your files, notes, meetings and other information together. Shelf is a local-first memory layer for your Mac, built around remembering what you save and finding it again later.
01 · The difference
Same problem. Different product.
Fabric
AI workspace
- Bring your information together.
- Work with it.
- Create with it.
- Organize it.
- Collaborate around it.
Shelf
Personal memory
- Save things.
- Forget about them.
- Let Shelf understand them.
- Find them again.
- Rediscover them later.
02 · Fabric
What is Fabric?
Fabric presents itself as an AI-powered workspace: a single place to bring different kinds of information together and then work with it through tools such as search, notes, a canvas, AI features and integrations with other services.
It is a broad product with a broad job. If you want somewhere to gather material and actively work on it, that is the shape of what Fabric offers.
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 | Fabric | Shelf |
|---|---|---|
| Category | ||
| Core idea | A workspace where information comes together to be worked on | A memory layer that remembers what you saved |
| Primary use | Gathering, organising and creating | Saving, then finding again |
| Platform | Cross-platform, with web access | Native macOS 14 and later, Apple Silicon and Intel |
| Memory and retrieval | ||
| Personal memory | Not the framing | The whole product |
| Semantic search | AI-assisted search is part of the product | Full-text and semantic search, on device |
| Contextual relationships | Not the framing | Connections between saves, with visible evidence |
| Visual retrieval | Not publicly detailed | Browse and search visually by what a thing looked like |
| Rediscovery | Not the focus | Older saves resurface when they become relevant |
| Long-term accumulation | Depends how you work in it | Gets more useful the longer you keep saving |
| What you put in | ||
| Screenshots | Images can be added | First-class, with text read out of the image |
| Bookmarks and web references | Supported | First-class, saved with their content |
| Notes | Supported | Quick notes, kept alongside everything else |
| Files and PDFs | Supported | PDFs and documents, read and indexed locally |
| Workspace features | ||
| Canvas | Part of the product | Not the focus |
| Meetings | Part of the product | Not currently |
| Tasks | Part of the product | Not the focus |
| AI assistant | Part of the product | Local understanding, not a chat assistant |
| AI agents | Part of the product | Not currently |
| Integrations | Connects to other services | Focused elsewhere: capture from anywhere on the Mac |
| Collaboration | Multi-user work is supported | Single person, by design |
| Architecture | ||
| Local-first | Cloud-based product | Library and index stay on your Mac |
| Privacy model | Governed by Fabric's own privacy terms | Nothing to sync, because there is no sync server |
| Account requirement | An account is required | No account |
| Offline behaviour | Built around being online | Capture, understanding and search work offline |
Shelf rows describe what Shelf does today. Fabric rows describe only what Fabric publicly presents about itself. Where a product does not focus on something, that is a choice, not a defect.
Category
- Core idea
FabricA workspace where information comes together to be worked on
ShelfA memory layer that remembers what you saved
- Primary use
FabricGathering, organising and creating
ShelfSaving, then finding again
- Platform
FabricCross-platform, with web access
ShelfNative macOS 14 and later, Apple Silicon and Intel
Memory and retrieval
- Personal memory
FabricNot the framing
ShelfThe whole product
- Semantic search
FabricAI-assisted search is part of the product
ShelfFull-text and semantic search, on device
- Contextual relationships
FabricNot the framing
ShelfConnections between saves, with visible evidence
- Visual retrieval
FabricNot publicly detailed
ShelfBrowse and search visually by what a thing looked like
- Rediscovery
FabricNot the focus
ShelfOlder saves resurface when they become relevant
- Long-term accumulation
FabricDepends how you work in it
ShelfGets more useful the longer you keep saving
What you put in
- Screenshots
FabricImages can be added
ShelfFirst-class, with text read out of the image
- Bookmarks and web references
FabricSupported
ShelfFirst-class, saved with their content
- Notes
FabricSupported
ShelfQuick notes, kept alongside everything else
- Files and PDFs
FabricSupported
ShelfPDFs and documents, read and indexed locally
Workspace features
- Canvas
FabricPart of the product
ShelfNot the focus
- Meetings
FabricPart of the product
ShelfNot currently
- Tasks
FabricPart of the product
ShelfNot the focus
- AI assistant
FabricPart of the product
ShelfLocal understanding, not a chat assistant
- AI agents
FabricPart of the product
ShelfNot currently
- Integrations
FabricConnects to other services
ShelfFocused elsewhere: capture from anywhere on the Mac
- Collaboration
FabricMulti-user work is supported
ShelfSingle person, by design
Architecture
- Local-first
FabricCloud-based product
ShelfLibrary and index stay on your Mac
- Privacy model
FabricGoverned by Fabric's own privacy terms
ShelfNothing to sync, because there is no sync server
- Account requirement
FabricAn account is required
ShelfNo account
- Offline behaviour
FabricBuilt around being online
ShelfCapture, understanding and search work offline
05 · Shelf
Where Shelf is different.
- Memory-first designShelf is built around remembering saved things, not around managing a workspace. There is no project to set up before it is useful.
- Mac-nativeShelf is a native macOS app, captured from the top of your screen and 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 · Fabric
Where Fabric makes more sense.
Fabric is the broader product, and for some jobs that is exactly right.
- You want a broad workspace where information and work live together.
- You want canvas-based thinking and arranging.
- You want meetings and tasks inside the same product.
- You want extensive integrations with the other services you use.
- You work with other people and need multi-user workflows.
- You want broader AI workspace functionality, including agents.
Shelf is intentionally narrower.
Shelf is for people who don't want another workspace. They want their computer to remember.
07 · Decide
Which one should you choose?
Choose Fabric if
You want a broad AI workspace where you can bring work together and actively work on it.
Choose Shelf if
You want a personal memory layer for the things you save on your Mac.
If your problem is “Where should I work?”, Fabric may be the better fit. If your problem is “Where did I save that?”, Shelf is built for you.
08 · In practice
Three ordinary moments.
Scenario 01
“I saw a dashboard six months ago.”
- Fabric
- You go to the workspace and search through what you gathered there.
- Shelf
- You describe what you remember, a dark dashboard with a green chart, and Shelf returns the screenshot you saved.
Scenario 02
“I saved five references for a project.”
- Fabric
- You organise them in the workspace and work on top of them.
- Shelf
- Shelf connects them for you through shared subjects and timing, and shows why each one belongs.
Scenario 03
“I remember the idea, not the filename.”
- Fabric
- You search the workspace for the words you think you used.
- Shelf
- You search by meaning, and Shelf tells you when a result matched the idea rather than the text.
Fabric helps you work with what you know.
Shelf helps you remember what you've seen.
One is a workspace.
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 alternative to Fabric?
- For one specific job, yes: remembering the things you save and finding them again. Shelf is not a workspace, so it does not replace canvas, meetings, tasks or collaboration.
- Is Shelf a workspace like Fabric?
- No. Shelf has no canvas, no tasks and no multi-user workflows. It is a memory layer for the things you save on your Mac.
- 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.
- Can Shelf replace Fabric?
- Only if what you wanted from Fabric was memory. If you rely on its workspace features, Shelf will not cover them.
- Who should use Shelf instead of Fabric?
- People on a Mac whose problem is “where did I save that?” rather than “where should I work?”, and who would rather their saved things stayed on their own machine.
- Is Shelf a second-brain app?
- Shelf is closer to a second memory than a second brain. There is no system to maintain: you save things and Shelf does the remembering.
- 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.