Comparison
Shelf vs mymind
Two calm products that both refuse to make you file things, built on two different ideas of recall.
mymind is a private, cross-platform place to save what you like, with no folders and no organising. Shelf is a local-first memory layer for the Mac, built around understanding what you saved and bringing it back with its context.
01 · The difference
Same problem. Different product.
mymind
Private visual bookmarking
- Save anything.
- No folders.
- No tags.
- Kept private.
- Search when you need it.
Shelf
Personal memory
- Save things.
- Forget about them.
- Let Shelf understand them.
- Find them again.
- Rediscover them later.
02 · mymind
What is mymind?
mymind presents itself as a private space for everything you want to remember: images, links, quotes, notes and articles, saved without folders, tags or organising, with search doing the retrieval.
It's deliberately quiet software, and the closest thing to Shelf in spirit. The difference is where it lives and how far the understanding goes.
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 | mymind | Shelf |
|---|---|---|
| Category | ||
| Core idea | A private, unorganised place to save what you like | A memory layer that remembers what you saved |
| Primary use | Saving and browsing what inspires you | Saving, then finding again |
| Platform | Cross-platform, with web and mobile access | Native macOS 14 and later, Apple Silicon and Intel |
| Memory and retrieval | ||
| Personal memory | Close: a private mind for saved things | The whole product |
| Semantic search | Search is central to the product | Full-text and semantic search, on device |
| Contextual relationships | Not publicly detailed as a graph of connections | Connections between saves, with visible evidence |
| Visual retrieval | Strong visual presentation of saves | Browse and search visually by what a thing looked like |
| Rediscovery | Serendipitous resurfacing is part of the product | Older saves resurface when they become relevant |
| Long-term accumulation | Grows as you save | Gets more useful the longer you keep saving |
| What you put in | ||
| Screenshots | Images are first-class | First-class, with text read out of the image |
| Bookmarks and web references | First-class | First-class, saved with their content |
| Notes | Supported | Quick notes, kept alongside everything else |
| Files and PDFs | Not the focus | PDFs and documents, read and indexed locally |
| Effort | ||
| Setup before it's useful | None, by design | None. Save something and it works |
| Filing and tagging | Deliberately absent | Optional. Meaning does the grouping |
| Maintenance | Deliberately minimal | Nothing to prune, rename or reorganise |
| Architecture | ||
| Local-first | Cloud-based, with a stated privacy commitment | Library and index stay on your Mac |
| Privacy model | Private by policy, governed by mymind's 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 |
| Export | Available per mymind's own terms | Export your library, plus encrypted local backups |
Shelf rows describe what Shelf does today. mymind rows describe only what mymind publicly presents about itself. Where a product does not focus on something, that is a choice, not a defect.
Category
- Core idea
mymindA private, unorganised place to save what you like
ShelfA memory layer that remembers what you saved
- Primary use
mymindSaving and browsing what inspires you
ShelfSaving, then finding again
- Platform
mymindCross-platform, with web and mobile access
ShelfNative macOS 14 and later, Apple Silicon and Intel
Memory and retrieval
- Personal memory
mymindClose: a private mind for saved things
ShelfThe whole product
- Semantic search
mymindSearch is central to the product
ShelfFull-text and semantic search, on device
- Contextual relationships
mymindNot publicly detailed as a graph of connections
ShelfConnections between saves, with visible evidence
- Visual retrieval
mymindStrong visual presentation of saves
ShelfBrowse and search visually by what a thing looked like
- Rediscovery
mymindSerendipitous resurfacing is part of the product
ShelfOlder saves resurface when they become relevant
- Long-term accumulation
mymindGrows as you save
ShelfGets more useful the longer you keep saving
What you put in
- Screenshots
mymindImages are first-class
ShelfFirst-class, with text read out of the image
- Bookmarks and web references
mymindFirst-class
ShelfFirst-class, saved with their content
- Notes
mymindSupported
ShelfQuick notes, kept alongside everything else
- Files and PDFs
mymindNot the focus
ShelfPDFs and documents, read and indexed locally
Effort
- Setup before it's useful
mymindNone, by design
ShelfNone. Save something and it works
- Filing and tagging
mymindDeliberately absent
ShelfOptional. Meaning does the grouping
- Maintenance
mymindDeliberately minimal
ShelfNothing to prune, rename or reorganise
Architecture
- Local-first
mymindCloud-based, with a stated privacy commitment
ShelfLibrary and index stay on your Mac
- Privacy model
mymindPrivate by policy, governed by mymind's terms
ShelfNothing to sync, because there is no sync server
- Account requirement
mymindAn account is required
ShelfNo account
- Offline behaviour
mymindBuilt around being online
ShelfCapture, understanding and search work offline
- Export
mymindAvailable per mymind's own terms
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 · mymind
Where mymind makes more sense.
mymind is the broader-reach product, and for some people that's the right trade.
- You want the same library on iPhone, iPad and the web, not only a Mac.
- You want a beautifully presented visual feed to browse for pleasure.
- You want saving from a phone to be as easy as saving from a laptop.
- You'd rather a hosted service handled everything than run it on your own machine.
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 mymind if
You want a private, cross-device place to save what you like, and browsing it is part of the point.
Choose Shelf if
You want a personal memory layer for the things you save on your Mac.
If your problem is “I want somewhere lovely to keep things”, mymind may be the better fit. If your problem is “I need my Mac to remember this for me”, Shelf is built for you.
08 · In practice
Three ordinary moments.
Scenario 01
“I saved a colour palette last spring.”
- mymind
- You search your mind and browse the visual results.
- Shelf
- You describe the palette. Shelf returns it along with the article you read that week and the note you wrote about it.
Scenario 02
“I'm on a train with no signal.”
- mymind
- You need a connection to reach a cloud library.
- Shelf
- Your library is on the Mac. Search, OCR and summaries keep working offline.
Scenario 03
“Why did I save this?”
- mymind
- You look at the save and remember, or you don't.
- Shelf
- Shelf shows what you saved around it and why it thinks the pieces belong together.
mymind helps you keep what you like.
Shelf helps you remember what you've seen.
One is a private collection.
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 a mymind alternative?
- For Mac users who want the same no-filing feeling with local storage and deeper understanding of each save, yes. If you need iPhone and web access today, mymind covers ground Shelf doesn't.
- Does Shelf sync across devices like mymind?
- No. Shelf is deliberately single-machine: your library lives on your Mac, with no sync server holding a copy.
- 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.