Local files
Index files on your Mac. Original binaries are not stored in Remly's index.
Status: Implemented, not publicly downloadable · Last verified: 31 July 2026
Local file indexing runs in the Mac companion app, and there is no public signed download yet. Everything on this page is implemented and works – it is not something you can set up today.
What leaves your Mac
Original local file binaries are not stored in Remly's tenant index. For folders you opt into cloud sync, what is uploaded is derived data:
- Extracted text chunks
- Embeddings
- Metadata such as filename, path, and modified date
Images are worth understanding separately:
Image pixels leave your Mac for OCR. When Remly extracts text from an image, image pixels may transit /api/image-extract and may be sent to OpenAI for OCR. The text that comes back is then indexed like any other content, and deleted like any other content. See privacy and security.
If you do not want image content processed off-device, keep image-heavy folders Local only.
Local only versus sync to cloud
You choose per folder:
| Local only | Sync to cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Where derived data lives | The app's local database on your Mac | Remly's cloud |
| Searchable from the Mac popover | Yes | Yes |
| Searchable from the web app | No | Yes |
| Usable by Ask | Local Ask only | Yes |
| Reachable over MCP | No | Yes |
| Available on your other devices | No | Yes |
~/Documents, ~/Desktop, and ~/Downloads default to Local only and need an explicit opt-in before anything syncs.
How watching works
The app uses macOS FSEvents rather than polling on a schedule, so new and changed files are picked up within seconds while the app is running. Changes made while the app is closed are caught on the next run.
Supported file types
Text formats, PDFs, and common Office documents are extracted. Images are handled through OCR, which sends the image off-device as described above. Encrypted files cannot be extracted and are skipped.
The exact supported-extension list and per-format size caps for the local indexer are not published yet. They will be documented against the release build rather than estimated.
Searching local and cloud together
Two surfaces:
- The Mac popover queries the local index and your cloud-indexed content at once and merges the results. This is the only place local-only folders are searchable.
- The web Search and Ask pages cover cloud-indexed content. Local folders appear here only if you opted them into sync.
On the Local tier, the Mac app and local indexing are the product; cloud connectors are not included. See Plans and billing.
Deletion
- Local only – a deleted or moved file leaves a local tombstone. It stops appearing in results and can be recovered if the file returns.
- Synced folders – the deletion propagates to the cloud, which purges that item's derived chunks and embeddings.
- Switching a folder to Local only removes its cloud-side derived data.
- Disconnecting Local Files in the web app immediately and permanently removes cloud-synced derived data for every folder you had opted in, with no recovery window. It does not touch the files on your Mac, and other connectors are unaffected.
- Uninstalling the app leaves your files alone. Deleting the app's application-support directory removes the local index.
Text extracted from images follows the same rules as everything else here.
Caps
Local indexing is subject to a daily chunk cap; when you hit it, indexing pauses and resumes in the next window rather than failing. See usage limits.
Related
- The Mac app – permissions, pairing, and troubleshooting
- Privacy and security