Single-Click Summaries — Product Spec

Author: Louis / Menelaus (znitchi) Date: Feb 19, 2026 Status: Draft

Problem

Screenpipe records everything you see, say, and hear — but most users never ask the AI anything meaningful. The current empty chat state shows a few auto-suggestions ("What did I do in the last hour?"), but they're small, text-only, and easy to ignore. Users who don't know what to ask just stare at the input box and leave.

Evidence:

• Auto-suggestions exist (via suggestions.rs) but are small text buttons at the bottom of the empty chat
• The PI agent is powerful but requires users to formulate their own prompts
• Daily Summary exists but is limited to timeline view, auto-triggers only at 6 PM, and only covers audio transcriptions
• Menelaus (power user): "A lot of users might not know what to ask but having these auto-suggestions and one-click prompts makes everything a lot easier"

Core tension: Screenpipe collects 2K-13K+ memories per day, but the value is locked behind a blank text box.

Solution

"Single-Click Summaries" — a prompt template library and visual builder that makes screenpipe's value immediately obvious. Instead of a blank chat, users see curated one-click actions that generate structured summaries from their data.

Menelaus calls this an "Enhanced AI Prompt Builder" — consumer-friendly, visually pleasing, accessible to non-technical users.

User Value

Key insight from Menelaus: He mostly uses Time Breakdown, Day Recap, and AI Habits — the ones that answer "what did I actually do?" without requiring the user to remember.

Design

Component 1: Pre-Chat Landing Page

Replaces the current empty chat state. Shows before any conversation is initiated.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                             │
│          [PI icon]                          │
│    How can I help today, {name}?            │
│                                             │
│  ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌────────────────┐
│  │ 📋 Day      │ │ 🏢 Standup  │ │ ✨ Custom      │
│  │ Recap       │ │ Update      │ │ Summary        │
│  │ Today's     │ │ What you    │ │ Custom time,   │
│  │ accomplish- │ │ did, next,  │ │ filters &      │
│  │ ments...    │ │ blockers    │ │ instructions   │
│  └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └────────────────┘
│  ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌────────────────┐
│  │ ❗ Top of   │ │ 🤖 AI      │ │ 🔍 Discover    │
│  │ Mind        │ │ Habits      │ │ Reminders,     │
│  │ Recurring   │ │ AI usage &  │ │ Recaps, and    │
│  │ topics...   │ │ model pref  │ │ More...        │
│  └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └────────────────┘
│                                             │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│  │ Ask about your screen activity...       ││
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Behavior:

• Cards are larger and more prominent than current auto-suggestion chips
• Clicking a card immediately sends the corresponding prompt to PI agent
• "Discover" opens the full library modal (Component 2)
• "Custom Summary" opens the builder modal (Component 3)
• Chat input remains at the bottom — this doesn't block regular usage
• Once a message is sent, the landing page disappears (same as current behavior)

Which 5 cards to feature? Based on Menelaus' usage data:

1. Day Recap (most universal)
2. Standup Update (work context)
3. Custom Summary (power users)
4. What's Top of Mind (reflection)
5. AI Habits (meta-awareness)
6. Discover (gateway to full library)

Component 2: Summary Library Modal ("Discover")

Full library of all templates, opened from the "Discover" card or a menu button.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Single-Click Summaries                    [X]  │
│                                                 │
│  The easiest way to leverage your artificial    │
│  memories. Access a growing library of          │
│  single-click summaries...                      │
│                                                 │
│  ┌──────────────────┐  ┌──────────────────┐     │
│  │ ❗ What's Top of │  │ 🌅 Morning Brief │     │
│  │ Mind             │  │ Everything to    │     │
│  │ Recurring topics │  │ kickstart your   │     │
│  │ ranked by import │  │ day              │     │
│  │    [See action]  │  │    [See action]  │     │
│  └──────────────────┘  └──────────────────┘     │
│  ┌──────────────────┐  ┌──────────────────┐     │
│  │ 🏢 Standup       │  │ ⏱ Time          │     │
│  │ Update           │  │ Breakdown        │     │
│  │ ...              │  │ ...              │     │
│  └──────────────────┘  └──────────────────┘     │
│  ... (2-column grid, all 10 templates)          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Behavior:

• Scrollable 2-column grid of all templates
• Each card has: icon, title, description, "See it in action" link (YouTube demo)
• Clicking a card sends the prompt and closes the modal
• "Custom Summary" card opens the builder (Component 3) instead

Component 3: Custom Summary Builder

Advanced modal for power users. The main differentiator from simple one-click templates.

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ✨ Custom Summary                                  [X]  │
│                                                           │
│  ┌─ Left Panel ──────┐  ┌─ Right Panel ────────────────┐ │
│  │                    │  │                              │ │
│  │ ⏰ Time Period [1] │  │ What should the summary      │ │
│  │                    │  │ focus on?                    │ │
│  │  Last 5 min     9  │  │                              │ │
│  │  Last 30 min   61  │  │ ┌──────────────────────────┐ │ │
│  │  Last 2 hours 479  │  │ │ Type your custom         │ │ │
│  │  ✓ Today    2.6K  │  │ │ instructions for 2.82K   │ │ │
│  │  Past 24h     3K  │  │ │ memories from today...   │ │ │
│  │  Yesterday  1.4K  │  │ │                          │ │ │
│  │  This Week  8.9K  │  │ │                          │ │ │
│  │  Last Week  4.2K  │  │ │                          │ │ │
│  │  This Month 13.1K │  │ │                     0/1K │ │ │
│  │  Last Month       │  │ └──────────────────────────┘ │ │
│  │                    │  │                              │ │
│  │ 📡 Signals    [v] │  │  QUICK TEMPLATES             │ │
│  │ 📱 Apps       [v] │  │  [Status Update]             │ │
│  │ 🌐 Websites   [v] │  │  [Key Decisions]             │ │
│  │                    │  │  [Action Items]              │ │
│  └────────────────────┘  │  [Meeting Prep]              │ │
│                          │  [Blockers]                  │ │
│                          └──────────────────────────────┘ │
│                                                           │
│  Processing 2.82K memories from today                     │
│                        [Save as Template] [✨ Generate]   │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Left Panel — Filters:

• Time Period: Predefined ranges with live memory counts from screenpipe DB
• Signals: Filter by content type (OCR, audio, UI/accessibility) — maps to content_type in search API
• Apps: Multi-select app filter (from recorded apps) — maps to app_name
• Websites: Multi-select website/URL filter — maps to window_name or new browser_url field

Right Panel — Prompt Builder:

• Free-text instructions (1000 char limit)
• Quick template chips that pre-fill the text area
• Placeholder shows memory count for selected time range

Bottom Bar:

• Live count: "Processing X memories from {period}"
• "Save as Template" — saves to user's custom templates (local storage or pipes)
• "Generate Summary" — sends filtered prompt to PI agent

How It Works (Technical Flow)

One-Click Summary Flow

User clicks "Day Recap"
  → Frontend builds prompt: system context + template prompt + time filter
  → Sends to PI agent via sendPiMessage()
  → PI queries /search API with time range + content filters
  → PI generates structured summary
  → Response streams into chat

Custom Summary Flow

User configures filters + instructions
  → Frontend builds search query from filters
  → Pre-fetches memory count: GET /search?count_only=true&start_time=X&end_time=Y
  → On "Generate": sends compound prompt to PI agent
  → Prompt includes: time range, app filter, content type, user instructions
  → PI agent executes search + generates summary
  → Response streams into chat

Memory Count Query

Each time period / filter selection triggers a lightweight count query:

GET /search?start_time={ISO}&end_time={ISO}&app_name={filter}&limit=0&count_only=true

This powers the "2.82K memories from today" indicator. Uses existing search API — may need a count_only param to avoid returning full results.

Prompt Templates

Each template is a structured prompt sent to the PI agent. Templates include:

Day Recap

Analyze my screen and audio recordings from today.
Provide: a one-line summary, top 3 accomplishments,
key moments with timestamps, and any unfinished work.
Format as structured sections.

Standup Update

Based on my recordings from the last 24 hours, generate
a standup update: What I did yesterday, what I'm working
on today (based on recent activity), and any blockers
(meetings that ran over, errors encountered, etc).

Time Breakdown

Analyze my app usage and screen recordings from today.
Break down time by: application, project/topic, and
category (coding, meetings, browsing, writing, communication).
Show percentages and durations.

AI Habits

Search my recordings for AI tool usage: ChatGPT, Claude,
Copilot, Cursor, Gemini, and other AI assistants.
Report: which tools I used, approximate time per tool,
what I used them for, and patterns in my AI usage.

(Full prompt library would be maintained as a JSON/config file)

Edge Cases & Considerations

Data Availability

• New user (no data): Show templates grayed out with "Start recording to unlock summaries" message. Don't show memory counts of 0 — it's discouraging.
• Partial data (OCR only, no audio): Templates that rely on audio (Meeting Prep, Collaboration Patterns) should indicate "Audio recordings not available" and adapt.
• Very old time ranges: "Last Month" with 13K memories — the PI agent may hit token limits. Need to either pre-filter/sample or chunk the query.

Performance

• Memory count queries: Must be fast (<100ms). Current /search returns full results — need lightweight count endpoint or cache layer.
• Large result sets: PI agent's search skill caps at 10 results / 4000 chars. For "Time Breakdown" across a full day, this may be insufficient. Consider: (a) multiple search passes, (b) pre-aggregated stats endpoint, (c) SQL-based aggregation.
• Concurrent requests: User clicks multiple templates quickly — debounce or queue.

Template Quality

• Generic prompts produce generic results. Templates must include specific instructions: "include timestamps", "group by app", "show duration in hours:minutes".
• Hallucination risk: PI agent might fabricate activities not in the data. Templates should include: "Only report activities you can verify from the recordings. If uncertain, say so."
• Formatting consistency: Define expected output format per template (markdown sections, tables, bullet points) so results feel polished.

Custom Summary Builder

• Filter combinatorics: User selects "Last Week" + "Chrome" + "Audio only" — the intersection might be empty. Show live count to set expectations.
• App/website list loading: Must query distinct apps from DB. Existing /search doesn't expose this — may need new endpoint or cache from suggestions.rs activity detection.
• "Save as Template" persistence: Where to store? Options: (a) localStorage — simplest, lost on reinstall, (b) screenpipe DB — survives reinstalls, (c) as a Pipe — enables scheduling.

Pipes Integration

• Louis noted: "I think it would go well with the pipes, which is basically scheduled prompt, so you could easily end a good chat and then wanting to have this kind of summary on schedule"
• "Save as Template" → Create Pipe: User's custom summary config (filters + prompt) could be exported as a pipe.md with a schedule. E.g., "Day Recap at 6 PM every weekday."
• Existing Daily Summary overlap: daily-summary.tsx already generates a summary at 6 PM. This feature supersedes it — more flexible, more templates, user-configurable. Could deprecate the hardcoded daily summary.

UI/UX

• Mobile/small screens: The builder modal is complex (two panels). On narrow windows, stack vertically or collapse filters into a sheet.
• Accessibility: Cards need keyboard navigation, ARIA labels, focus management in modal.
• Dark mode: Menelaus' screenshots show a dark UI — ensure all components respect the existing theme system.
• Animation: Cards should have subtle hover states. Modal should animate in. Loading state during generation should feel polished (current grid-dissolve animation could work).

Privacy

• Sensitive content in summaries: User might generate a "Day Recap" that includes passwords, personal messages, medical info visible on screen. Consider: (a) PII filtering option, (b) warning on first use, (c) summaries stored in chat history only (not exported).
• Shared screens: If someone is screen-sharing when generating a summary, the results could expose private data. No mitigation needed beyond user awareness.

Integration with Existing System

What to Reuse

What to Build New

What to Modify

Success Metrics

• Engagement: % of sessions where user clicks a summary card (vs. typing manually or leaving)
• Completion: % of summary generations that complete (vs. error/timeout)
• Repeat usage: How often users return to the same template
• Custom templates saved: Indicator of power-user adoption
• Time-to-first-value: Time from app open to first AI-generated insight (target: <5 seconds for one-click)

Phased Rollout

Phase 1: Pre-Chat Cards (MVP)

• Replace empty chat state with 5 featured summary cards + Discover
• Templates are hardcoded prompts sent to PI agent
• No custom builder, no library modal yet
• Ship fast, measure engagement

Phase 2: Library + Custom Builder

• Add "Discover" modal with all 10 templates
• Add Custom Summary builder with time/app/website filters
• Memory count queries
• "Save as Template" to localStorage

Phase 3: Pipes Integration

• "Save as Pipe" exports summary config as scheduled pipe
• Pipe results appear in chat or notification
• Deprecate hardcoded daily summary in favor of user-configured Day Recap pipe

Open Questions

1. Template maintenance: Who curates the prompt library? Should users be able to submit templates (community library)?
2. Model dependency: Templates assume PI agent (Claude). Do they work with other models? Should prompts be model-agnostic?
3. Localization: Templates are English-only. Should the prompt library support i18n?
4. Offline: If no internet (local model), do summaries still work? PI agent requires connectivity for cloud models.
5. Quota: Each summary consumes AI tokens. Should there be a daily limit or does existing quota system handle this?