Archive position — measured, not model output
0 likes on Devpost
2,264 of the 7,856 archived projects have more likes, and 5,592 share exactly 0 — so this project's #7,640 place in the like-ranked listing is a tie-break inside that group, not a ranking.
Projects (log scale)
Likes on Devpost. ▲ marks this project's group.
Show the figures
| Likes | Projects | Share of archive |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 5,592 | 71.2% |
| 1 | 1,758 | 22.4% |
| 2 | 285 | 3.6% |
| 3–4 | 132 | 1.7% |
| 5–9 | 75 | 1.0% |
| 10+ | 14 | 0.2% |
Executive Summary
What the company appears to be
The project described as watch me if you can is a self-reported personal productivity tool for macOS. The author states it functions as a "private memory layer" for the computer, capturing foreground window changes, redacting sensitive content, and structuring observations into an encrypted timeline. It integrates with Codex to enable search and recovery of context, and includes focus-session features that intervene when sustained distraction is detected.
What changed
The author reports building this tool as a personal solution to manage work across multiple projects and tools without manual handoffs or loss of context. The system was designed around the existing Codex engineering loop, using local inference (Moondream 2) and macOS Vision for privacy-sensitive capture.
Single most important open question
Is there any evidence of external usage, adoption, or traction beyond the author’s own use? The description makes no claims about customers, revenue, or product-market fit beyond personal utility.
What The Product Actually Is
The description states that watch me if you can is a macOS application built with Python and local AI models (Moondream 2), using macOS Vision for OCR redaction. It captures foreground window changes, structures them into an encrypted timeline, and allows retrieval via Codex through a local MCP server.
- The system observes only changed foreground windows.
- It excludes certain apps, private browser windows, and secure fields before capture.
- Sensitive information is removed with local OCR.
- Observations are stored in an encrypted append-only ledger with exact and semantic search capabilities.
- A menu-bar app provides controls; a dormant LaunchAgent ensures stable macOS permissions.
Inference The product appears to be a personal productivity tool, not a commercial offering. It is built for the author’s own use, not for distribution or monetization.
Positioning & Claim Evolution
The description states that the author built watch me if you can as a private memory layer for their computer, aiming to preserve context behind work so they can switch between projects without manual handoffs and remain accountable when working.
- It is positioned as a contextual continuity tool, not an AI agent or task manager.
- The system is described as non-invasive, never blocking apps or typing for the user.
- It integrates with Codex to make memory useful, but does not replace it.
- The author emphasizes that it’s built around existing tools (Codex) rather than replacing them.
Inference The positioning reflects a personal tool for developers or researchers, not a commercial product. The claim of “accountability” and “context preservation” is framed as personal utility, not market demand.
Target Customer & ICP
The description does not state any specific customer base beyond the author’s own use case.
- The system is built for individuals working across multiple tools, research, code, conversations, documents, meetings.
- It targets users who are already using Codex or similar AI engineering loops.
- The author notes that it works around the Codex engineering loop, suggesting a niche audience of developers or technical professionals.
Inference The ICP is likely technical professionals or researchers who use AI tools like Codex and manage complex, multi-project workflows. No evidence of broader customer segments or personas.
Business Model & Pricing Evidence
There is no evidence of any business model or pricing structure in the description.
- The author states that watch me if you can was built for personal use.
- It is described as a self-hosted, local application, not a SaaS or subscription product.
- No mention of monetization, licensing, or distribution channels.
Inference There is no evidence of a business model. The tool appears to be a personal prototype, not a commercial offering.
Technical & Delivery Signals
The author reports building watch me if you can using:
- Python (managed with uv)
- macOS Vision for OCR redaction
- Moondream 2 for local visual understanding
- Codex as reasoning backend
- pyobjc for accessibility and foreground window capture
- AES-GCM encryption with macOS Keychain
Key technical features
- Encrypted timeline of observations
- Focus session detection with sustained distraction thresholds
- Local inference with offline model loading
- MCP server for Codex integration
- Menu-bar app and LaunchAgent for control and stability
Inference The system is highly technical, built for macOS, and designed with privacy and local processing as core principles. It shows a strong understanding of macOS permissions, AI inference, and data security.
Traction & Maturity Signals
The description makes no claims about external traction or adoption.
- The author states it works on a real Mac and passes 82 automated tests.
- It is described as a personal project, not a product for others.
- No mention of users, customers, or usage metrics beyond the author’s own experience.
Inference There is no evidence of traction or adoption. The tool appears to be a prototype or personal experiment, not a mature product with market validation.
Competitive Context
The description does not reference any competitors or similar products.
- It is described as a personal solution to a problem the author faced.
- No mention of existing tools for context preservation, memory layers, or focus management.
- The integration with Codex suggests it’s tailored to a specific ecosystem, not a general-purpose market.
Inference There is no evidence of competitive analysis or market positioning. The tool appears to be unique in its approach, but without external validation or comparison to existing solutions.
Key Risks & Red Flags
- No commercialization or monetization strategy: The tool is personal, not a product.
- No external users or feedback: No evidence of traction, adoption, or customer validation.
- Highly technical and niche: Likely only useful to developers or researchers using Codex.
- Self-reported only: All claims are unverified; no third-party data or metrics.
Inference The biggest risk is that this is a personal prototype, not a scalable or market-ready product. It lacks any commercial due-diligence signals.
Diligence Questions To Ask The Founders
- What is the actual scope of your personal use case? Is it a general solution or specific to your workflow?
- Have you shared this with others, and if so, what feedback did you get?
- Are there any plans for broader distribution or monetization?
- How do you plan to scale beyond macOS or support other platforms?
- What are the technical limitations of local inference that you’ve encountered?
- Do you have a long-term vision for how this might evolve into a product, or is it purely personal?
Investment/Partnership Verdict
Not evidenced.
The description states that watch me if you can is a personal project, built for the author’s own use and not intended as a commercial offering. There is no evidence of:
- Revenue
- Customers
- Traction
- Market demand
- Product-market fit
- Commercialization strategy
Inference This is a self-reported personal prototype, not a product ready for investment or partnership. It may be an interesting technical experiment, but it does not meet the criteria for due-diligence evaluation as a commercial opportunity.
Source
Submitted to the OpenAI 2026 hackathon on Devpost. Project home on DevPost.
The analysis above was generated by a language model from the project's own one-line description. It is not independent research and contains no verified traction, revenue or customer data.
