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cloud archive encrypts your old screenpipe data and uploads it to the cloud, then deletes the local copy to free disk space. it uses the same zero-knowledge encryption as cloud sync — we cannot read your data.

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how it works

1

set a retention period

choose how many days of data to keep locally (7, 14, 30, 60, or 90 days). data older than this will be archived.
2

data is encrypted on your device

your token is used to derive an encryption key locally using argon2id. data is encrypted with chacha20-poly1305 before upload — the same encryption used by cloud sync.
3

encrypted data is uploaded in chunks

screenpipe uploads data in small batches (up to 500 records at a time) every 5 minutes. this includes screen captures, ocr text, audio transcriptions, accessibility data, and ui events.
4

local data is cleaned up

after each chunk is confirmed uploaded, the corresponding local data and media files are deleted to free disk space.

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what gets archived

screen captures

frame metadata, app names, window titles, browser urls

ocr text

extracted text from screen recordings

audio transcriptions

transcribed speech with speaker and device info

accessibility data

ui text captured via accessibility apis

ui events

keyboard and mouse activity metadata

media files

orphaned video/audio files are cleaned up after upload

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enabling cloud archive

  1. open settings → cloud archive
  2. select your retention period (how many days to keep locally)
  3. toggle enable cloud archive
you can also trigger an immediate archive run by clicking archive now in the status card.

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encryption details

cloud archive reuses the same SyncManager and encryption pipeline as cloud sync:
  • key derivation: argon2id with a password derived from your auth token
  • cipher: chacha20-poly1305 (authenticated encryption)
  • zero-knowledge: the encryption key never leaves your device
if you already have cloud sync enabled, archive uses the exact same encryption key to avoid any conflicts.

view archive source code

review the rust implementation of cloud archive

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watermark-based tracking

instead of marking individual records as uploaded, cloud archive uses a single watermark timestamp. all data before the watermark has been securely uploaded and can be safely deleted locally. this is simpler and more efficient than per-record tracking — one timestamp tells the system exactly where it left off, even if the app restarts.

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storage & limits

your cloud storage usage is shown in the archive status card. storage limits depend on your screenpipe pro plan.

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important notes

archived data is currently upload-only. download/restore is not yet available — local data older than your retention period will be permanently deleted from your device after upload.
cloud archive requires a screenpipe pro subscription. the archive process runs automatically in the background every 5 minutes when enabled.
questions? join our discord.