CaptureDesk for Windows

A research archive that runs on your own PC and opens in your web browser. Give it a web address and it keeps the page, the readable text and a full-page screenshot taken with a real browser. Give it a document, an image, or an audio or video file and it keeps the original and reads or transcribes it. The AI writes a detailed summary, key points, 15 to 40 keywords, the people, organizations, places and dates mentioned, and a note on whether the material can be checked. Everything is stored in a folder you choose, so a folder inside Dropbox or OneDrive is backed up for you.

Download

Install version 1.1.0

1. Download CaptureDesk-Setup-1.1.0.exe and double-click it. If Windows SmartScreen says Windows protected your PC, click More info, then Run anyway. Click Yes when Windows asks for permission, then click through the installer.
2. Start CaptureDesk from the Desktop icon or the Start menu, then continue with step 3 below. (Without the installer: download the zip, right-click it, choose Extract All, and extract it to a folder you will keep, for example Documents\CaptureDesk. (If you downloaded the .exe by itself, just put it in that folder.)
3. Double-click CaptureDesk.exe. The program is not code-signed, so the first time Windows SmartScreen may say Windows protected your PC. Click More info, then Run anyway.
4. Your browser opens at http://127.0.0.1:8765/. A small window also opens and minimizes itself; that window is CaptureDesk running. Close it to stop the app.
5. Go to Settings in the left menu. Paste your Anthropic key (and a Deepgram key for audio and video), choose the archive folder, and press Save settings. Changes apply at once. If screenshots say no browser was found, put the full path to msedge.exe or chrome.exe in the browser box on the same page.
6. For a shortcut, right-click CaptureDesk.exe and choose Send to, Desktop (create shortcut), or Pin to Start. Double-clicking it again while it is already running just opens the page.

Where things go: settings and keys are saved in %APPDATA%\CaptureDesk\config.json (or in a config.json beside the program, if you put one there). The archive goes to Documents\CaptureDesk unless you choose another folder. Updating: replace CaptureDesk.exe with the newer one; settings and archive stay. Removing: delete the program; your archive folder stays unless you delete it too.

Moving from 1.0.0: stop 1.0.0 (close its black window), start 1.1.0, enter your keys on Settings, and point the archive folder at the one 1.0.0 was using. Everything already captured shows up. Both versions use port 8765, so run only one at a time.

Install version 1.0.0

1. Install Python 3.10 or newer from python.org. On the first installer screen tick Add python.exe to PATH.
2. Right-click the zip, choose Extract All, and extract it to a folder you will keep, for example Documents\CaptureDesk. Do not run it from inside the zip viewer.
3. Double-click Start-CaptureDesk.bat. The first start takes a few minutes: it makes a private Python environment in that folder, installs the packages and downloads the headless browser used for screenshots. If Windows SmartScreen warns about the file, click More info, then Run anyway.
4. Your browser opens at http://127.0.0.1:8765/. Go to Settings in the left menu, paste your Anthropic key (and Deepgram key for audio and video), choose the archive folder, and press Save settings. Changes apply at once.
5. Next time, just double-click Start-CaptureDesk.bat again. Closing its black window stops the app. You can right-click the .bat file and choose Send to, Desktop (create shortcut) for a desktop shortcut.

Updating: extract the newer zip over the same folder. Your config.json (settings and keys) and your archive folder are not in the zip, so they stay. Removing: delete the program folder. Your archive folder is separate and stays unless you delete it too.

Get your keys

• Anthropic (summaries and keywords): console.anthropic.com, then API Keys. Add credit to the account. A typical web page costs about 3 cents to summarize.
• Deepgram (audio and video transcription): console.deepgram.com.
• OpenAI (optional fallback for transcription, files under 25 MB): platform.openai.com.

Saved keys are shown on the Settings page only as their last four characters. Use Clear a key to remove one.

Using it

• Capture: paste a web address, drop files (several at once), or paste text. Add tags and notes if you like. Untick the AI box to store something with no AI cost.
• Search: every word must match somewhere in the title, keywords, names, summary, notes or tags. Quote a phrase to match it whole. Tick "full stored text" to search inside the captured text too.
• Manage: tick items and press Delete selected, or use Edit, AI again and Delete on each row. Deleted items go to the Trash (link at the top of Manage) and can be restored.
• Push to the web archive: if you have a Journal Tools account with AI access, put an AI token on the Settings page and use the button on any item page to copy it to the web version.

What it needs

• Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, and an internet connection.
• Version 1.1.0: Microsoft Edge (built into Windows) or Google Chrome, for screenshots. Without either, pages are still saved as text, with no screenshot.
• Version 1.0.0: Python 3.10 or newer.
• Optional: ffmpeg on the PATH, for video thumbnails and faster transcription of long videos.
• No administrator rights and no account with this website.

Good to know

• The app listens only on 127.0.0.1, your own computer.
• Each capture is a folder with the original file, the screenshot, the text, and a meta.json record, plus one index.json for search. You can back up or move the archive folder like any other folder.
• AI summaries can be wrong. Check any claim against the original before you publish it.

There is also a web version of CaptureDesk for Journal Tools staff. It is reached from the management page, not from this site.