Pieces and L2Cache both call themselves developer memory. They get there in opposite ways, and that decides which one fits you.
Pieces runs in the background and "forms memories every 2 seconds" from the app you have in focus and from what you copy, with meeting audio as an opt-in. It turns that into a timeline you can search, ask questions of, and summarise into standups and day recaps.
L2Cache never looks at your screen. It reads the records your developer tools already keep: Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot, Grok Build and Antigravity session files, your shell history, your git commits, your clipboard, and the screenshots and PDFs in folders you pick. It then puts all of it behind one search box and a Today view that shows where you left off.
| L2Cache | Pieces | |
|---|---|---|
| How it captures | Reads agent session files, shell history, git, clipboard, and screenshots/PDFs in folders you choose | Samples the focused app every ~2 seconds, plus clipboard; meeting audio is opt-in |
| Screen recording permission | Not used | Requested for Long-Term Memory |
| Coding-agent history | Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot, Grok Build, Antigravity, read from their own session files* | Whatever appeared on screen while you used them |
| Resume an agent session | Yes, via the provider's CLI* | No |
| Terminal and git history | Yes, searchable alongside everything else | Only what was visible on screen |
| Non-coding work (email, chat, meetings) | Only what you copy or screenshot | Yes, its main strength |
| Summaries | Editable standup and timesheet from recorded activity | Standups, morning briefs, meeting prep, day recaps |
| MCP server | Built in, 12 tools | Yes, "Unlimited MCP" on Pro |
| Where data lives | Local SQLite database on your Mac; local-first, with optional cloud AI you switch on | On-device by default; you can ask Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT or local models |
| Disk space | 35 MB app; database grows with use (116 MB after months of heavy use on our Mac) | 6 GB minimum, 10 GB+ recommended: ~2 GB for PiecesOS plus at least 4 GB for memory data. Local models extra |
| RAM | About 50–300 MB in use, depending on activity; no AI model to load | 8 GB minimum, 16 GB+ recommended; 1–2 GB kept free for PiecesOS |
| Background engine | None; it's one app | PiecesOS runs as a separate background service alongside the desktop app |
| Install | One app from the Mac App Store | Desktop app, which then downloads and connects to PiecesOS; Pieces' support tracker has open reports of that step failing on macOS |
| Platforms | macOS 13+ | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Price | Free download; Pro $19.99 one-time (launch price, regular $29) | Pro $18.99/user/month; Enterprise $22.99; no free plan |
| Trial | 15 days, no card | 7 days, card required |
* Available details and live-continuity features vary by agent. Resume needs the provider's CLI and the original session to still be on your Mac.
This is the difference that matters most. Pieces captures what you see. That is why it can remember a Slack thread, an email or a Google Doc: any app you look at becomes memory. The cost is that it needs Screen Recording permission, and a coding-agent conversation only exists in Pieces as the parts that were visible while you scrolled.
L2Cache captures what your tools write. Claude Code and Codex already save every session as JSONL files in hidden folders; your shell keeps a history file; git keeps commits. L2Cache reads those directly. You get the prompt, the agent's reply, the tool calls and the files it touched as the agent recorded them, even for a session that ran in a terminal tab you never looked at. What you don't get is memory of apps that keep no such record, such as your inbox.
Both apps hand memory back to your agents over MCP, so Claude Code or Cursor can ask "how did we fix this last time?". The difference is what's behind the server.
L2Cache's MCP server answers from parsed agent history: past error resolutions, decisions, recovery points and session summaries, plus clips and screenshots. It also has features Pieces doesn't aim for: one-click resume of a Claude Code or Codex session, a guard that warns before you resume a session whose prompt cache has gone cold (a cold resume can cost 12× to 80× a warm turn, depending on model), and a handoff when you'd be better off starting fresh.
Pieces' MCP server answers from your whole timeline. That is broader: it can bring in the Slack message that explained the bug, which L2Cache never saw.
Both keep their memory on your machine by default, and both can send a question to a cloud model if you choose one. The practical difference is the permission you grant. Pieces needs Screen Recording, so anything on screen, including a password manager or a private message, may pass through its capture unless you exclude it. L2Cache asks for clipboard access and for the folders you pick, flags sensitive clips such as API keys and passwords, and keeps those out of AI processing.
Pieces is really two programs. The desktop app is the window you see; PiecesOS is a background engine that does the capture, OCR, indexing and AI work, and it installs with the app. Pieces' own installation docs ask for 6 GB of storage at minimum and 10 GB or more recommended: about 2 GB for PiecesOS and at least 4 GB for Long-Term Memory data. They also ask for 8 GB of RAM at minimum, 16 GB or more recommended, with 1 GB (cloud mode) to 2 GB (local mode) kept free for the engine.
Running AI on-device adds more. Local models in Pieces come through Ollama, which Pieces doesn't install by default because of its size; Pieces suggests keeping at least 12 GB free before adding Ollama and models, and its staff describe most models as over 3 GB, typically around 5 GB each. Users have also reported high CPU while capture is running, and heavy load right after install while the first index builds; turning off Long-Term Memory is the fix they report most often.
L2Cache is a single 35 MB app with no background engine and no model to download, and it typically uses about 50–300 MB of RAM depending on what it's doing. It doesn't keep screen images, so its database grows only with the text it indexes: on our own Mac, after months of heavy use across agent sessions, terminal, git and clipboard, the database is 116 MB (about 200 MB counting the automatic backup copy). Screenshots and PDFs stay in your own folders; L2Cache stores the text pulled from them. On-device AI uses Apple Intelligence, which is part of macOS, or a local Ollama you already run.
Because Pieces is split in two, the desktop app does nothing until PiecesOS has downloaded, started and connected to it. When that chain breaks, there's no partial mode to fall back on. Pieces' public support tracker on GitHub has macOS reports of each link failing: PiecesOS getting stuck downloading (#1015), the desktop app stuck at "ensure core dependency" after an update (#613, #645), the app unable to connect to PiecesOS (#56, #269), and PiecesOS not responding after a macOS update (#768). Its troubleshooting guide also warns against installing into iCloud Drive or other synced folders, and against installing the wrong build for your chip.
Plenty of people install Pieces without trouble, and every app has bug reports. The structural point stands, though: L2Cache is one Universal app from the Mac App Store, with nothing else to download and no local service to connect to.
Pieces figures are from its PiecesOS manual-installation docs, checked November 13, 2026; its macOS install guide lists lower minimums. L2Cache figures are from the release build on the author's Mac. Your numbers will depend on how much you capture.
Pieces Pro is $18.99 a month per user, or 25% less billed yearly. There is no free plan, and the 7-day trial needs a card. Over a year that is roughly $170 to $230.
L2Cache is free to download with unlimited clipboard history. Pro (agent history, Developer Home, MCP, OCR search and the rest) is a one-time $19.99 at the launch price, regular $29, with a 15-day trial and no card. It's sold through the Mac App Store, so Apple handles purchase and refunds.
If you want one memory for your whole working life, meetings and email included, or you aren't on a Mac, Pieces is the better tool and L2Cache won't replace it.
If you're a Mac developer whose day runs through Claude Code, Codex and a terminal, L2Cache remembers that work in more detail, for a one-off price, without recording your screen. Plenty of people could reasonably run both.
Pieces watches the app in focus and your clipboard, then builds a timeline of everything you do across email, chat, browser and code. L2Cache reads what your developer tools already write down: coding-agent session files, shell history, git, clipboard and the screenshots and PDFs in folders you choose. Pieces is broader; L2Cache goes deeper on coding work and does not record your screen.
Yes. Pieces Pro is $18.99 per user per month (25% less billed yearly) and has no free plan. L2Cache is a free download with unlimited clipboard history, a 15-day Pro trial, and a one-time $19.99 Pro unlock (launch price, regular $29) with no subscription.
Pieces' installation docs ask for 6 GB of storage at minimum and 10 GB or more recommended (about 2 GB for the PiecesOS background engine and at least 4 GB for memory data), plus 8 to 16 GB of RAM. Local AI models add several GB each. L2Cache is a 35 MB app with no background engine or model download, uses about 50–300 MB of RAM, and its database grows with use and was 116 MB after months of heavy use on our Mac.
Pieces is two programs: the desktop app and PiecesOS, a background engine it downloads and connects to. Pieces' GitHub support tracker has macOS reports of PiecesOS failing to download, the app sticking at 'ensure core dependency' after an update, and the app losing its connection to PiecesOS. Pieces' troubleshooting guide suggests updating PiecesOS, installing outside iCloud Drive or other synced folders, and checking you have the right build for your chip. L2Cache is a single Mac App Store app with no separate engine to install.
No. L2Cache is a native Mac app for macOS 13 and later. If you need Windows or Linux, Pieces covers all three.
Yes. Pieces' MCP server gives assistants such as Claude, Cursor and Codex access to your Pieces history. L2Cache has a built-in MCP server with 12 tools for past clips, agent history, recovery points, error resolutions and session summaries, and works with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and Antigravity.
Yes, for supported sessions, as long as the provider's CLI and the original session are still on your Mac. L2Cache opens the resume command in Terminal, Ghostty, Warp or iTerm2. Available details and live-continuity features vary by agent.
Choose Pieces if you want one memory for all your work, including meetings, email and Slack, or you are on Windows or Linux. Choose L2Cache if most of your day is coding with agents on a Mac, you want each agent conversation as written rather than screen snapshots of it, and you prefer paying once.
Free download with unlimited clipboard history. Pro is a one-time $19.99 launch price (regular $29), with no subscription.
Download L2Cache for Mac