Everywhere: The Context-Aware AI That Sees Your Screen
Everywhere: The Context-Aware AI That Sees Your Screen
Stop copying, pasting, and switching windows forever. There's a hidden productivity weapon that top developers are quietly adopting—and it's about to make your old AI workflow feel like dial-up internet.
Imagine this: You're staring at a cryptic error message at 2 AM. Your usual routine? Screenshot. Crop. Open browser. Navigate to ChatGPT. Paste. Type "what does this mean?" Wait. Switch back. Try the fix. Repeat.
What if that entire ritual simply disappeared?
Meet Everywhere—the context-aware AI assistant that literally sees what's on your screen and responds intelligently without you lifting more than a finger. No screenshots. No copy-paste gymnastics. No context switching. Just press a shortcut, and AI help materializes exactly where you need it, understanding your current situation automatically.
This isn't another chatbot wrapper. This is a fundamental reimagining of how humans interact with artificial intelligence—one that respects your flow state instead of constantly interrupting it. And developers are taking notice fast.
What Is Everywhere?
Everywhere is an interactive, context-aware AI assistant for your desktop, built with a sleek modern UI and powerful integrated functionality. Created by DearVa/Sylinko, this open-source project has rapidly gained traction across developer communities, earning featured spots on Product Hunt, HelloGitHub, and Trendshift.
Unlike traditional AI tools that live in browser tabs or require manual context feeding, Everywhere instantly perceives and understands anything on your screen through deep integration with accessibility APIs and UI automation technologies. The application accurately extracts active structured environment data across a huge variety of software with remarkably low intrusion.
Built on .NET 10 and Avalonia UI, Everywhere represents a deliberate rejection of "vibe coding" and rushed agile piling. The creators emphasize software performance, code quality, and security—every line is carefully written and meticulously polished. This commitment to core quality shows in the application's snappy performance and reliable behavior across diverse software ecosystems.
The project's momentum is undeniable. With active Discord and QQ communities, comprehensive internationalization support for 10+ languages, and a rapidly evolving feature set, Everywhere is positioning itself as the definitive desktop AI assistant for knowledge workers who refuse to compromise on workflow efficiency.
Key Features That Separate Everywhere from the Pack
Everywhere isn't just another AI wrapper with a hotkey. Its technical architecture reveals genuinely innovative approaches to contextual computing:
🧠 True Context Awareness Through Accessibility APIs
Most "context-aware" tools simply grab a screenshot and send it to a vision model. Everywhere goes deeper. By leveraging underlying accessibility APIs and UI automation technologies, it extracts structured environment data—not just pixels. This means it understands UI hierarchies, text content, and application states with precision that pure vision approaches can't match.
⚡ Scenario Invocation & Strategy Engine
Here's where things get genuinely clever. Everywhere's strategy engine (currently in active development) recognizes what you're doing and preemptively offers relevant actions. Previously, using LLMs required: select → copy → switch to AI window → paste → manually type your intention. Everywhere collapses this to: press shortcut → get contextual help. The engine pushes shortcut execution strategies tailored to your exact context without requiring you to explain your situation.
🤖 Multi-LLM Flexibility Without Lock-in
Everywhere refuses to trap you in a single provider ecosystem:
- Everywhere Cloud Service – optimized managed option
- OpenAI (GPT-4, GPT-4o, etc.)
- Anthropic Claude – for nuanced reasoning tasks
- Google Gemini – multimodal capabilities
- DeepSeek – cost-efficient high performance
- Moonshot/Kimi – long-context excellence
- MiniMax – emerging competitive models
- Ollama local deployment – complete privacy, zero latency
- Custom API endpoints – bring your own infrastructure
🛠️ Powerful Agent System
Beyond simple chat, Everywhere deploys specialized agents:
- Web Browser agent – search, navigate, extract information
- Sub-agent dispatch – delegate complex multi-step tasks
- Local File System agent – read, write, organize your files
- Terminal Script Execution – run commands directly
- MCP (Model Context Protocol) Tools – extensible tool ecosystem
- Everything Fast Search (Windows) – instant file discovery
- Integrated System Apps (macOS) – native OS integration
🫧 Seamless Interaction Design
- Frosted glass modern UI – visually stunning, distraction-free
- Intelligent context awareness – automatic situation detection
- Global system hotkeys – invoke from anywhere, instantly
- Text selection interaction – work with highlighted content
- Rich Markdown and math formula rendering – beautiful output formatting
Real-World Use Cases Where Everywhere Dominates
🩺 The 2 AM Error Message Crisis
You're debugging production. A stack trace floods your terminal. Old way: panic, screenshot, context-switch to browser, lose your train of thought. Everywhere way: Press your shortcut next to the error, type "What is this error? How to solve it?" Everywhere captures the message context in place and delivers an accurate solution without you ever leaving your debugging flow.
📰 Technical Documentation Triage
Researching a new API? The documentation is 15,000 words of dense specification. Old way: read everything, take notes, synthesize mentally. Everywhere way: Invoke over the webpage, ask "Give me a short summary of the authentication flow." Instant extraction of relevant details. Your comprehension time drops from 45 minutes to 90 seconds.
🌐 Foreign Language Research Without Friction
Encounter technical literature in Japanese, German, or Russian. Old way: copy text, open translation tool, paste, lose formatting, miss context. Everywhere way: Highlight the text or simply invoke against it, say "Translate to English preserving technical terms." Immediate, contextually-aware translation without secondary tools.
✉️ Communication Polish Under Pressure
Drafting a critical email to leadership, but your tone sounds tentative. Old way: second-guess yourself, rewrite five times, still uncertain. Everywhere way: Invoke over your draft, request "Make this email more professional and assertive." Your casual text transforms into polished, business-ready communication—instantly, without leaving your email client.
❔ Information Verification on the Fly
Reading a controversial technical claim on social media or a blog. Old way: open new tabs, search manually, evaluate sources, form judgment. Everywhere way: Select the claim, invoke Everywhere, ask "Is this true? What do authoritative sources say?" Everywhere searches, verifies, and reports back with sourced analysis.
Step-by-Step Installation & Setup Guide
Getting Everywhere running takes minutes, not hours. Here's the complete process:
System Requirements
| Platform | Minimum Requirements |
|---|---|
| Windows | Windows 10 (build 10.0.19041.0) |
| macOS | Monterey 12.0 or later |
| Linux | 🚧 In active development |
Download & Install
💡 Pro Tip: Visit the official download page for the latest stable builds rather than building from source.
Windows Installation:
# Option 1: Full installer (Recommended)
# Download: Everywhere-Windows-x64-Setup-vx.x.x.exe
# Run the wizard—standard Windows installation
# Option 2: Portable version
# Download: Everywhere-Windows-x64-vx.x.x.zip
# Extract to any location—no installation required
# Perfect for work machines with restricted installer permissions
macOS Installation:
# For Apple Silicon Macs (M1, M2, M3, M4)
# Download: Everywhere-macOS-arm64-vx.x.x.pkg
# Double-click and follow installer prompts
# For Intel Macs
# Download: Everywhere-macOS-x64-vx.x.x.pkg
# Same installation process
Initial Configuration
After installation, you'll need to configure your preferred LLM provider:
- Launch Everywhere – it will appear in your system tray
- Open Settings – right-click the tray icon or use your configured shortcut
- Add API credentials for your chosen provider(s):
- Navigate to Settings → Models → Add Provider
- Select your provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.)
- Enter your API key
- Configure default model preferences
- Set your global hotkey – default is typically
Alt + Spaceor similar; customize to your preference - Test invocation – press your hotkey anywhere to verify the frosted glass overlay appears
Community & Support Resources
Stuck? The Everywhere community is active and welcoming:
- 📖 Official Documentation: https://everywhere.sylinko.com
- 👾 Discord Community: Join for real-time support
- 💬 Chinese User Group: QQ Group for Mandarin speakers
REAL Code Examples: How Everywhere's Architecture Works
While Everywhere is primarily a compiled desktop application, understanding its configuration and extensibility reveals its power. Here are practical patterns drawn from the project's documentation and architecture:
1. MCP Tool Configuration for Extended Capabilities
Everywhere supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), allowing you to extend its capabilities with custom tools. Here's how you might configure a local file system MCP server:
{
"mcpServers": {
"filesystem": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
"/path/to/your/project",
"/another/allowed/directory"
],
"env": {
// Optional environment variables for the server process
"NODE_ENV": "production"
}
},
"web-search": {
"command": "python",
"args": [
"-m",
"mcp_server_web_search"
],
// Everywhere will automatically discover available tools
// from each configured MCP server
}
}
}
What's happening here: Everywhere launches these MCP servers as subprocesses and communicates via stdio using the Model Context Protocol. The filesystem server exposes directory operations as structured tools the AI can invoke. The web-search server enables real-time information retrieval. Everywhere's strategy engine automatically routes relevant queries to appropriate MCP tools—no manual tool selection required.
2. Custom API Endpoint Configuration for Self-Hosted Models
Running Ollama locally or using a corporate LLM proxy? Everywhere's flexible configuration handles it:
{
"providers": [
{
"name": "Local Ollama",
"type": "openai-compatible",
"baseUrl": "http://localhost:11434/v1",
"apiKey": "ollama",
// Ollama doesn't require authentication, but the field is required
"models": [
{
"id": "llama3.2",
"displayName": "Llama 3.2 (Local)",
"contextWindow": 128000,
"supportsVision": false
},
{
"id": "llava",
"displayName": "LLaVA (Local Vision)",
"contextWindow": 4096,
"supportsVision": true
// Critical for screen understanding capabilities
}
],
"defaultModel": "llama3.2"
},
{
"name": "Corporate Proxy",
"type": "openai-compatible",
"baseUrl": "https://llm-proxy.yourcompany.com/v1",
"apiKey": "${CORP_API_KEY}",
// Environment variable substitution supported
"models": [
{
"id": "gpt-4o",
"displayName": "GPT-4o (Enterprise)",
"contextWindow": 128000,
"supportsVision": true
}
]
}
]
}
Key insight: The supportsVision flag is crucial. When true, Everywhere sends screen context as image data to that model. For local deployment, LLaVA or similar multimodal models enable full context-aware functionality without cloud dependency. The openai-compatible type means any API following OpenAI's specification works—massive flexibility.
3. Strategy Engine Configuration (Advanced Preview)
The strategy engine represents Everywhere's most innovative feature. While full configuration schemas are evolving, the architectural intent is clear from project documentation:
{
"strategies": {
"default": {
// Fallback when no specific strategy matches
"behavior": "ask_clarify",
"promptTemplate": "The user has invoked me in this context: {{context.appName}}. They said: '{{userInput}}'. Help them based on what you see."
},
"terminal": {
// When active window is a terminal emulator
"match": {
"appNames": ["WindowsTerminal", "iTerm2", "Terminal", "WezTerm"],
"windowTitlePatterns": ["PowerShell", "bash", "zsh"]
},
"behavior": "immediate_execute",
"promptTemplate": "The user is in a terminal. The visible output shows: {{context.screenText}}. They asked: '{{userInput}}'. Provide a command or explanation directly applicable to their terminal session.",
"tools": ["terminal_execution", "web_search"]
// Automatically enable relevant tools for this context
},
"browser": {
// When user is in a web browser
"match": {
"appNames": ["Chrome", "Firefox", "Safari", "Edge"]
},
"behavior": "summarize_or_search",
"promptTemplate": "The user is viewing: {{context.browserUrl}}. Page title: {{context.windowTitle}}. Visible content: {{context.screenText}}. Their request: '{{userInput}}'. Summarize, fact-check, or help navigate as appropriate.",
"tools": ["web_browser", "web_search"]
},
"ide": {
// When coding in an IDE
"match": {
"appNames": ["Code", "Visual Studio", "Rider", "IntelliJ IDEA"]
},
"behavior": "code_assist",
"promptTemplate": "The user is coding in {{context.appName}}. Current file context (from accessibility APIs): {{context.codeStructure}}. Their request: '{{userInput}}'. Provide code-focused assistance.",
"tools": ["filesystem", "web_search", "terminal_execution"]
}
}
}
Why this matters: This isn't simple window title matching. Everywhere's accessibility API integration extracts codeStructure, screenText, and other structured data. The strategy engine then selects behavior patterns, prompt templates, and available tools automatically. The user never needs to say "I'm coding" or "I'm browsing"—Everywhere knows and adapts.
Advanced Usage & Best Practices
🔒 Privacy-First Configuration
For sensitive work environments, combine Ollama local deployment with selective cloud fallback:
{
"privacyMode": {
"enabled": true,
"localOnlyApps": ["Terminal", "1Password", "Slack"],
// Never send screen context from these apps to cloud
"alwaysLocalModels": ["llama3.2", "mistral"]
}
}
⚡ Hotkey Optimization
Avoid conflicts with IDE shortcuts:
- Windows/Linux:
Ctrl + Shift + SpaceorAlt + \ - macOS:
Cmd + Shift + SpaceorHyper key(Caps Lock remapped via Karabiner)
🧠 MCP Ecosystem Expansion
The real power users are building custom MCP servers for their specific workflows:
- Database query MCP – "Show me recent user signups from the dev database"
- Git MCP – "What commits are in this branch that aren't in main?"
- Jira/Linear MCP – "Create a bug ticket from this error I'm seeing"
Everywhere's architecture makes these integrations feel native, not bolted-on.
Everywhere vs. The Competition
| Feature | Everywhere | ChatGPT Desktop | Claude App | Raycast AI | Pieces |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| True screen context awareness | ✅ Deep accessibility APIs | ⚠️ Basic screenshot | ⚠️ Manual paste only | ❌ None | ⚠️ File-based |
| Multi-LLM support | ✅ 8+ providers + local | ❌ OpenAI only | ❌ Anthropic only | ⚠️ Limited | ⚠️ Limited |
| MCP tool ecosystem | ✅ Native integration | ❌ No | ❌ No | ⚠️ Extensions | ❌ No |
| Strategy engine | 🚧 Active development | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Open source | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | ⚠️ Partial |
| Local deployment | ✅ Ollama native | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | ⚠️ Limited |
| Cross-platform | ✅ Win/macOS, Linux soon | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ macOS only | ✅ Yes |
| Privacy control | ✅ Granular per-app | ⚠️ Cloud-only | ⚠️ Cloud-only | ⚠️ Cloud | ⚠️ Cloud |
The verdict: Everywhere is the only option combining true context awareness, multi-LLM flexibility, MCP extensibility, and open-source transparency. The strategy engine (in development) will further distance it from competitors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Everywhere free to use?
Everywhere itself is free and open-source under the Business Source License 1.1. However, you'll need API keys for cloud LLM providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.) which have their own costs. Local deployment via Ollama is completely free.
Does Everywhere send all my screen data to the cloud?
No. Screen context is only sent to your configured LLM provider when you actively invoke Everywhere and submit a query. You can configure local-only mode for sensitive applications, and Ollama deployment keeps everything on your machine.
How does Everywhere compare to macOS Apple Intelligence or Windows Copilot?
System AI features are locked to single ecosystems and providers. Everywhere works across platforms, supports multiple LLMs, offers deeper context extraction, and provides MCP extensibility that system tools can't match.
Can I use Everywhere for commercial work?
Yes. The Business Source License allows commercial use. Review the LICENSE file for specific terms regarding competitive use restrictions.
Is Linux support coming?
🚧 Linux support is actively in development. The .NET 10 and Avalonia foundation provides strong cross-platform capabilities. Follow the GitHub repository for updates.
How do I build from source?
Everywhere requires .NET 10 SDK and Avalonia development tools. See the Build Guide for complete environment setup and compilation instructions.
What makes "context awareness" different from just taking screenshots?
Screenshots are dumb pixels. Everywhere's accessibility API integration extracts structured data: UI element hierarchies, editable text content, window titles, URLs, and application states. This structured context enables more precise, relevant AI responses.
Conclusion: The Future of AI Interaction Is Here
Everywhere represents something rare in today's AI tooling landscape: genuine innovation rather than incremental improvement. The strategy engine architecture, deep accessibility integration, and refusal to accept the status quo of copy-paste AI workflows mark it as a project with serious long-term potential.
Yes, some features remain in development. The Linux port isn't ready. The memory system is coming. But what's already shipping—a context-aware, multi-LLM, MCP-extensible, open-source desktop assistant with real screen intelligence—is already more capable than most paid alternatives.
For developers who value their flow state, who refuse to accept context-switching as inevitable, who want AI that truly understands their work rather than requiring constant explanation—Everywhere isn't just another tool. It's a fundamentally different way of working.
Ready to stop switching windows and start flowing?
👉 Star Everywhere on GitHub and download your platform build from everywhere.sylinko.com. Join the Discord community to shape where this project goes next.
The screen you're staring at right now? It finally has an AI that can truly see it.
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