# Muse

> Muse is a native Mac app for collecting and organising visual inspiration - images, bookmarks, video and notes - into one private library that lives entirely on your Mac. It is a one-time purchase of $29 with a 30-day full free trial, no account and no cloud, and all of its AI (auto-tagging, text-in-image search, colour search) runs on-device.

## Pages
- [Muse home](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/): what Muse does, its features (one private library for images, links, video and notes; a web clipper; on-device auto-tagging, text-in-image and colour search), pricing ($29 once, 30-day free trial, every future update free), and FAQ.
- [How to Use Muse](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/howto): a guide for after you have installed Muse, in five working demos. Collecting: the Drop Ring (drag and hold Control), the browser clipper and its right-click menu, and screenshots. Finding: search by word, colour name or the text inside a picture, and the Shelf at the screen edge. Every default shortcut is shown, and each lesson steps through itself.
- [Download Muse](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/download): download the app, install it in a minute, and start the free trial or activate a licence key.
- [Chrome Extension](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/muse/hfiofokicdoepbfhfhffnjdinlcfheng): the free companion clipper for Chrome. Right-click any image, link, video or selection, or use the in-page clipper, to save it straight into Muse on your Mac.
- [Privacy Policy](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/privacy): how Muse keeps everything on your device, what the app and the browser clipper touch, the few network requests it makes, and your rights under the UK GDPR.
- [Terms of Service](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/terms): the 30-day free trial, your licence, the 14-day cooling-off right, your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and refunds.
- [Blog](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/blog/): guides and how-tos on saving links, images and everything else you collect, and finding it again on a Mac. 116 posts.

## Comparisons
Fair, detailed comparisons of Muse against other tools. Each page explains what the other tool does well, where Muse differs, a feature table, and a recommendation.
- [Muse vs Eagle](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/muse-vs-eagle): Muse (native Apple Silicon Mac, links and files and notes as equals, all AI on-device, $29 once) vs Eagle (a mature Mac and Windows design-asset manager, one-time $34.95, image and file focused, some AI in the cloud).
- [Muse vs Raindrop](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/muse-vs-raindrop): Muse (native Mac, local files, on-device AI, pay once) vs Raindrop (a cloud, cross-platform, links-first bookmark manager with an Electron desktop app, cloud AI, free tier and about $34/yr Pro).
- [Raindrop Alternatives](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/raindrop-alternatives): a roundup of seven real Raindrop.io alternatives for 2026 with pros, cons and current pricing: Muse ($29 once, native Mac, local files), Anybox (native Apple, free or $39.99 once), Eagle ($34.95 once, visual assets), Pinboard ($22/yr, minimalist links), mymind (from $4.99/mo, AI visual memory), GoodLinks (~$9.99 once, read-later), and Are.na (free or $70/yr, visual research); notes that Pocket shut down in 2025.
- [Eagle Alternatives](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/eagle-alternatives): a roundup of six real Eagle (eagle.cool) alternatives for 2026 with pros, cons and current pricing: Muse ($29 once, native Mac, imports from Eagle), Billfish (free Eagle-style asset manager, Mac and Windows), Dropmark (cloud collections, free or from $4/mo), PureRef (reference boards, pay what you want), Are.na (free or $70/yr, visual research), and Raindrop (free or ~$34/yr, bookmarks); notes that Pixave is abandoned.
- [mymind Alternatives](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/mymind-alternatives): a roundup of seven real mymind alternatives for 2026 with pros, cons and current pricing: Muse ($29 once, native Mac, on-device AI, keeps folders), Mem (AI notes, free or $12/mo), Raindrop (free or ~$34/yr, bookmarks), Obsidian (free, local markdown), Anytype (free, local-first open source), Notion (free or from ~$10/mo), and Are.na (free or $70/yr, visual research).
- [Marqly Alternatives](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/marqly-alternatives): a roundup of six real Marqly alternatives for 2026 with pros, cons and current pricing: Muse ($29 once, native Mac, holds more than links), Raindrop (free or ~$34/yr), GoodLinks (~$9.99 once, Apple read-later), Readwise Reader ($119.88/yr, no free tier), Instapaper (free capped or $59.99/yr), and Matter (~$60-80/yr, video/podcast transcripts); notes that Omnivore was discontinued in 2024.
- [GatherOS Alternatives](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/gatheros-alternatives): a roundup of five real GatherOS alternatives for 2026 with pros, cons and current pricing: Muse ($29 once, native Mac, Canvas view, shipped and stable), Milanote (free or $9.99/mo, moodboards), Kosmik (from ~$12/mo, infinite canvas), Apple Freeform (free, iCloud whiteboard), and Eagle ($34.95 once, local asset library); notes GatherOS is still in beta, now with a free tier plus a paid tier at $4.99/mo or $49/yr.
- [Recollect Alternatives](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/recollect-alternatives): a roundup of five real Recollect alternatives for 2026 with pros, cons and current pricing: Muse ($29 once, native Mac, X import), mymind (from $4.99/mo, tweet-saving with AI), Raindrop (free or ~$34/yr, no social sync), dewey ($90/yr or $225 lifetime, broad social-network sync, real free tier), and Spatial ($49.99 lifetime per the App Store, X bookmark canvas); explains X's April 2026 pay-per-read API pricing.
- [Savee Alternatives](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/savee-alternatives): a roundup of five real Savee alternatives for 2026 with pros, cons and current pricing: Muse ($29 once, native Mac, private by nature), Are.na (free or $70/yr, private on every tier), Eagle ($34.95 once, local), Milanote (free or $9.99/mo, private by default), and Pinterest (free, public by design); notes Savee is public by default unless you pay ~$108/yr for Pro.
- [Muse vs MyMind](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/muse-vs-mymind): Muse (local files you own, no account, $29 once, imports from many tools) vs MyMind (a private cloud second brain on every device, cloud AI, subscription $79 to $129 a year, no bulk import).
- [Muse vs Savee](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/muse-vs-savee): Muse (private local library of every media type, $29 once) vs Savee (a cloud, public-by-default design-inspiration community, images and video only, cloud AI, subscription about $108/yr).
- [Muse vs Recollect](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/muse-vs-recollect): Muse (a native Mac app with on-device OCR, colour and visual search, pay once) vs Recollect (a web-only cloud bookmark manager with the same AI in the cloud, X and Instagram sync, free tier and $99.90/yr Pro).
- [Muse vs Marqly](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/muse-vs-marqly): Muse (native Mac, every media type, on-device AI, $29 once) vs Marqly (a cloud, links-first bookmark and read-it-later app with YouTube AI, free up to 50 bookmarks then about $48/yr).
- [Muse vs GatherOS](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/muse-vs-gatheros): Muse (a shipping, stable native Mac app, one-time $29, export and imports) vs GatherOS (a promising Mac-native, local-first inspiration app in public beta with a Figma-like canvas; free tier plus a paid tier at $4.99/mo or $49/yr).
- [Muse vs Spatial](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/muse-vs-spatial): Muse (a Mac library that files what you save and finds it by search, $29 once, macOS 14) vs Spatial (a Mac canvas with Markdown notes, on-device semantic search, an MCP server and iCloud sync on Pro; free tier, $49.99 once, needs macOS 15.6). Both take X bookmarks: Muse files them as you scroll, and your Instagram saves too, while Spatial has you drag them in.
- [Muse vs Atlas](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/muse-vs-atlas): Muse (a Mac library for images, video, links, PDFs, notes and emails, $29 once on three Macs, every future update free) vs Atlas by Alexey Sekachov (a native Mac library for visual reference with grid, canvas and infinite views, connected folders and a live link to an Eagle library; $39 once on two Macs, one year of updates included, links still to come). Not the same app as Atlas the world clock by THEODORE HQ.
- [Atlas Alternatives](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/atlas-alternatives): five real alternatives to Atlas for Mac with pros, cons and current pricing: Muse ($29 once, holds links and PDFs as well as images, updates never expire), Eagle ($34.95 once, Mac and Windows), Spatial (free tier or $49.99 once, Mac canvas with notes, needs macOS 15.6), Milanote (free plan or $119.88/yr, shared canvas) and Are.na (free to 200 blocks, then $70/yr, public channels).
- [Spatial Alternatives](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/compare/spatial-alternatives): five real alternatives to Spatial with pros, cons and current pricing: Muse ($29 once, Mac library, runs on macOS 14), Milanote (free plan or $119.88/yr, shared canvas), Apple Freeform (free, already installed), Obsidian (free for personal use, Markdown files with a canvas) and Eagle ($34.95 once, Mac and Windows image library).

## X (Twitter) bookmarks
How to keep, search and organise the posts you bookmark on X, and how the tools built for that compare. Muse takes X bookmarks as one source among many, reading them as your own browser loads your bookmarks page rather than through X's API. It reads Instagram saved posts the same way; see the Instagram section below.
- [The Best X (Twitter) Bookmark Manager for Mac](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/blog/posts/best-x-bookmark-manager-mac): Dewey, Tweetsmash, ContextBolt, Spatial and Muse compared, with prices, a feature table and which one suits which person.
- [Is X Premium Worth It for Bookmark Folders?](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/blog/posts/x-premium-bookmark-folders): bookmark folders sit in X's cheapest tier, Basic, from $3/month or $32/year on the web; what folders fix and what they leave alone.
- [How to Search Your X (Twitter) Bookmarks](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/blog/posts/search-x-bookmarks): X's keyword search, the free scroll-then-find-in-page trick, and why keyword search misses a post you remember as a picture.
- [Where Did Your X (Twitter) Bookmarks Go?](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/blog/posts/x-bookmarks-disappeared): X renamed the mobile Bookmarks button to History in May 2026; that fix, plus the other reasons a single bookmark vanishes.
- [Keep Your X (Twitter) Bookmarks Before They Go](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/blog/posts/export-x-bookmarks): X's data archive excludes bookmarks; the export routes that still work and what each one keeps.
- [A Dewey Alternative for Mac](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/blog/posts/dewey-alternative): Dewey ($90/yr, $225 lifetime) archives deleted posts and has a free tier; where it wins and why people leave.
- [A Tweetsmash Alternative You Buy Once](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/blog/posts/tweetsmash-alternative): Tweetsmash (from $84/yr) sends digests, unrolls threads and exports to Notion; Muse does none of those and costs $29 once.
- [A ContextBolt Alternative for Mac](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/blog/posts/contextbolt-alternative): ContextBolt (free to 150 bookmarks, then $6/month) searches by meaning and offers an MCP endpoint; where the cap bites.
- [A Spatial Alternative for Mac](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/blog/posts/spatial-alternative): Spatial ($49.99 once per its App Store listing, free tier, macOS 15.6+) is the other native Mac app, canvas-first with drag-in X import and its own on-device search; canvas versus library.

## Instagram saved posts
How Instagram saves work, why they vanish, and how to keep and organise them on a Mac. Muse files Instagram saved posts as your own browser loads your saved posts page, keeping the picture or video itself rather than the link, because an instagram.com address opened without your session shows a login wall and no preview image.
- [Why Instagram Saved Posts Disappear](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/blog/posts/instagram-saved-posts-disappeared): a save is a pointer to somebody else's post, not a copy, so a deleted post, an archived one, a switch to private or a removed account empties the slot; how to tell which, and why the official export cannot bring it back.
- [Instagram Saved Posts on a Mac](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/blog/posts/instagram-saved-posts-on-mac): the free route (instagram.com, profile, Saved) in full, what the web version will not do (no search, no download, nothing offline), the Download Your Information export returning links only, downloader tools and their trade-offs, and filing into a local library instead.
- [How to Organise Your Instagram Saved Posts](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/blog/posts/organise-instagram-saved-posts): what Collections do well (free, private, one post in several at once), where they run out, and how to split a queue from a reference library.
- [How to Keep the Posts You Save on Instagram](https://www.theodorehq.com/muse/blog/posts/save-instagram-posts): Instagram's own Download Your Information includes saved posts as links rather than copies, so a deleted post arrives dead; what survives.

## Facts
- Platform: macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later, Apple Silicon. Notarised Developer ID app with auto-updates via Sparkle.
- Browser extension: free companion clipper, live on the Chrome Web Store and Firefox Browser Add-ons, and included with the Muse app for Safari (Safari 18.4 or later, turned on in Safari > Settings > Extensions). It requires the Muse Mac app to be installed and running, and talks only to that app over a local loopback connection.
- Sources: X bookmarks and Instagram saved posts both file themselves as you open those pages in your own browser, with the free companion extension. Pinterest boards, Raindrop, Pocket, Eagle libraries, browser bookmarks and CSV import as one-off pulls.
- Price: $29, one-time purchase, no subscription. A full 30-day free trial first, with no payment details needed to start; every future update is included free.
- Privacy: no account, no cloud. The library is real files in a visible "Muse Library" folder on your Mac, and the browser clipper talks only to the Muse app on the same Mac over a loopback connection. All AI runs on-device. Muse records a small number of anonymous, non-identifying usage events (e.g. app launches, trial-to-purchase conversion) on a self-hosted server; it never records what you save.
- Maker: THEODORE HQ (TJH/CO LIMITED), a company registered in England and Wales. Support: support@theodorehq.com.