--- title: "SurfSense v0.0.15 - Watch Local Folders, Vision Autocomplete & New Document Pipeline" description: "SurfSense v0.0.15 turns your laptop into a living knowledge base: watch any local folder and keep it auto-synced, a vision-powered quick-assist autocomplete in the desktop app, a brand new document processing pipeline with Docling, LlamaCloud, Unstructured, and Azure Document Intelligence, full document version history, and per-user page limits across every connector." date: "2026-04-08" tags: ["Desktop App", "Local Folder", "Document Pipeline", "Vision AI", "Version History", "Azure Document Intelligence"] version: "0.0.15" --- ## What's New in v0.0.15 This release continues to push SurfSense as a fully self-hostable, open source **ChatGPT alternative** and **NotebookLM alternative** for teams who care about where their data lives. v0.0.15 is all about **bringing your local files into the knowledge base effortlessly** and making the SurfSense desktop app a first-class always-on assistant. ### Watch Local Folder Your files already live in folders. Now SurfSense can watch them. - **Real-Time Folder Sync**: Pick any folder on your computer, and SurfSense automatically keeps it indexed as files are added, edited, or removed. - **Nothing Gets Lost**: Even across restarts or network blips, pending file changes are safely queued until they're fully processed. - **Smart Batching**: Many files at once? SurfSense now processes them in smart batches with progress feedback, so large folders stay responsive. - **Clean Folder Cleanup**: Deleted or emptied folders are cleaned up automatically in the background. - **Fast First Sync**: Existing folders seed their file timestamps in a single pass, so the first sync is both fast and correct. - **Upload-Based Sync Too**: Don't want the desktop watcher? Upload a folder from the web app and your folder structure is preserved automatically. - **Local Files as First-Class Documents**: Locally-watched files show up clearly in the documents list as their own category. ### Document Version History - **Full Version History**: Every document now keeps a versioned history. View, compare, and restore older versions directly from the documents UI. - **Restore + Reindex**: Restoring an old version automatically triggers reindexing so search and chat results stay accurate. - **Built-In**: Versioning is automatic. You don't have to configure anything. ### New Document Processing Pipeline We've rebuilt how SurfSense turns raw files into searchable knowledge. - **Pluggable Parsers**: Choose the best extractor for each document with built-in support for **Docling**, **LlamaCloud**, **Unstructured**, and plain text. Configure it globally or per connector. - **Azure Document Intelligence**: Added as a premium parsing option for high-accuracy PDF and scanned document parsing, available per upload. - **Audio Transcription**: Upload audio files and SurfSense will transcribe them for you. - **Fast Path for Common Files**: CSV, TSV, HTML, and XHTML files now skip heavier parsing and convert directly, cutting indexing time. - **Smart Routing**: Each file is automatically routed to the parser best suited for it. - **Vision Model Is Opt-In**: Vision models are now opt-in per upload/connector, with safer size limits and better fallbacks when an image can't be processed. ### Vision-Powered Quick Assist (Desktop App) The SurfSense desktop app becomes a serious always-on **AI like ChatGPT** that actually sees your screen, without leaving your current window. - **Screenshot-Based Autocomplete**: Press a shortcut and SurfSense captures a screenshot, sends it to a vision model, and returns context-aware suggestions right where you're typing. - **Multi-Suggestion UI**: The suggestion popup now offers up to **3 options** to pick from, with clean cards and quick-assist detection. - **Knowledge Base Grounding**: Suggestions are grounded in your connected knowledge base, not just generic model output. - **macOS Permission Onboarding**: A clearer onboarding page walks macOS users through the permissions the app needs, only when they're actually needed. - **Switch Search Spaces from the Overlay**: Change the active search space without opening the main app. - **General Assist**: A new general-purpose assist mode with cleaner shortcut icons and descriptions. - **Stay Signed In Everywhere**: Sign-in is now synchronized between the desktop app and the web app. - **Vision Model Settings**: A dedicated Vision Models tab in Settings lets you pick and manage vision models, including a dynamic model list from OpenRouter. - **Smart Download Button**: The marketing site auto-detects your OS and offers the right desktop installer. ### Connectors - **Dropbox Delta Sync**: A smarter incremental sync for Dropbox that preserves your place across re-authentication. Big Dropbox workspaces sync dramatically faster. - **Stronger Google OAuth**: Native Google sign-in now uses modern, best-practice security (PKCE). ### Page Limits & Quotas - **Per-User Page Limits**: SurfSense now estimates and enforces per-user page limits before indexing begins, so usage stays predictable on cloud and self-hosted deployments. - **Consistent Across the App**: Local folder indexing respects the same page-limit checks as cloud connectors. ### Document Upload - **Unified Picker**: Upload files and folders from one clean dropdown, with clearer size limits and properly localized messages. - **Better Processing Feedback**: Improved upload progress and processing indicators, plus a cleaner drag-and-drop area. ### Performance - **Faster Startup**: Analytics and some dev tooling only load when needed, keeping the app lighter for end users. - **Leaner Pages**: Shared libraries now load smaller, more focused bundles. - **Smoother Self-Hosted Setup**: New installs of the real-time sync service now set themselves up automatically. Bug Fixes
  • Fixed several memory leaks when leaving pages during active work
  • Upload progress bar now clears correctly when leaving the upload screen
  • Smoother, less jittery thread list and chat refreshes
  • Smoother client-side navigation in several places
  • Improved responsiveness of the documents sidebar
  • Debounced search on the logs page to stop UI jank
  • Correct browser autocomplete hints on sign-in and register forms
  • Vision model is no longer triggered unnecessarily by the desktop folder watcher
  • Silenced noisy auto-updater errors in the desktop app
 Performance & Reliability
  • Faster local folder indexing thanks to smarter content hashing
  • Smoother sidebar open/close animations
  • Long lists now scroll more smoothly on the documents and logs pages
  • Search and filter inputs feel snappier while typing
  • Unified version numbering across the web app, backend, and desktop app
  • Event tracking now includes the platform (web/desktop) for better analytics
 If you've been looking for a tool that works across your cloud connectors **and** your local machine, v0.0.15 is exactly that. It's also one of the most compelling **NotebookLM alternatives** and **free ChatGPT alternatives** for private team use, with full control over your data, your parsers, and your models. SurfSense connects all your knowledge sources in one place.