What is longbook?+
longbook is a memory for your financial commitments. It remembers them and keeps the next one in view, on your iPhone and your Mac. longbook is stored in your own iCloud, and Claude or ChatGPT can read and write it through the longbook connector, so your AI can answer what you are committed to. Recurring costs such as health insurance, rent, loan payments, school fees, subscriptions and domain renewals are recorded as commitments.
What can it remember?+
Financial commitments such as premiums, rent, installments, school fees, subscriptions and credit card payment dates, together with the charges recorded against them, which appear in Reports. Your AI can add commitments and charges from the emails, receipts and statements it reads. The next payment stays in view in the Mac menu bar and in an iPhone widget.
Does longbook send reminders?+
No. longbook does not push reminders. The next payment stays in view in the Mac menu bar and in an iPhone widget, and the Dashboard shows the next thirty days, so the reminder is there when it is wanted. longbook emails only account notices: a sign-in code, a purchase, a report shared, or the hosted copy turned on or off.
Which devices does it run on?+
Mac and iPhone, both native apps. macOS 14 or later, iOS 17 or later. One purchase covers both, and they read the same folder, so a change on one shows up on the other.
Where is my data stored?+
In a file called financial_memory.json, inside your longbook folder in your own iCloud. It is a plain, structured JSON file, readable by any version of longbook, by other apps, and by your AI. The folder also carries a schema and a guide — longbook.schema.json and llms.txt — so your AI knows exactly how to read it and write into it.
Is there a longbook account?+
Yes. Your longbook.app account carries your trial, your license, and the report links you share with family. With longbook Cloud turned on, it also connects your AI to the longbook connector, so your AI can read and write your commitments even when you are talking to it from your iPhone.
How do I connect Claude or ChatGPT?+
longbook connects as a custom connector: https://longbook.app/mcp, added in Claude or ChatGPT and signed in with the longbook account. That address is longbook's MCP server — in a browser it explains itself: the tools your AI can call, and a worked example. On a Mac, the app can also connect Claude to your folder directly, with one click in Settings. The web connector reads the copy that longbook Cloud keeps.
How do charges from email get in?+
Your AI does it. With email access that you grant in your AI (Gmail, for example), your AI reads the receipts and renewal notices in a date range you set and adds charges and commitments to your longbook. Each change appears in the Changes section to keep or undo.
What if my AI gets something wrong inside my longbook?+
Every change your AI makes appears in the Changes section of the app, with its author on it, and longbook keeps the history of your past versions. Undoing the change or restoring an earlier version is one tap.
Does longbook connect to my bank?+
No. longbook is filled from records already in hand: the renewal emails and receipts your AI reads, and the bank statements you import. It needs no bank login.
Can I share a report with my family members?+
Yes. A report is shared as a link and a password longbook generates; you pass both on — a secure way to share a month's charges, from any browser. Your family members can comment inside the report too, and your AI can read those comments and update your longbook when you tell it to.
What do I get with the licence?+
The iPhone app and the Mac app now, and the iPad, Apple Watch, iPhone Duo and Android apps as they arrive, with the iOS widget and the Mac menu bar item, your AI reading and editing your longbook folder on a Mac, and every update. It is one purchase, not a subscription. At launch the first 100 buyers pay $38, the next 250 pay $98, and everyone after pays $149. longbook Cloud, for the features that run on longbook’s server, is a separate $4 a month.
What is longbook Cloud?+
longbook Cloud is an optional add-on at $4 a month, for people who want their longbook hosted on longbook's server. It keeps a copy there so Claude or ChatGPT can reach it through the web connector from any device, including your iPhone. It is off until you turn it on, and your longbook stays in your own iCloud either way.
How does the 3-day trial work?+
Every feature is free for three days, with the app in hand the whole time. After the trial, longbook keeps showing everything you have put in — adding new commitments needs a license. Because the trial comes first, a purchase is final except where Apple’s App Store refund terms apply.
Is longbook open source?+
longbook is licensed under GPL-3.0. The source code is currently available on request: developers who want to help make longbook stable can
request access to the codebase: an email to contact@longbook.app with a GitHub username and the intended work brings a repository invitation. The work is coordinated on the community Discord.
How do I contact longbook?+
