Frequently Asked Questions

GenCatalog is a desktop application and Chrome extension that captures, imports, catalogs, and organizes your AI-generated images and videos from local files, ComfyUI, Grok Imagine, Arcana Labs, Gemini, GPT Image, Rogue Studio, Higgsfield, Midjourney, Digen, and Venice.ai — all in one fast, searchable local library on your computer.

The core idea: every generation you create is saved with its prompt, platform, model, workflow details, and metadata when available — not just the file. If you already downloaded a file yourself, you can import it and add that context afterward.

GenCatalog currently supports these platforms:

• Local files — Import downloaded images and videos from your computer, including API outputs and files from unsupported generators
• ComfyUI — Import ComfyUI output folders and search embedded prompts, workflow metadata, checkpoints, seeds, CFG, sampler and scheduler settings, dimensions, and LoRAs when present
• Grok Imagine — Full support including bulk favorites download, individual saves, prompt extraction, and multi-account support
• Arcana Labs — Capture and backfill your Arcana generations with prompt, project, model, source, and generation metadata when available
• Gemini — Limited chat-page support for visible image generations, prompt context, and full-size downloads when Gemini exposes them
• GPT Image — Scan current ChatGPT image chats, import prompt-matched outputs, and update missing prompts on existing GPT Image items
• Rogue Studio — Scan loaded Rogue Studio media, capture detail-drawer prompts and asset metadata, and keep Rogue Studio items organized as their own source
• Higgsfield — Full support including individual saves, bulk saves, model/preset capture, and metadata extraction
• Midjourney — Individual saves and full library scan; captures prompt, model version, and all parameters (--ar, --chaos, --sref, --cref, seed, etc.)
• Digen — Individual saves with bulk download support
• Venice.ai — Limited chat-page support for visible image and video generations, including prompt and model capture when available on the page

More platforms are planned for future updates.

No. Everything stays on your computer. GenCatalog runs entirely locally — there is no cloud sync, no remote storage, and no account required. Your captured files, imported files, and prompts never leave your machine.

The only external communication is periodic license key validation with our payment processor (Lemon Squeezy), which sends only your license key — never your media or prompts.

macOS is fully supported (both Apple Silicon M-series and Intel). macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later is required.

Windows is fully supported. Download GenCatalog for Windows at gencatalog.app.

The Chrome extension works on any platform with any Chrome-based browser.

No. GenCatalog is an independent product by Second Act Labs. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with xAI (Grok), Arcana Labs, Google Gemini, Rogue Studio, Higgsfield, Midjourney, Digen, or Venice.ai. GenCatalog works with the publicly available interfaces of these platforms.

1. Download the GenCatalog app from gencatalog.app/get and install it on your Mac or PC
2. Launch GenCatalog — on first run, it will ask you to choose a folder where your media will be stored
3. Install the Chrome extension from the Chrome Web Store
4. Make sure GenCatalog is running (you'll see it in your menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows))
5. Browse to Grok Imagine, Arcana Labs, Gemini, ChatGPT/GPT Image, Rogue Studio, Higgsfield, Midjourney, Digen, or a supported Venice.ai chat page — platform-specific controls will appear automatically
6. To add media you already downloaded, including ComfyUI output folders, click Import in the desktop app or drag supported files into the GenCatalog window

This usually means the GenCatalog desktop app is not open yet. The extension needs the app running locally to save content.

1. Open the GenCatalog app
2. Wait a few seconds for the server to start
3. Click the extension icon again — it should reconnect automatically

If the app is open but the popup still cannot connect, try quitting and relaunching GenCatalog.

You choose the folder on first launch. Captured and imported media are copied into this folder. GenCatalog creates this structure inside it:

• images/ — all saved images
• videos/ — all saved videos
• thumbnails/ — auto-generated video thumbnails
• catalog.json — your metadata database (prompts, tags, etc.)
• vault/ — encrypted Private Vault data, if you create a Vault
• trash/ — deleted items (recoverable)

You can move this folder to an external drive or NAS at any time — just relaunch GenCatalog and point it to the new location.

Yes — GenCatalog needs to be running for the Chrome extension to save content. However, it lives quietly in your menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows) and uses minimal resources when idle.

You can set GenCatalog to launch at login so it's always ready — on Mac: System Settings → General → Login Items. On Windows: Settings → Apps → Startup.

Video thumbnails require FFmpeg, a free media tool that GenCatalog uses to generate previews. Image thumbnails work immediately without it — this only affects videos.

On Mac: During setup, GenCatalog will offer to install FFmpeg automatically. The process takes about a minute and doesn't require any technical steps.

On Windows: During setup, you'll be directed to a download page with the files you need. Follow the on-screen instructions to install FFmpeg, then restart GenCatalog.

If you skipped this step and video thumbnails still aren't showing, quit and relaunch GenCatalog — the FFmpeg setup prompt will appear again.

Yes. Open the GenCatalog desktop app and click Import in the toolbar, drag supported files into the app, or use Settings → Capture & Import → Local media files.

GenCatalog copies those files into your catalog folder, creates thumbnails when possible, and opens a review drawer so you can add source, model, tags, prompts, and notes. For ComfyUI files with embedded metadata, GenCatalog can fill in source, prompt, checkpoint, settings, and LoRA details automatically.

Yes. Drag ComfyUI output files or folders into GenCatalog, or use Import from the desktop app. ComfyUI is treated as the creation source, while the checkpoint remains searchable as the model.

When the file includes embedded ComfyUI prompt or workflow metadata, GenCatalog can surface the prompt, checkpoint, seed, steps, CFG, sampler, scheduler, denoise, dimensions, and LoRA names with strengths, model weights, and clip weights.

If a file does not include ComfyUI metadata, it still imports as a normal local file and can be tagged, rated, searched, and annotated like the rest of your library.

GenCatalog can import common AI media formats:

• Videos: MP4, MOV, WEBM, and M4V
• Images: JPG, JPEG, PNG, WEBP, GIF, and AVIF

Yes. If you generate a video through an API or console, download the file before leaving that page, then import it into GenCatalog. This is especially useful when the browser page does not keep the video available later.

After import, use the review drawer to label the source, model, tags, prompt, and notes so the file is searchable like the rest of your catalog.

GenCatalog checks exact file hashes during import. If the same file is already in your catalog, it is skipped by default.

If you intentionally want another copy, choose Import anyway from the review drawer.

Yes. After an import finishes, the import toast includes Undo. Undo removes the just-imported items and their copied files from your catalog.

When you're on grok.com or x.com/i/grok and viewing a generation, a blue GenCatalog save button (the grid icon) will appear on the image or video. Click it to save instantly.

The button changes to a spinner while saving, then a green checkmark when done. If the item was already saved, it shows orange.

1. Go to grok.com and make sure you're logged in
2. Click the GenCatalog extension icon in your browser toolbar
3. Click the Grok tab in the popup
4. Click Scan Favorites — this counts your favorites and compares against your existing catalog
5. Review the stats (Grok Favorites / Already Saved / New to Download)
6. Click Download N new items to start
7. Use Pause and Resume to control the process

Yes. You can save content from multiple Grok accounts into a single catalog. GenCatalog automatically detects and tags each saved item with the account it came from, so you can filter your catalog by account.

To switch accounts: log out of Grok, log into your other account, and use the extension as normal. Each item is tagged with its source account automatically.

Open the saved Grok video in the GenCatalog desktop app. If an upgrade is available, choose the next quality level in the Upgrade row and click Upgrade.

To upgrade more than one video, use the desktop app's multi-select tools, select the Grok videos you want to change, then use the selected-item Upgrade action. The Chrome extension does not bulk-upscale videos during Scan Favorites or Download New.

If an upgrade fails, make sure grok.com is open in Chrome using the Grok account or Chrome profile that created that video.

Yes — this is one of GenCatalog's core features. When you save from Grok Imagine, the prompt is automatically extracted and stored with the file. You can search your entire catalog by prompt text at any time.

A folder gives you the media, but it does not give you reliable retrieval. GenCatalog keeps the file connected to prompt text, source context, account, dates, tags, notes, and catalog metadata so you can search your archive instead of guessing from filenames.

Prompt extraction works best on individual generation detail pages. If you bulk-downloaded from favorites, some items may have been captured without full metadata if the page hadn't fully loaded when the extension scanned.

To fix: open the generation on Grok Imagine and save it again. GenCatalog will merge the new metadata with the existing entry — it won't create a duplicate.

Yes, in most cases. Open grok.com, run Scan Favorites from the GenCatalog extension, then click Download N new items to recapture anything still available in your Grok favorites.

If an item already exists in your local GenCatalog library, it is still recoverable from your catalog even if it no longer appears on Grok. Use catalog search to find it by prompt or tag, then export or reopen it from there.

GenCatalog maintains an exclusion list — when you delete something from your catalog, it's added to this list so it's never re-downloaded during future scans.

If an item keeps reappearing, it likely wasn't deleted through GenCatalog (e.g., you deleted the file manually from Finder). To fix this, find the item in your catalog, delete it using the GenCatalog interface (not Finder), and it will be permanently excluded from future scans.

Yes, with limited chat-page support. GenCatalog can save visible Gemini image generations with prompt context and use Gemini's full-size download when Gemini exposes it.

We recommend clicking the GenCatalog save badge at generation time so the image, prompt, and context are saved together while they are still visible in the chat.

1. Open the Gemini chat that contains your generated image.
2. Wait for the GenCatalog save badge to appear on the generated image.
3. Click the badge to save the image, prompt, and available metadata into your local catalog.

If Gemini exposes a full-size download, GenCatalog imports that file into your catalog and removes the temporary copy from Downloads.

No. Gemini support is focused on visible chat-page generations, not bulk history import. Save the generations you care about while they are visible so GenCatalog can preserve the file and prompt context reliably.

Open the ChatGPT conversation that contains the image outputs, then open the GenCatalog extension popup and click Scan. If GenCatalog finds new GPT Image outputs with prompt context, click Download N new items to import them.

Yes. If the scanned chat contains images already in your catalog but missing prompt text, the popup shows Update prompts. That updates the metadata without downloading duplicate files.

GenCatalog imports prompt-matched GPT Image outputs by default. Media-only items without a matched prompt are held back so your catalog stays searchable and useful instead of collecting files with no recipe attached.

Yes. GenCatalog supports Rogue Studio library imports. It can scan loaded Rogue Studio media, capture detail-drawer prompts and asset metadata, and keep Rogue Studio items organized as their own source in your local catalog.

GenCatalog saves the media file, source platform, save date, local catalog metadata, detail-drawer prompts, and available asset metadata from loaded Rogue Studio items.

GenCatalog adds save buttons throughout Higgsfield automatically:

• Detail pages — a grid icon button appears next to the native Download/heart/share buttons
• Grid/browse pages — a badge appears on each thumbnail in your library, explore feed, and profile
• Modals — when you open a generation in a lightbox, the save button appears automatically

Click the blue grid icon on any of these to save. A spinner appears while saving, then a checkmark when complete.

1. Go to your Higgsfield personal library (or any grid page)
2. Browse the grid — GenCatalog caches the items as they appear
3. Click the GenCatalog extension icon
4. Click the Higgsfield tab
5. Click Scan Library the first time to read the current cache
6. After scrolling farther, click Refresh Count to update the totals
7. If the popup shows new items, click Sync New to save only what is not already in your catalog

GenCatalog captures the following from Higgsfield generations:

• Prompt text
• Model name (e.g., Seedream 4.5, Nano Bana Pro 2)
• Preset information
• Character name (if used)
• Asset UUID (for reliable deduplication)
• Full-resolution media URL

This can happen if the page API data hasn't been intercepted yet when you save. Higgsfield loads high-resolution URLs through an API call that happens shortly after the page loads.

To get full resolution: wait a few seconds after the page loads before clicking save, or navigate to the generation's detail page and save from there. Detail page saves always capture the full-resolution file.

When you're browsing midjourney.com, a Save button appears on each image. Click it to capture the image along with its full prompt, model version, and all parameters automatically.

Yes — this is one of the most useful Midjourney features in GenCatalog. Here's how:

1. Navigate to midjourney.com and wait for the page to fully load
2. Open the GenCatalog extension and go to the Midjourney tab
3. Click Scan Library — GenCatalog reads your generation history from the page (no separate network request)
4. You'll see Total, Saved, and New counts
5. Click Download N new items to import everything not yet in your catalog

Re-scanning will only pick up new items, so you can run it anytime to stay up to date.

GenCatalog saves everything from your Midjourney generation:

• Full prompt text (--sref and --cref image URLs are stripped for readability)
• Model version (--v)
• Aspect ratio (--ar), chaos, seed, style, stylize weight
• Style references (--sref) and character references (--cref)
• All four image variants per generation
• Image dimensions and generation date

Yes. GenCatalog captures the model version from your generation history, so V7, V8, and future versions are all supported automatically. The model version is stored with each saved item and visible in your catalog.

No. GenCatalog is an independent product by Second Act Labs. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with Midjourney. GenCatalog works with the publicly available Midjourney web interface.

When you're on digen.ai, a blue GenCatalog save button appears on each of your generations. Click it to save the image or video with its metadata.

For bulk saving: a floating panel appears on Digen pages — click Scan from the extension popup's Digen tab to count available items, then Download All to save them in bulk.

GenCatalog saves the media file along with available metadata including the prompt and generation source. Digen metadata capture is actively being improved in ongoing updates.

Yes. GenCatalog can capture and backfill your Arcana Labs generations from app.arcanalabs.ai, then store them as Arcana Labs items in your local catalog.

Arcana items can include prompt text, negative prompt, model, suite, project context, generation IDs, source labels, and an Open in Arcana link when Arcana provides that metadata.

1. Open app.arcanalabs.ai in Chrome and sign into your Arcana account.
2. Make sure the GenCatalog desktop app is running.
3. Open the GenCatalog extension popup and choose Backfill History on the Arcana tab.

GenCatalog imports your own Arcana generations and intentionally excludes community or showcase media.

Yes. Saved Arcana media is copied into your GenCatalog library folder and stays local, like other saved platform media. GenCatalog stores the source and metadata needed to search, filter, and reopen the item later.

Yes, with limited chat-page support. GenCatalog can save visible image and video generations from Venice.ai chats, including prompt and model details when Venice exposes them on the page.

Venice.ai support is intended for saving your own visible chat generations into your local GenCatalog library. Public feed capture and bulk import are not included.

1. Open a Venice.ai chat page.
2. Scroll to the visible image or video generation you want to keep.
3. For videos, press play first so Venice renders the video element.
4. Click the GenCatalog save badge on the image, video, or generation preview.

The saved item is stored locally in GenCatalog with the media file and any prompt or model details GenCatalog can read from the page.

Venice.ai does not always render the actual video element until playback starts. Pressing play gives GenCatalog a rendered video target to attach the save badge to and capture correctly.

If you do not see a save badge on a Venice.ai video, play the video once, then look for the badge again.

GenCatalog saves the visible image or video file, source platform, save date, and local catalog metadata. It also captures prompt text and model details when Venice exposes them near the visible chat generation.

Because Venice.ai page layouts can vary, some older or partially rendered items may save with less metadata than newly visible generations.

Open GenCatalog (or go to http://localhost:8080 in your browser) and use the search bar at the top. You can search by:

• Prompt text — find any generation by what you typed
• Tags — search by tags you've added
• Platform — filter to Grok Imagine, Arcana Labs, ComfyUI, Gemini, GPT Image, Rogue Studio, Higgsfield, Midjourney, Digen, or Venice.ai only
• Media type — filter to images or videos only
• Favorites — show only starred items
• Source image — find all generations created from the same source image

You can add custom tags to any item in your catalog. Open any item, click the tag field, and type your tag. Tags are searchable and filterable — click any tag to see all items with that tag.

Good uses for tags: style names ("cinematic", "portrait"), project names, character names, or any category that matters to your workflow.

Click any item to open it, then click the delete button. Items go to Trash first — they're not immediately deleted.

To permanently delete: open Trash in the sidebar → Empty Trash. To recover a deleted item: open Trash → Restore.

Click any item to open it, then click Hide. Hidden items disappear from your main grid but stay in your catalog — nothing is deleted.

To view or restore hidden items: click Hidden Items in the sidebar. If App Lock is enabled, GenCatalog asks for the same App Lock confirmation used by Privacy settings. If App Lock is not enabled, Hidden Items can still use the older Hidden Items PIN flow.

GenCatalog checks for duplicates using two methods:

• Exact URL matching — if the source URL is identical
• UUID matching — using the platform's internal asset ID, which stays consistent even if the URL format changes

To run a duplicate scan: click Remove Duplicates in the sidebar. GenCatalog will show how many duplicates were found and remove them, keeping the oldest version of each.

Yes — from any device on your home Wi-Fi network. GenCatalog displays a QR code in the sidebar. Scan it with your phone's camera to open your catalog instantly.

For access anywhere (not just home Wi-Fi), install Tailscale on both your Mac and phone. This creates a secure tunnel so you can reach your catalog from anywhere, as long as your Mac is on.

Yes. Click the checkbox icon (☑️) in the toolbar to enter multi-select mode. Then:

• Click items to select them (blue border appears)
• Use Select All or Deselect All for quick selection
• Available bulk actions: Favorite Selected, Delete Selected, Compare (2 items)

Press Escape or click the checkbox icon again to exit multi-select mode.

GenCatalog includes a free trial that starts on your first launch:

• Duration: 7 days from first launch
• Item limit: up to 250 generations
• The trial ends when either limit is reached, whichever comes first

After the trial ends, you can still browse your existing library — but saving new items is paused until you activate a license. Your files and data are never deleted.

Yes, at any time. Go to GenCatalog → License in the menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows) and enter your license key. Activation takes effect immediately.

No. Your existing library — all files, prompts, tags, and notes — stays completely intact. The only thing that changes is that saving new items is paused until you activate a license.

No. GenCatalog is a one-time purchase at $79. No monthly fees, no subscription. Your license includes all updates to the current major version.

We offer a 14-day money-back guarantee if GenCatalog doesn't work as described. Email [email protected] with your order number. See our full Refund Policy for details.

Your library stays local. GenCatalog keeps your media files, prompts, tags, notes, and catalog data on your computer.

GenCatalog may ask if you want to share anonymous usage statistics. That telemetry is opt-in, aggregate-only, and limited to event counters like feature usage, platform type, media type, app or extension version, OS family, and success or failure reason codes.

License validation with Lemon Squeezy sends only your license key identifier — never your media, prompts, tags, notes, filenames, source URLs, file paths, thumbnails, hashes, item IDs, or catalog content.

Open GenCatalog, go to Settings → Privacy, then turn on App Lock. GenCatalog will ask you to create and confirm an App Lock password.

On supported Macs, you can also enable Touch ID unlock. On Windows, App Lock uses your App Lock password.

You can choose when GenCatalog locks, including on launch, after idle time, when your computer sleeps, or when you manually lock it.

Privacy Mode helps when you are browsing around other people, screen-sharing, or demoing your catalog. It blurs sensitive previews so your library is not fully visible at a glance.

While Privacy Mode is on, videos stay muted by default. That prevents a blurred or private video from unexpectedly playing audio if it is clicked.

If App Lock is enabled, turning Privacy Mode off or opening Privacy settings requires App Lock confirmation.

Yes. Private Vault encrypts the generations you move into it, including media files, thumbnails, prompts, and metadata. It is designed for items that need stronger protection than hiding, blurring, or locking the app window.

App Lock, Privacy Mode, and Hidden Items are still useful privacy controls, but they do not encrypt normal library files on disk. Use Private Vault when you specifically want encrypted storage inside GenCatalog.

Encryption at rest means the Private Vault data is stored in encrypted form while it is sitting on your drive. While the Vault is locked, GenCatalog does not show Vault contents, counts, names, thumbnails, prompts, or metadata.

If someone browses your catalog folder in Finder or File Explorer while the Vault is locked, the Vault media and metadata should not be readable without unlocking the Vault in GenCatalog.

Once you unlock the Vault, those items can be viewed in GenCatalog. If you move an item back to the normal library, GenCatalog decrypts it and restores it as a regular, unencrypted library item.

Yes — browsing your catalog, searching, tagging, and organizing all work completely offline. The only things that require internet are: saving new content from Grok Imagine, Arcana Labs, Gemini, GPT Image, Rogue Studio, Higgsfield, Midjourney, Digen, or Venice.ai (since those platforms require internet), and periodic license revalidation (approximately every 7 days, with a 30-day offline grace period).