Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cauchy?
It is a macOS app to open PDF documents, highlight things you want to understand better, and talk to an AI assistant about them. It is designed for dense technical textbooks, mathematics papers, and academic problem sets.
Where is my data stored?
100% locally on your machine. Your workspaces, highlights, and document states are stored in ~/Library/Application Support/Cauchy/workspaces/.
Why is the app unsandboxed?
macOS App Sandbox forbids spawning arbitrary terminal tools. Cauchy needs to run unsandboxed to utilize your locally installed Claude Code or Codex CLIs. Because of this, it cannot be distributed through the Mac App Store and requires you to download it directly.
Does Cauchy send my PDFs to the cloud?
Cauchy itself does not upload your documents anywhere. If you choose to use the Gemini API or the Claude/Codex CLIs, the text you highlight and ask about will be sent to those providers according to their respective privacy policies. If you use the Apple Intelligence provider, everything stays completely on-device.