ChatVault Exporter

What works where

File export: download files attached in the open chat to your Downloads folder (ChatGPT only; use Download chat attachments in the extension).ChatGPT: chatgpt.com / chat.openai.com. Grok: grok.com, x.com/i/grok.

Use cases

• Move one chat to another LLM.Export a single conversation as Markdown or JSON, then paste or upload it in Claude, Gemini, or another tool so you don't re-explain context from scratch.
• Export a whole project without losing threads. Batch export on ChatGPT or Claude (with sidebar scrolled so every chat is listed) so research, specs, and decisions aren't trapped in the host UI.
• Build a local archive for your second brain. Download chats into a folder on disk, then organize or ingest them into Obsidian, another notes stack, or projects such as Open Brain (OB1) by Nate B. Jones on GitHub.
• Own your history.Keep durable copies in open formats so you're not locked to a single vendor if pricing, access, or UI changes.
• Feed tools and pipelines. Use JSON or SDoc for scripts, RAG ingestion, or the ChatVault CLI (chatvault ingest); attach downloads on ChatGPT when you need the files that lived in-thread.

Export formats

• Enable Markdown, JSON, and/or SDoc in any combination from the popup.
• Markdown: readable archive; open in any editor.
• JSON: structured turns for scripts and tooling.
• SDoc: structured document export for ChatVault CLI / ingest and long-term archives. Toggle Include SDoc in the popup with Markdown/JSON. Details and schema notes are in the GitHub README.

Install

1. Get the extension from the GitHub repo (extension only; download ZIP or clone).
2. Open chrome://extensions/.
3. Turn on Developer mode.
4. Click Load unpacked and select the downloaded or cloned folder (the chrome-extension folder inside the repo, or the repo root if you cloned the standalone extension repo by itself).
5. Pin the icon for quick access. No Web Store required.

Use

Single conversation

1. Open a chat on a supported site (not just home / recents).
2. Open the extension → toggle Include Markdown, Include JSON, and/or Include SDoc, plus optional project name for filenames.
3. Click Export Chat. Saves under your normal Downloads behavior.

Project batch (ChatGPT or Claude)

1. Open the project and scroll the sidebar so every chat you want is listed.
2. Set Project name, select the chats to export, then run the export.
3. The popup shows how many chats will export and current status (progress) while the batch runs. Plan roughly a few seconds per chat.
4. You get a flat folder with 00-project-index.md, manifest.json, and exports; you can use the ZIP option for a single-file download when offered.

ChatGPT attachments (this chat only)

1. Stay on the conversation URL (…/c/<chat-id>).
2. Open the extension → Download chat attachments.
3. Files save under Downloads/ChatVault-files--<Project>--<Chat>--YYYY-MM-DD/. If nothing appears, refresh, ensure file chips show in the UI, and retry.

After export

Markdown is plain text; open anywhere. JSON keeps structured turns for tooling. For the ChatVault CLI, point chatvault ingest --source extension-export at the exported folder; see the repo for full integration docs.

Highlights

• Formats: Markdown, JSON, and/or SDoc in any mix; ZIP when you want one download instead of a folder (where the popup offers it).
• Privacy: no telemetry; extraction runs locally in your browser. Downloads use your session cookies for sites you are already logged into.
• ChatGPT attachments: DOM/shadow/React discovery plus background filename hints; HTTPS only to allowed chat and CDN hosts.
• Open source: free; extension source and issues on GitHub.
• Optional batch-completion notifications; scroll project sidebars before exporting so every chat is listed.

Recent versions

Common issues