How to export your ChatGPT chat history

ChatGPT lets you download a copy of every chat you've had. Here's how to request the export, what you get, and how to turn it into a library you can actually search and read.

Request the export from ChatGPT

1. Sign in to ChatGPT on the web and open your profile menu.
2. Select Settings, then Data controls.
3. Under Export data, select Export, then Confirm export.
4. Wait for the email or text that says your export is ready. It can take up to a week, though it's often much quicker.
5. Select Download data export while you're signed in to the same account. The link expires 24 hours after you receive it, so download the file straight away.

These steps come from OpenAI's help article, Exporting your ChatGPT history and data, checked on 12 November 2026. If the menus have moved, that article has the current version.

What's in the export

The export is a ZIP file with your chat history and other account data. Chats you deleted can't be recovered this way. The file can contain personal information, so keep it somewhere private.

Make the export searchable with Hushfold

The raw export is hard to browse. Hushfold reads it and turns it into a library on your computer:

1. Add Hushfold to Chrome. It's free, and there's no account to create.
2. Drop the export file into Hushfold. It's read on your computer and nothing is uploaded.
3. Search, organise and read every chat. Importing the same file again never makes duplicates.

Free saves up to 50 chats, and Pro imports everything for a single $23 payment. You can also export chats from Hushfold to Markdown or JSON at any time, free.

Keep it up to date

An export is a snapshot. To keep new chats without exporting again, click Save next to the chat title on chatgpt.com, or press Alt+Shift+S. Saving the same chat again adds only the new messages.

Hushfold is made by Glintside and is not affiliated with OpenAI. ChatGPT is a trademark of its owner.