Update (2024-09-24): The official chat export function appears to be working again!
Hey everyone! I know a lot of us are having issues with the chat export feature right now, and I’ve been testing some workarounds. Since OpenAI seems to be focused on rolling out a new model, I thought this might help tide folks over until the export issue is resolved. I’m still learning to code, but I’ve found a method that works using a user script in my browser and thought I’d share it.
Purpose
At the time of this writing, many of us are having trouble exporting chat data. Some receive emails, but recent chats are missing, while others don’t receive any emails at all. Clearing the cache, logging out, and switching browsers hasn’t helped, and the same issues occur when using the mobile apps. There doesn’t seem to be a clear pattern in which chats are successfully exported using ChatGPT’s built-in feature at the moment.
Security Disclaimer
I just want to say that while I’ve checked the code of the user script for any obvious security issues, I’m not an expert. This script has over 1,200 stars on GitHub and is actively maintained, so it seems pretty trustworthy to me personally, but you should always be cautious and do your own research when using third-party scripts. UsE aT yOuR oWn RiSk!
All the steps
If you follow these steps you should get it to work fast, but if you have any suggestions how I can explain it better, please let me know. I added pictures so you quickly see where to look.
Neuron Activation 
- First, you need to install a browser extension that lets you run user scripts. You can use Tampermonkey (but Greasemonkey should work as well if you already have it installed.)
Load the Script 
- Head over to the ChatGPT Exporter GitHub page.
- Once you have the browser extension installed, press the blue Install button for either Greasyfork or GitHub Raw to load the user script.
Enable the Script 
- After installing the script, you’ll see a small on/off switch for the script when you open Tampermonkey while visiting chat.openai.com or chatgpt.com.
- Make sure the script is on, and then refresh your browser.
Using the Export Feature 
- Once the script is enabled, a GUI will appear at the bottom left of your screen on the ChatGPT interface.
- You’ll be able to export your chats in various formats: HTML, Markdown, JSON, Screenshot, and you can even export individual chats or all at once in a .zip file.
- I personally export in HTML and Markdown. HTML is great for quickly viewing individual chats, while Markdown is perfect for curating collections. (I use an app called Obsidian for managing Markdown files, which is really, really good, but that’s a topic for another day!)
Contributing to the Project
I’m not the author of this script, but if you have ideas or encounter issues, you can check out the issue tracker and CONTRIBUTING.md on the GitHub project to get involved or report problems. The community around this project seems pretty active, and it’s nice to mingle with people who share the interest in ChatGPT.
Some more thoughts
I hope this workaround helps some of you while you wait for the official export feature to return in full. I’m always trying to be mindful of what I’m sharing with the model when I enable training data. I regularly export and wipe my chats, and then enable data sharing for work and meaningful use cases, and I hope that can help to make the model better. It’s just a raindrop in the big sea of chats, but I want to do my part to build a better future for all carbon and silicon-based people.
How do you use the export feature in ChatGPT? Do you always enable training data sharing, or do you use it selectively like me? And, do you have any suggestions to make the UX better?
I would love to have a quick toggle for individual chats to enable training data sharing.
If you have any ideas, and questions or run into any issues with the script, feel free to ask!