ChatGPT Export Explorer

Fork of z1shivam/chatgpt-export-explorer
This is an enhanced fork with additional features. See Credits for full attribution.

Note: This workspace also includes mckaywrigley/chatbot-ui as a separate project in the chatbot-ui/ directory (not currently integrated).

Privacy-first web application for viewing and searching ChatGPT conversation exports. Works entirely in your browser with no backend required.

Features

Enhanced Features (This Fork)

• ZIP Import Support: Full ChatGPT export ZIP file support (no manual extraction required)
• Enhanced Documentation: Comprehensive README and contributing guides
• Improved UI: Better landing page and user experience
• Production Optimizations: Better build configuration

Core Features (From Upstream)

• Multi-export support with separate databases
• Resume functionality (loads previous imports on startup)
• Search across conversations and messages
• Offline-first with IndexedDB
• Dark/light theme support
• Keyboard shortcuts

Installation

Note: This is a fork with enhancements. For the original project, see z1shivam/chatgpt-export-explorer.

1. Clone this fork:

   • Open a terminal window.

   • Copy and paste this command, then press Enter:

     git clone https://github.com/abcdqfr/chatgpt-export-explorer.git

   • Change directory into the project:

     cd chatgpt-export-explorer

   • (Optional) Set up upstream remote to sync with original:

     git remote add upstream https://github.com/z1shivam/chatgpt-export-explorer.git

2. Install dependencies and start the development server:

   npm install
   npm run dev

Usage

1. Export from ChatGPT: Settings → Data Controls → Export Data
2. Open http://localhost:5173 in your browser.
3. Drag and drop the ZIP file onto the landing screen
4. Browse and search your conversations

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl+Shift+K: Global search
• Ctrl+K: Search current conversation
• F3 / Shift+F3: Navigate search results
• Escape: Clear search
• Ctrl+Plus/Minus: Font size
• Ctrl+Shift+H: High contrast

Build

npm run build
npm run preview

File Structure

src/
├── main.js           # Core application logic
├── database.js       # IndexedDB operations
├── export-manager.js # Export registry
├── zip-handler.js    # ZIP extraction
├── search.js         # Search functionality
├── renderer.js       # Message rendering
├── sampleData.js     # Sample data
└── style.css         # Styling

Security

• Path validation prevents directory traversal
• Only extracts conversations.json from ZIPs
• Size limits prevent resource exhaustion
• XSS protection via DOMPurify
• All processing in memory (no disk writes)

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Credits

This project is a fork of z1shivam/chatgpt-export-explorer with enhancements.

Upstream Foundation

ChatGPT Export Explorer (z1shivam/chatgpt-export-explorer, MIT License)

• Original Author: z1shivam
• Core contributions: IndexedDB (Dexie.js) architecture, global search design, UI structure, message rendering, and database schema
• Enhancements in this fork: ZIP import support, enhanced documentation, improved UI, and production optimizations

Dependencies

• Dexie.js (Dexie.js, David Fahlander, Apache-2.0)
  Efficient IndexedDB interface.
• JSZip (JSZip, Stuart Knightley and contributors, MIT)
  ZIP archive extraction.
• Marked.js (Marked, Marked.js contributors, MIT)
  Markdown parsing.
• Prism.js (Prism, Prism.js contributors, MIT)
  Syntax highlighting.
• Vite (Vite, Evan You and contributors, MIT)
  Dev/build tooling.
• Node.js (Node.js)
  JS runtime (see their license).

Web APIs & Standards

• IndexedDB API (offline data)
• File API (file management)
• CSS Custom Properties (theming)
• ES6+ Modules (architecture)

Design & UX

• Inspired by the minimal and robust UI of ChatGPT Export Explorer.
• Key features: focused interface, drag-and-drop, sidebar navigation, keyboard accessibility.

Special Thanks

• Open Source Community: Your shared efforts make projects like this viable.
• Early Users & Testers: Feedback is crucial—thank you!
• ChatGPT Users: Those advocating for user-owned data inspired this tool.

License

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2025 ChatGPT Export Explorer Contributors

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

Syncing with Upstream

This is a fork of z1shivam/chatgpt-export-explorer. To sync with upstream changes:

git fetch upstream
git merge upstream/main

See UPSTREAM.md for detailed instructions on managing upstream sync.

Contributing Back

• Improvements relevant to the upstream project are proposed as pull requests to z1shivam/chatgpt-export-explorer.
• We follow current, stable releases for dependencies.
• Documentation covers usage of each key library.

Additional Influences

• Privacy-by-design approaches.
• "Works out of the box" philosophy.
• Progressive enhancement with standards.

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Made with appreciation for the open-source community.

If you use this code or its ideas:

• Attribute original creators (especially ChatGPT Export Explorer, Chatbot UI, and dependencies).
• Link to this project if possible.
• Continue supporting open-source ideals.

Thank you!