OpenAI ChatGPT Export Viewer

A fast, local-first viewer for large ChatGPT exports — built for high-volume archives split into conversations-000.json, conversations-001.json, and so on.

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Quick Start

1. Export your ChatGPT data

In ChatGPT: Settings → Data controls → Export data. You'll receive a download link via email.

2. Place this viewer inside the export folder

your-chatgpt-export/
├── conversations-000.json
├── conversations-001.json
├── conversations-002.json
├── ...
├── export_manifest.json
├── user.json
├── dalle-generations/
└── chatgpt-export-viewer/   ← this repo
    ├── index.html
    ├── style.css
    ├── app.js
    ├── worker.js
    └── libs/

3. Start a local server

cd /path/to/your-chatgpt-export
python3 -m http.server 8000

4. Open the viewer

http://localhost:8000/chatgpt-export-viewer/

Browsers block fetch() from file:// URLs. A local server avoids that and is required for large exports.

Linux Quickstart (one command)

cd /path/to/your-chatgpt-export/chatgpt-export-viewer
chmod +x run-linux.sh
./run-linux.sh

This script jumps to the export root, starts python3 -m http.server, and opens the viewer in your browser. It prints the URL and keeps the server running until you press Ctrl+C.

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Features

• Handles chunked exports (conversations-000.json → auto-detects the end)
• Search by title, or search inside chats with the In chats toggle
• Filter by model, category (gizmo), and date range
• Sort newest/oldest and star important conversations
• Export to Markdown
• Rich rendering: Markdown, code blocks with highlighting, math (KaTeX), images, tool calls, and more
• Virtualized sidebar for smooth scrolling across thousands of conversations

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How It Works

• A Web Worker loads all conversations-xxx.json files off the main thread.
• It builds a lightweight index (title, date, model, category) for fast filtering.
• Conversations are rendered on demand by walking the message tree.
• Image paths are resolved via export_manifest.json when filenames include extra suffixes.
• All third-party libraries are local (/libs) — no external CDNs.

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Notes for Large Exports

• The viewer expects chunked files named exactly conversations-000.json, conversations-001.json, etc.
• Place this repo one folder below your export root so ../conversations-000.json and ../export_manifest.json are reachable.

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Privacy

Your data never leaves your computer. The app runs entirely in your browser and uses only local files from the export directory.

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Browser Support

Any modern browser with Web Workers and ES6 support: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge.

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License

MIT