You’ve had a productive ChatGPT session—analyzed data, generated charts, created images, or had a breakthrough conversation you need to reference later. Now you want to save it.
ChatGPT offers more export options than most AI platforms, but they’re scattered across different features and come with some frustrating limitations. This guide covers everything: full conversation histories, data analysis outputs, generated images, and code files.
Quick Guide: Which Export Method Do You Need?
ChatGPT Export Guide
Exporting Full Conversation Histories
ChatGPT lets you download your entire conversation history in one export. This includes every chat you’ve ever had (except deleted ones and temporary chats), complete with timestamps.
How to export conversations:
- Click your profile icon (bottom left on web, top right on mobile)
- Go to Settings → Data Controls → Export data
- Click “Export” and confirm
- Check your email for the download link (arrives within minutes to hours)
- Download the ZIP file before the link expires (24 hours)
The ZIP contains conversations.json (complete history with metadata) and chat.html (browser-viewable version with formatting). You can request exports as often as you want—no frequency limit.
Note on Timestamps: While ChatGPT saves the exact time of every message, it does not always display them in the chat.html file you use to read your history.
To find the exact date and time of a message, you must open the conversations.json file. Look for the "create_time" tag. The time is stored as a Unix Timestamp (e.g., 1764355435), which you will need to convert using a free online tool to see the human-readable date. Apparently, OpenAI stores dates as Unix Timestamps (a long string of numbers representing seconds since 1970). To see the actual date, you can copy that number and paste it into a site like Unixtimestamp.com, or use a script to convert them.
⚠️ Critical limitation for Team users: If you use ChatGPT Team or Enterprise, workspace conversations cannot be exported at all. Only your personal workspace chats are included. The only workaround is manually copying conversations before they disappear—something business users have complained about for compliance reasons.
Free users get full export capability. Plus ($20/month) and Pro ($200/month) users access the same export system but generate better content worth preserving—data analysis charts, more file uploads, higher quality outputs.
Mobile apps (iOS and Android) work identically to desktop for exports.
Downloading Data Analysis Files
Advanced Data Analysis creates downloadable files directly from conversations. This feature works on Plus, Pro, Team, and Enterprise subscriptions.
What you can download:
Data files (CSV, Excel, JSON, text), visualizations (PNG, JPEG, SVG), documents (PDF, HTML, Markdown), and code files with proper extensions.
How it works:
Upload your data or describe what you need. ChatGPT processes it and creates outputs with download links in chat responses. Click the download button to save files. If no link appears, ask “Create a download link for this file.”
The catch: files only exist during your session. After conversations end, files become inaccessible. Download immediately or lose access permanently. Once you see “session expired,” your files are gone forever.
Upload limits:
Plus users can upload 80 files per 3 hours. Free users get 3 files per day. Files max out at 512 MB each, with practical limits around 50 MB for spreadsheets and 20 MB for images.
Recent improvements include one-click downloads, better handling of large datasets, and customizable charts as standard features.
Saving DALL-E Generated Images
ChatGPT switched DALL-E images to WebP format in 2024, which frustrates users needing PNG compatibility. The download process works, but format conversion often becomes necessary.
How to download images:
- Click any generated image to view full-size
- Look for the download icon when hovering (top-right corner)
- Click to save—downloads as WebP format
Converting WebP to PNG:
Use online converters (CloudConvert, Zamzar), image editing software (Photoshop, GIMP, Paint), or take screenshots with Windows Snipping Tool or Mac screenshots (Cmd+Shift+4) to capture as PNG automatically.
The new Image Library (rolling out in 2025) centralizes access to all your DALL-E creations across devices. But there’s a limitation: deleting conversations still removes images permanently. Download important images individually during sessions.
Important: Images aren’t included in conversation exports. You must download them separately. Free users generate 2 images per day, Plus users get 50.
Working with Projects for File Organization
Projects (Plus, Pro, Team, Enterprise) provide persistent file storage across multiple conversations. Think of them as dedicated workspaces where files stay accessible.
How Projects work:
Create a new Project with a descriptive name. Upload files you’ll reference repeatedly—datasets, documentation, code. Set custom instructions for that Project. Start chats within the Project, and ChatGPT remembers everything.
Files don’t disappear when conversations end. Upload a spreadsheet once, analyze it across multiple sessions without re-uploading. This helps iterative work—data analysis, code development, content creation.
Cloud storage integration: Connect Google Drive or OneDrive accounts to Projects. ChatGPT pulls files directly from cloud storage and saves results back. This streamlines workflows if you’re already working in the cloud.
Team users can share Project access with workspace members for collaboration on shared files.
Saving Code & Technical Files
ChatGPT generates code in multiple languages. Getting that code into working files is straightforward once you know the options.
Code blocks have copy buttons in the top-right corner. Click to grab formatted code automatically—preserves syntax and indentation.
Advanced Data Analysis provides direct downloads for Python scripts, JavaScript files, or HTML documents. Download links appear alongside code with proper file extensions, ready for development environments.
The Canvas feature (launched 2024) displays code in a dedicated panel for side-by-side editing. Export refined versions directly—the code you see is the code you download.
Understanding What You Cannot Export
Key limitations:
DALL-E images don’t appear in conversation exports (download individually). Team/Enterprise workspace conversations are locked—no export exists. Voice conversation audio isn’t included. Advanced Voice Mode sessions cannot be exported. Temporary chats (auto-deleted after 30 days) become unrecoverable.
Advanced Data Analysis has execution timeouts. Complex analyses may timeout before completion. If this happens repeatedly, break work into smaller chunks.
Third-Party Tools
Browser extensions fill gaps in native export—particularly for selective conversation downloads (individual chats instead of full history).
ChatGPT Exporter (Chrome) exports individual conversations to PDF, Markdown, Text, and other formats. ChatGPT to Notion syncs conversations to Notion databases.
Privacy note: Review extension permissions carefully. Prefer tools that process locally rather than sending data to external servers. Third-party tools may break when ChatGPT updates—they’re not officially supported by OpenAI.
Real Workflow Examples
Workflow 1: Data Analysis with Chart Downloads
Goal: Analyze sales data and create presentation-ready visualizations.
Steps:
- Upload your CSV file (under 50 MB)
- Prompt: “Analyze this sales data. Show monthly trends, top products, regional breakdown. Export charts and cleaned data.”
- ChatGPT processes everything and generates visualizations
- Download all outputs immediately: charts (PNG), cleaned data (CSV), summary (PDF)
- Follow up with “Create PowerPoint format” if needed
Why this works: Advanced Data Analysis handles processing automatically. Critical step: download everything before session expires.
Pro tip: Keep your original data as backup. Use Projects to organize files for repeat access.
Workflow 2: Conversation History Archival
Goal: Maintain comprehensive backup of ChatGPT interactions.
Steps:
- Request export monthly or quarterly: Settings → Data Controls → Export
- Download ZIP before 24-hour expiration
- Extract conversations.json and chat.html to backup storage
- For Team users: Manually copy critical conversations to personal workspace (Team conversations can’t be exported)
- Download important DALL-E images separately
- Save Advanced Data Analysis outputs (charts, datasets) separately
Why this works: Regular exports create safety nets. conversations.json provides machine-readable format. chat.html offers human-readable browsing.
Workflow 3: Image Generation Project
Goal: Create a series of related images for a presentation.
Steps:
- Generate first image with detailed description
- Download immediately (click image → download icon)
- Convert WebP to PNG if needed
- Iterate: “Create the same concept but [modification]”
- Download each variation before moving to next
- Create a Project for organization if generating many images
- Use Image Library to browse all generated images
Why this works: Immediate download prevents loss from conversation deletion. Projects keep related images accessible.
Best for Plus users: 50 images per day vs 2 for Free tier. Image Library centralizes access but doesn’t replace downloads—deleted conversations still remove images.
Key Takeaways
Conversation backup: Export via Settings → Data Controls → Export monthly. Links expire in 24 hours. Team workspace conversations cannot be exported—document critical exchanges manually.
Data analysis: Advanced Data Analysis creates downloadable files. Download immediately before session timeout. Plus users: 80 uploads per 3 hours vs 3/day for Free.
Images: Download individually (not in conversation exports). WebP format needs conversion for PNG. Image Library centralizes access but deleted conversations remove images. Free: 2/day, Plus: 50/day.
Code files: Copy buttons preserve formatting. Advanced Data Analysis exports complete files. Canvas enables side-by-side refinement.
Projects: Persistent storage across conversations. Cloud integration (Drive/OneDrive) streamlines workflows. Team plans enable collaboration.
Mobile works identically: iOS and Android support all export features. Large exports may process slower but functionality matches desktop.
Biggest limitation: Team/Enterprise workspace conversations can’t be exported—only personal workspace chats. Affects business documentation significantly.
ChatGPT offers the most comprehensive export system among AI platforms, but knowing which features require immediate action (data downloads, images) versus delayed export (conversation history) makes the difference between preserved work and lost sessions.
This guide is part of a series on exporting AI work. Check out: Claude Export Guide, Gemini Export Guide, NotebookLM Export Guide. For upload capabilities, see AI File Upload Guide. For daily limits, see LLM Usage Limits Comparison.