Add to ChromeClaude Code export vs claude.ai: pick the right path
Claude Code export is a terminal job. Type /export in the session, or copy JSONL from ~/.claude/projects. How to download a Claude Code conversation from the terminal is not the orange button on this site. Download Claude conversations saves chats you open on claude.ai in Chrome — including Claude Code on the web sessions at claude.ai/code. Local terminal sessions and Desktop are separate.
What is Claude Code export in the terminal?
Claude Code export is the /export command inside an interactive CLI session. Anthropic’s docs describe a menu to copy the current conversation or save a plain-text file, with messages and tool outputs rendered as readable text. Pass a filename to skip the menu and write that file.
This is not Markdown from claude.ai, not JSON from this Chrome extension, and not a PDF. It is a rendered transcript for a person to read. Anthropic says the on-disk JSONL log is a different, internal format meant for the product, not as your public API.
/exportTo skip the prompt and write a named file in the current working directory:
/export my-sessionAnthropic’s session documentation is the source of truth for flags and filenames; they change between Claude Code versions. Treat community blogs as secondary. If /export’s dialog copy does not match what you see, your CLI is a different build — use the in-product help, not a screenshot from 2025.
For scripts, Anthropic points at other interfaces: claude -p with --output-format json or stream-json, resume by session ID, hooks that receive a transcript_path, or the Agent SDK. Those are Claude Code developer surfaces. They are not this website’s Chrome extension.
Readable vs structured. /export is the human transcript. JSONL under the projects folder is the log. The Chrome extension’s JSON is a third shape, built only from a claude.ai page. Do not write one parser for all three.
How to download a Claude Code conversation from disk?
How to download a Claude Code conversation from disk: copy the session’s JSONL file from the projects directory, or run /export for a readable transcript. Default path on macOS and Linux is under ~/.claude/projects/. On Windows it is %USERPROFILE%\.claude\projects. Filenames are session ids.
The project folder name is the working directory with non-alphanumeric characters replaced by hyphens. Anthropic truncates very long converted names and appends a hash so the directory stays within filesystem limits. If you cannot find the folder, you launched Claude Code from a different cwd than you think.
Each JSONL line is a JSON object for a message, tool use, or metadata. Anthropic states that this entry format is internal and changes between versions. Scripts that parse these files can break on a Claude Code release. Prefer /export or the documented script interfaces when you need something stable.
Storage can move. CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR relocates the config tree off ~/.claude. CLAUDE_CODE_PROJECT_DIR_NAME names the project directory when used with that config dir (Claude Code v2.1.234 or later, per Anthropic). cleanupPeriodDays in settings.json changes the default retention. None of those knobs are features of Download Claude conversations.
How to download claude code conversation files for backup is therefore: copy the folder, or export transcripts with /export on a schedule. This site will not add a “import JSONL” button. We do not read your home directory.
Does Claude Code export work with this extension?
No, not for terminal sessions. Download Claude conversations does not read local Claude Code sessions. The Chrome extension injects into claude.ai. It cannot see the terminal, cannot run /export, and cannot open JSONL. Claude Code on the web at claude.ai/code is the exception: it is a claude.ai page, so it exports like any chat. If you searched how to download a Claude Code conversation from the CLI, stay on this page’s CLI steps.
People land here because Google groups “Claude” and “export.” The Web Store listing is still claude.ai only. Installing the extension will not place an orange button in iTerm, Ghostty, VS Code’s terminal, or Claude Code’s desktop wrapper.
If you also keep a parallel thread on claude.ai for the same coding job, that browser chat can be saved with the extension. The two records are not merged. Tool calls that happened only in the CLI will not appear in the web export unless you pasted them there.
We get the same support mail every week: someone installed the Chrome extension and expected /export to appear. We only parse claude.ai. Claude Code already ships /export and JSONL. Wrapping the CLI would be a different product, and we have not shipped it.The Download Claude conversations team — builders of the Claude Chat Downloader Chrome extension
The extension is a claude.ai tool, not a Claude Code plugin. Its limits apply only when you export from claude.ai: Markdown, text, JSON, XML, CSV, and PNG are unlimited with no account; PDF and bulk ZIP are 3 a day free with Google sign-in; Pro at $3.99/mo or $26.99/yr removes the cap. None of that meters /export.
Can I export Claude Code on the web sessions?
Yes. Claude Code on the web runs at claude.ai/code, so Download Claude conversations exports those sessions like any claude.ai chat. Open the session in Chrome, click the orange button, pick a format, and click Export. This is the one Claude Code surface the extension covers.
Formats are the same seven as for every chat: PDF, Markdown, Plain Text, JSON, XML, CSV, and PNG. Markdown, text, JSON, XML, CSV, and PNG are unlimited and need no account. PDF asks for Google sign-in and shares the free plan’s 3 a day with bulk ZIP, unless you are on Pro. Code blocks keep their language tags. Extended thinking is a Thinking checkbox in the panel; tool / MCP steps and web search sources are opt-in switches in Settings.
The web export is what claude.ai/code shows in the browser. It is not the JSONL log of a local CLI run, and it does not reach sessions that only ran in your terminal. Per Anthropic, Claude Code on the web keeps its own session history, separate from the CLI’s ~/.claude/projects tree. For a terminal session, /export is still the path.
Where does Claude Code store conversation history?
Claude Code stores conversation history as JSONL transcripts under the config directory’s projects folder. Default on macOS and Linux: ~/.claude/projects/<encoded-cwd>/<session-id>.jsonl. Windows uses %USERPROFILE%\.claude\projects. Anthropic can change that layout; check current session docs if a path is missing on disk.
Resume is a different verb from export. claude --continue and claude --resume reload a session so you can keep working. /export writes a copy you can leave in git or email. One restores context. The other takes a record with you. Anthropic’s session page covers permission mode on resume, compact/summary, and picker behavior — none of that is this extension.
The desktop app, Claude Code on the web, and the VS Code extension each maintain their own session history, per Anthropic. This guide’s paths are the CLI. Web sessions stay on claude.ai/code, where the extension can export them. Do not assume a Desktop Cowork transcript sits in the same JSONL tree you use from the terminal.
Do not treat JSONL as a public schema. Anthropic says the line format changes. If you parse it anyway, pin a Claude Code version and expect breakage. /export is the stable way to get a human-readable Claude Code conversation.
Environment flags such as CLAUDE_CODE_SKIP_PROMPT_HISTORY can suppress transcript writes. If the projects folder is empty, check whether you disabled persistence, pointed CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR elsewhere, or never ran an interactive session in that directory.
How to download a Claude chat on claude.ai instead?
How to download a Claude chat on claude.ai: install Download Claude conversations, open the thread in Chrome, click the orange button, pick PDF, Markdown, Plain Text, JSON, XML, CSV, or PNG. That is the browser product, and it covers claude.ai/code sessions too. It is not terminal Claude Code export. Step-by-step: how to download a Claude chat.
Entire claude.ai history as separate files uses Export All on the Dashboard, not /export. On the free plan every chat in the ZIP counts toward 3 a day (shared with PDF, reset at midnight UTC); Pro removes the cap. Guide: bulk Export All. Formats: formats.
No account is needed for single-chat Markdown, text, JSON, XML, CSV, or PNG — those exports are unlimited. Google sign-in appears only for PDF, bulk ZIP, and Pro, so we can count the daily quota and restore Pro. Files are built locally, PDF included. Paddle bills Pro at $3.99/mo or $26.99/yr. None of that applies to /export in the terminal.
If your work started in Claude Code and you pasted a summary into claude.ai, download the web thread for notes and keep /export for the true CLI log. Two files beat one confused file.
Claude Code export vs official Anthropic Export data?
Claude Code export (/export or JSONL) is one terminal session. Official Export data is Settings → Privacy → Export data on claude.ai: a delayed JSON ZIP of the Anthropic account. They are not the same archive. The ZIP will not replace /export.
Whether a given Claude Code session appears in the account ZIP depends on how Anthropic stores that product, not on this extension. Treat the ZIP as a web-account backup unless Anthropic’s current privacy docs say otherwise. We do not add CLI sessions to that ZIP.
How to export a Claude chat from the website, including that ZIP versus the extension, is documented here: how to export a Claude chat. The extension’s PDF export does not apply to a terminal UI either. See download a Claude chat as PDF only when the conversation is on claude.ai, claude.ai/code included.
| You are using | How to export | This Chrome extension |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code in a terminal | /export, or JSONL on disk |
Does not work |
| Claude Code on the web (claude.ai/code) | Orange button in Chrome | Exports like any chat |
| claude.ai in Chrome | Orange button or Export All | That is what it is for |
| Anthropic account backup | Settings → Privacy → Export data | Different job — delayed JSON ZIP |
| Scripts / CI | claude -p JSON, SDK, transcript_path |
Does not wrap the CLI |
Claude Code vs Desktop vs claude.ai export?
Claude Code vs Claude Desktop vs claude.ai are three surfaces. Claude Code export uses /export and JSONL. Desktop is an app without this extension’s orange button. claude.ai in Chrome is the only place Download Claude conversations runs — Claude Code on the web at claude.ai/code included. Mixing the names is how exports fail silently.
Claude Desktop: if the chat synced to the same Anthropic account, open it on claude.ai and export there. If it only exists in the Desktop window, copy-paste or wait on official Export data. Guide: export a Claude Desktop chat.
VS Code’s Claude Code panel is closer to the CLI than to claude.ai. Do not expect our content script to inject into that webview. Use /export from the session that actually holds the messages.
Independent Chrome extension, not affiliated with Anthropic, PBC. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic. Follow their Terms of Service. We cannot give legal advice about copying tool outputs that include proprietary code; that is between you, your employer, and Anthropic.
FAQ: Claude Code export
How do I export a Claude Code conversation?
In the Claude Code terminal, type /export (optionally with a filename) to save a rendered transcript, or copy the JSONL file from ~/.claude/projects on macOS/Linux or %USERPROFILE%\.claude\projects on Windows. Anthropic’s session docs describe the current dialog.
Does this Chrome extension download Claude Code chats?
Not from the terminal. Download Claude conversations only works on claude.ai in Chrome. It cannot read local terminal sessions, JSONL transcripts, or the /export command. Claude Code on the web sessions at claude.ai/code do export, like any chat.
Can I export Claude Code on the web (claude.ai/code)?
Yes. Open the session at claude.ai/code in Chrome and use the orange button. PDF, Markdown, Plain Text, JSON, XML, CSV, and PNG all work. The six non-PDF formats are unlimited with no account; PDF needs Google sign-in and counts toward 3 free a day.
Where does Claude Code store conversation history?
Session transcripts are JSONL files under ~/.claude/projects/<encoded-working-directory>/, named by session id. The exact layout can change. Use /export when you want a readable file instead of parsing JSONL. CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR can move the tree.
How to download a Claude Code conversation as Markdown?
Claude Code’s /export is a plain-text transcript, not this extension’s Markdown. If you need Markdown specifically, export a claude.ai/code session or a claude.ai copy of the work with Download Claude conversations, or convert the /export text yourself. We do not convert JSONL to Markdown.
How do I download a Claude.ai conversation instead?
Install the free Chrome extension, open the chat on claude.ai, and use the orange button — or Export All for history. See how to download a Claude chat. Markdown, text, JSON, XML, CSV, and PNG are unlimited with no account; PDF and bulk ZIP are 3 a day free with Google sign-in; Pro is $3.99/mo or $26.99/yr.
Is /export the same as official Export data?
No. /export is the current Claude Code session. Settings → Privacy → Export data emails a JSON ZIP of the Anthropic account. Different product surfaces, different files, different waits.
Can I parse Claude Code JSONL with jq?
You can, with the caveat Anthropic publishes: the line schema is internal and can change. Prefer /export or claude -p --output-format json when you need a contract. Pin your CLI version if you parse JSONL anyway.
Does Claude Code export work on Windows?
Yes. /export is a CLI command. On-disk transcripts live under %USERPROFILE%\.claude\projects unless you set CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR. This Chrome extension still does not run inside that terminal.
Is Claude Code the same as Claude Desktop?
No. Claude Code is the terminal coding agent. Claude Desktop is the chat app. claude.ai is the website. Only the website, claude.ai/code included, gets this extension. Desktop export notes: Claude Desktop.
Will this extension ever wrap /export?
Not in version 1.16.2. The product scope is claude.ai, Claude Code on the web included: seven formats, local files, Google sign-in only for PDF, bulk, and Pro. If that scope changes, this page will say so. Until then, use Anthropic’s CLI for terminal Claude Code export.
Does /export include tool outputs?
Anthropic describes /export as messages and tool outputs rendered as readable text. That is their transcript, not our parser. For the exact current contents, run /export on your build and read the file — docs can lag a release.
Can I bulk export Claude Code sessions?
Not local CLI sessions. Export All on the Dashboard is claude.ai only. For many CLI sessions, copy the projects folder or run /export per session. There is no orange-button bulk for JSONL.