Backup My AI Chat
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File formats: what each export contains

Backup My AI Chat writes ordinary files: PDF and Word for people, Markdown and text for notes and editors, JSON for scripts, and images for sharing. This page lists what each one holds, how auto-saved files are named and arranged, and the settings that shape them, so you can decide which format to use and build on the files with other tools.

Updated

The formats at a glance

FormatExtensionBest forWhere you get it
PDF.pdfSending, printing, keeping a fixed copyExport, Custom Export, Bulk Export
Word.docxEditing, Google Docs, handing to a clientExport, Custom Export, Bulk Export
Markdown.mdNotes, Obsidian, Git, searchExport, Custom Export, Bulk Export, Auto-save, side panel
Plain text.txtThe words and nothing elseExport, Custom Export, Bulk Export
JSON.jsonScripts and other softwareExport, Custom Export, Bulk Export
Image.pngPosting a chat where files are awkwardExport, Custom Export, Bulk Export
Image archive.zip of .pngOne image per messageThe More menu, Custom Export
Shareable image.pngA single styled image for sharingThe More menu, Custom Export

Markdown and the file header

Markdown is the format Auto-save uses, and the one to choose for anything you will search, edit or keep for years, because every text editor opens it. Each file starts with a header between two --- lines that lists title, source, conversation id, link, created, updated, model, message count and tags. Obsidian shows the header as properties; other tools read it as YAML.

---
title: "Sorting a list in Python"
source: chatgpt
id: "…"
url: https://chatgpt.com/c/…
created: 2026-03-04T09:12:00Z
updated: 2026-03-04T09:20:41Z
model: "gpt-5"
messages: 2
tags:
  - ai-chat
  - chatgpt
---

# Sorting a list in Python

## You · 2026-03-04 09:12

How do I sort a list of dictionaries by a key?

After the header comes the conversation, with one heading per message that names the author and the time. Code blocks stay as fenced code with their language, tables stay as tables, and maths is written in dollar-sign notation. One-off Markdown and text exports can also start with the chat's source URL, a setting under General.

The Auto-save folder

Auto-save creates one subfolder per service inside the folder you chose, and project chats get their own folders. Files are named with the date and the chat title; two chats with the same date and title get distinct names.

AI chats/
├── ChatGPT/
│   ├── 2026-09-12 Chat number 8.md
│   ├── 2026-09-13 Chat number 7.md
│   └── Projects/
│       └── Research 2026/
│           └── 2026-09-05 Project chat.md
├── Claude/
│   ├── 2026-09-16 Claude chat 5.md
│   └── Projects/
│       └── Website/
│           ├── Project instructions.md
│           └── Knowledge/
│               └── glossary.md
└── Grok/
    └── 2026-09-14 Grok talk 1.md

A chat that changes updates its own file, a renamed chat keeps its file, and a file you have edited is left alone unless you switch Overwrite files I have edited on.

Attachments and images

Images and files uploaded in a chat are saved, where the AI site allows it, in a _files folder next to the chat and linked from the Markdown. For ChatGPT and Grok, some images live on a separate file server; the Auto-save page asks once for permission to read it with an Allow access button, and without that permission those images are noted in the text instead.

Service by service, Auto-save also keeps: ChatGPT archived chats, project chats and Canvas documents (first and final version); Claude project chats, project instructions, project knowledge files, artifacts (first and final version) and the text of uploaded documents; Grok generated images; Perplexity sources as a numbered list; DeepSeek thinking, citations, sources and file names; Gemini thinking and image notes.

JSON

The JSON export is structured data for programs: the chat title, the platform, the model, the URL, and the messages, each with a role and its text. Use it to feed a conversation into a script, a database or another tool. For reading, choose Markdown instead.

PDF and Word

PDF and Word exports are rendered with the Style Settings: one of eight themes (Light, Dark, Note, Old Paper, Sakura, Blue Mist, Fresh Green, Lavender), a page width, a font size (small, medium or large), and whether each message shows its time. Custom Export lets you change theme and size for one export without changing the defaults. Word files open in Microsoft Word, Google Docs and LibreOffice.

Plain text

The text export holds the conversation as plain text with the author labels and, if you want, the message times and the source URL at the top. It is the smallest file and the one that pastes cleanly anywhere.

Image, image archive and shareable image

Image is one PNG of the whole chat, rendered with the Style Settings. Image archive is a .zip with one PNG per message, for picking out single answers. Shareable image is a single styled image meant for posting. In Bulk Export, several chats become one long image or a section per chat.

Filenames

One-off exports are named after the conversation title by default. Under Settings → General you can choose date plus title, or a pattern built from {title}, {date}, {time}, {platform} and {model}. Bulk Export uses the same pattern. Auto-saved files are always named with the date and title.

What every format keeps