Central Chat

A good answer is worth finding again.

Your useful AI answers are scattered across apps and buried in old threads. Central Chat brings your exported ChatGPT, Claude, and Raycast conversations into one searchable archive on your own computer or server.

Remember a Python snippet you discussed months ago, but not which app you used? Search once across your imported history, narrow the results to conversations with Code, and jump straight to the matching message. Save that search as a view when you want to return to it.

Try the interactive demo · Get started · MIT license

1. Export your history from ChatGPT, Claude, or Raycast using the step-by-step export guide.
2. Import a complete ZIP/JSON, or extract each export into its own folder and use Detect & Import. Keep numbered ChatGPT JSON parts together.
3. Search across titles and messages, filter by source or content type, and save useful views.

To keep the archive current, download a fresh export and import it again. ChatGPT and Claude messages with stable source IDs merge into existing conversations. Raycast exports match existing message histories and append new replies; uncertain matches are flagged for review. See how repeat imports work. Folder detection runs when you rescan; it does not watch for new files automatically.

The full guide covers download links, account restrictions, Raycast setup, server-folder locations, and common import problems.

• Search titles and messages with SQLite FTS5. Results show matching text and open the conversation at the relevant message.
• Filter by content. Click the colored Code, Images, Tables, Files, Audio, or Video badges, or choose a content type in Filters. Combine it with a source, message role, date, or search query.
• Save a view. Keep a search, filters, sorting, and display settings together. Saved views live in your database and are available from every device connected to your instance. Update, rename, or remove a view without changing the archive.
• Make the list your own. Display offers compact or comfortable rows, date or source grouping, sorting, and controls for visible metadata and search previews.
• Move through conversations. Previous/next controls follow the current view across pages. Use J and K while reading, or open the command palette with ⌘K / Ctrl+K.
• Read comfortably. Light and dark themes, responsive layouts, formatted Markdown tables, syntax-highlighted code, and copy controls for messages and links.
• Import complete exports. Detect extracted folders or upload a ZIP/JSON. Numbered ChatGPT JSON parts stay together; stable source IDs let re-imports merge messages. Raycast uses conservative transcript matching for fresh exports.

The public demo uses fictional conversations. Explore its interface without installing anything. Demo saved views stay in that browser; your own instance stores views on the server. Every screenshot below uses synthetic demo data.

To run your own instance, you need Docker Compose, Node.js 22 or later, and pnpm 11.19.0. The commands use the sfw package-security launcher described in the setup guide.

git clone https://github.com/daveonkels/centralchat.git
cd centralchat
mkdir -p data imports
cd frontend
sfw pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
sfw pnpm run build
cd ..
docker compose up -d --build

Open localhost:3000, choose Import, and add your exports. See the setup guide for local development, import instructions, and remote hosting.

Central Chat stores conversations and saved views in SQLite. It does not require AI API keys or send your archive to an AI service. A self-hosted instance sends data between your browser and your server.

• An archive of exports. It does not connect to your AI accounts, sync live conversations, or let you send new messages to AI models.
• Keyword and phrase search. Search uses SQLite FTS5; semantic search and asking an AI questions about your archive are not included.
• Attachment references. Images, Files, Audio, and Video badges identify references in exported messages. Original attachment contents are not hosted, transcribed, or indexed. Referenced images appear as links; opening an external link contacts that destination.
• Three supported sources today: ChatGPT, Claude, and Raycast. Other services require their own importers; arbitrary JSON files are not interchangeable.
• A personal instance. There are no built-in user accounts, sign-in controls, or permissions for separate users. Keep remote deployments on a private network or behind an authenticated reverse proxy.

Use Grok or Gemini? Help us validate their exports. Neither provider is supported yet. We found useful community examples, but not enough evidence to validate conversation reconstruction and duplicate-safe updates. Both importers are on hold pending samples; see the research and contribution guide.

The most useful contribution is a small export of deliberately fictional test chats, downloaded through the provider's own export tool. Include multiple conversations, a few follow-up messages, and a second export after adding a reply. Code, tables, and harmless attachments help test richer content too.

Open an export-sample issue with the provider, export date, format, and cases you can cover. Do not attach your full personal archive. Read the sample checklist before sharing files; public issues and pull requests are visible to everyone. You can also help by testing a future importer locally without sharing your history.

• Grok: validate native account exports, message order, and repeat imports; document branch and attachment limitations before an experimental release.
• Gemini: validate Google Takeout My Activity → Gemini Apps exports, conversation grouping, missing replies, and repeat exports before releasing an experimental importer. Google AI Studio exports are a separate format.
• Release checks: test folder detection and ZIP/JSON uploads, verify search and source filters, and label experimental support and known omissions in the UI.

Search normally, or combine words with operators:

espresso platform:claude
"design tokens" role:assistant
garden before:2026-06-01

The self-hosted search supports FTS expressions such as coffee OR tea and prefix searches such as garden*. Source values are openai, claude, and raycast. One content type can be selected at a time, alongside the other filters.

The interface adapts patterns from Circle. Its MIT notice is retained in the frontend licenses.

See Getting started for Docker, local development, imports, and data storage. JavaScript tooling uses pnpm 11.19.0, as declared in frontend/package.json. Use the locked dependencies; do not substitute another package manager.

Central Chat is released under the MIT license.