How to Move from the Web App to the Desktop App

What's different about the desktop app

Purchase and install

First, purchase the desktop app from the pricing page — it's a one-time £29 payment. After purchase, your license key will be emailed to you automatically. Check your spam folder if you don't see it within a few minutes.

Once you have your key:

1. Go to the download page and download the Windows installer
2. Run the installer — if Windows SmartScreen shows a warning, click “More info” then “Run anyway”. The installer is code-signed and safe to install.
3. Launch AI Chat Importer
4. Enter your license key on the activation screen and click Activate

Export your conversations from the web app

Your web app conversations are stored in your browser's IndexedDB — they don't transfer automatically. You need to export them first.

In the web app:

1. Click the settings icon
2. Select Export Data
3. Save the JSON file somewhere you can find it — your Desktop is fine

This creates a complete backup of everything in your web app archive.

Import into the desktop app

Now import your exported file into the desktop app.

1. Open AI Chat Importer desktop
2. Click the Import button in the sidebar
3. Select the JSON file you exported from the web app
4. Smart Import will analyse the file and show you a summary — new conversations, any updates, and duplicates
5. Confirm the import

Your full conversation history will now be in the desktop app, stored as individual files on your filesystem.

Set up your folders (optional but recommended)

If you had folders set up in the web app, they will be included in your export and should come across automatically.

If you're starting fresh with organisation, this is a good moment to set up your folder structure before your archive grows further. You have two options:

Manual: Click the Folder Manager button in the sidebar to open the full-screen folder view. Create folders and drag conversations in from the inbox.

Auto-Sort: If you have Ollama installed, use Auto-Sort to automatically classify your conversations into a suggested folder taxonomy. See the Ollama setup guide to get started.

Verify everything looks right

Before you stop using the web app, check that everything imported correctly:

• Your conversation count in the desktop app matches what you had in the web app
• A few spot-checks — open some conversations and confirm the messages are all there
• Your folders are intact if you had any set up

Once you're happy, you can clear the web app data from your browser if you want to free up storage — go to your browser's site data settings and clear data for app.ai-chat-importer.com. This is optional — there's no harm in leaving it.

Keeping your archive up to date

Going forward, re-import from ChatGPT, Claude, or DeepSeek directly into the desktop app whenever you want to update your archive. Smart Import will detect which conversations are new or updated and skip duplicates automatically — so re-importing is always safe.

You don't need to touch the web app again unless you want to.