NetCodex Agent Conversation Exporter

Private, local-first exporter for AI agent conversations (Codex, Claude Code, Copilot, Cline, Cursor, Gemini CLI and more) into Markdown, Quarkdown and PDF: a desktop app that finds your AI tools by itself, a local web desk and a CLI.

Status

Version 0.4. Supported tools, where each one keeps its chats, and how to import them (netcodex where prints the same table with the paths that exist on your machine).

Where are my chats?

Tool	Status	Windows	macOS / Linux	Import via
Codex CLI / VS Code / Desktop	supported; override: CODEX_HOME	%USERPROFILE%\.codex\sessions\YYYY\MM\DD\rollout-*.jsonl %USERPROFILE%\.codex\archived_sessions\rollout-*.jsonl %USERPROFILE%\.codex\state_*.sqlite %USERPROFILE%\.codex\session_index.jsonl	~/.codex/sessions/YYYY/MM/DD/rollout-*.jsonl ~/.codex/archived_sessions/rollout-*.jsonl ~/.codex/state_*.sqlite ~/.codex/session_index.jsonl	Upload files, Local sources, CLI
Claude Code CLI / VS Code	supported; override: CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR	%USERPROFILE%\.claude\projects\<project>\<session>.jsonl	~/.claude/projects/<project>/<session>.jsonl	Upload files, Local sources, CLI
Claude Desktop (Code tab)	supported; override: CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR	%APPDATA%\Claude\claude-code-sessions\**\local_*.json %USERPROFILE%\.claude\projects\<project>\<session>.jsonl	<config>/Claude/claude-code-sessions/**/local_*.json ~/.claude/projects/<project>/<session>.jsonl	Local sources, CLI
Claude Cowork	supported	%APPDATA%\Claude\local-agent-mode-sessions\**\local_<id>.json %APPDATA%\Claude\local-agent-mode-sessions\**\local_<id>\.claude\projects\**\*.jsonl	<config>/Claude/local-agent-mode-sessions/**/local_<id>.json <config>/Claude/local-agent-mode-sessions/**/local_<id>/.claude/projects/**/*.jsonl	Local sources, CLI
Claude.ai (official data export)	supported; override: NETCODEX_CLAUDE_AI_EXPORT	%USERPROFILE%\Downloads\data-*.zip %USERPROFILE%\Downloads\<folder>\conversations.json	~/Downloads/data-*.zip ~/Downloads/<folder>/conversations.json	Local sources, CLI
GitHub Copilot Chat	supported	%APPDATA%\<editor>\User\workspaceStorage\<hash>\chatSessions\*.jsonl %APPDATA%\<editor>\User\workspaceStorage\<hash>\chatSessions\*.json %APPDATA%\<editor>\User\globalStorage\emptyWindowChatSessions\*.json	<config>/<editor>/User/workspaceStorage/<hash>/chatSessions/*.jsonl <config>/<editor>/User/workspaceStorage/<hash>/chatSessions/*.json <config>/<editor>/User/globalStorage/emptyWindowChatSessions/*.json	Local sources, CLI
GitHub Copilot CLI	supported	%USERPROFILE%\.copilot\session-state\<id>\events.jsonl	~/.copilot/session-state/<id>/events.jsonl	Local sources, CLI
Cline / Roo Code / Kilo Code	supported	%APPDATA%\<editor>\User\globalStorage\saoudrizwan.claude-dev\tasks\<id>\api_conversation_history.json %APPDATA%\<editor>\User\globalStorage\rooveterinaryinc.roo-cline\tasks\<id>\api_conversation_history.json %APPDATA%\<editor>\User\globalStorage\kilocode.kilo-code\tasks\<id>\api_conversation_history.json	<config>/<editor>/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/tasks/<id>/api_conversation_history.json <config>/<editor>/User/globalStorage/rooveterinaryinc.roo-cline/tasks/<id>/api_conversation_history.json <config>/<editor>/User/globalStorage/kilocode.kilo-code/tasks/<id>/api_conversation_history.json	Local sources, CLI
Cursor	supported	%APPDATA%\Cursor\User\globalStorage\state.vscdb	<config>/Cursor/User/globalStorage/state.vscdb	Local sources, CLI
Gemini CLI	supported	%USERPROFILE%\.gemini\tmp\<hash>\chats\session-*.json %USERPROFILE%\.gemini\tmp\<hash>\logs.json	~/.gemini/tmp/<hash>/chats/session-*.json ~/.gemini/tmp/<hash>/logs.json	Local sources, CLI
Continue	supported	%USERPROFILE%\.continue\sessions\*.json	~/.continue/sessions/*.json	Local sources, CLI
Aider	supported; override: NETCODEX_AIDER_PATHS	<repo>\.aider.chat.history.md	<repo>/.aider.chat.history.md	Local sources, CLI
Google Antigravity	best effort	%USERPROFILE%\.gemini\antigravity\conversation_summaries.db %USERPROFILE%\.gemini\antigravity\conversations\*.db	~/.gemini/antigravity/conversation_summaries.db ~/.gemini/antigravity/conversations/*.db	Local sources, CLI
Trae	encrypted, not supported	%APPDATA%\Trae\ModularData\ai-agent\database.db %APPDATA%\Trae CN\ModularData\ai-agent\database.db	<config>/Trae/ModularData/ai-agent/database.db <config>/Trae CN/ModularData/ai-agent/database.db	-
Windsurf	encrypted, not supported	%USERPROFILE%\.codeium\windsurf\cascade\*.pb	~/.codeium/windsurf/cascade/*.pb	-

<config> is ~/Library/Application Support on macOS and ~/.config on Linux. <editor> is any VS Code-family editor: Code, Code - Insiders, VSCodium, Cursor, Windsurf, Trae, Trae CN, Antigravity, Kiro, Positron.

Find them on your machine with netcodex where (--json, --patterns), or open the desk (netcodex ui) and click Where are my chats?: it lists every tool with its status, the resolved folder on this computer (Copy path / Open folder) and what to import. Encrypted stores (current Trae, Windsurf) are reported but cannot be exported. claude.ai chats are not stored locally: request the official data export (Settings > Privacy > Export data) and save the data-*.zip / conversations.json in Downloads or point NETCODEX_CLAUDE_AI_EXPORT at it.

Client labels written to the tool field: codex-cli, codex-vscode, codex-desktop, claude-code-cli, claude-code-vscode, claude-desktop, claude-cowork, copilot-chat-<editor>, cline-*, roo-code-*, kilo-code-*, cursor, copilot-cli, gemini-cli, continue, aider, claude-ai, antigravity.

All parsers map to one canonical model (Conversation -> Turn -> MessagePart with text, tool_call, tool_result, reasoning, image, attachment, system_context and summary parts). Tool results are attached to their call, injected environment/instruction/hook context is classified as system context, and mirrored Codex event_msg messages are de-duplicated.

Raw conversations stay local by default. Generated exports are written under exports/, which is intentionally ignored by Git.

Install

NetCodex runs on your own machine; it reads the local conversation stores and never uploads them. Python 3.12+ is required for the package installs.

How	Command	Notes
Desktop app (Windows)	Download NetCodex-Setup-<version>-x64.exe from the landing page (Download for Windows)	Per-user install, no admin, no Python. Portable NetCodex-<version>-portable.exe too.
Desktop app (any OS)	pipx install "netcodex-agent-exporter[desktop]" then netcodex desktop	Native window via pywebview.
pipx	pipx install "netcodex-agent-exporter[ui]"	Recommended. Drop [ui] for the CLI only.
uv	uv tool install "netcodex-agent-exporter[ui]"	Same, using uv.
Binary	Download netcodex-<version>-windows-x86_64.exe or -linux-x86_64 from the GitLab Release	Single file, no Python needed; includes the UI.
From source	git clone ... && uv sync && uv run netcodex --help	For development.

The PyPI package and release binaries are published from v* tags (first release: v0.3.0). Extras: [desktop] adds pywebview plus the UI server for netcodex desktop; [ui] (alias [web]) adds FastAPI/uvicorn for netcodex ui and the upload API; the core CLI only needs Pydantic and Typer. PDF export needs the external Quarkdown binary on PATH (no Python extra).

Desktop app

Download the Windows installer from the landing page (or the GitLab Release), run it, and open NetCodex from the Start menu. With Python on any OS: pipx install "netcodex-agent-exporter[desktop]" and netcodex desktop.

• A native window titled NetCodex opens (Edge WebView2 on Windows, WebKit on macOS, GTK or Qt on Linux) over a local service on a random 127.0.0.1 port with a per-launch token. The window is opened on a single-use launch link that sets an HttpOnly session cookie, so the token never appears in a URL. Closing the window stops the service.
• Detected on this computer: on open it scans every supported tool through the source registry and shows a card per installed tool (status, conversation count, last activity, workspaces). Encrypted stores (Trae, Windsurf) are flagged; tools that are not installed are collapsed. Export all, per-tool Export, and Choose... (search, date range and workspace filters) write Markdown plus an index.md into the output folder, incrementally (unchanged conversations are skipped; untick Incremental to re-export). Open output folder opens it in Explorer/Finder.
• Default output folder: Documents\NetCodex Exports (Windows Known Folder, so OneDrive-redirected Documents work). Change it with Change...; it is remembered in settings.json under %APPDATA%\NetCodex (macOS ~/Library/Application Support/NetCodex, Linux ~/.config/netcodex; NETCODEX_APP_DIR overrides). No conversation content is stored there.
• Upload files and Where are my chats? stay available (the full export desk).
• Single instance: launching it again brings the open window to the front.
• No WebView2 runtime (rare on Windows 10/11): a message offers the WebView2 download and the app opens in your default browser instead (netcodex desktop --browser does that on purpose).
• netcodex desktop --smoke starts the service, checks it answers and exits (used by CI).

Windows packaging lives in packaging/windows/: build.ps1 (PyInstaller onedir app + portable single-file exe, both smoke-tested, then Inno Setup 6 netcodex.iss -> per-user installer with Start menu entry, optional desktop shortcut, uninstaller, icon and version metadata) and test-install.ps1 (silent /VERYSILENT /CURRENTUSER install, smoke test, silent uninstall). Icons are generated from the brand mark by scripts/make_icons.py.

SmartScreen and code signing. The installer is not code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC" on first run (More info > Run anyway). The release job signs the exes and the installer with signtool automatically once the masked CI/CD variables CODE_SIGNING_PFX_BASE64 (base64 of a code-signing .pfx) and CODE_SIGNING_PFX_PASSWORD (optional CODE_SIGNING_TIMESTAMP_URL) exist; without them the step is skipped.

macOS and Linux desktop builds are not produced by CI: a macOS app bundle needs a macOS runner (packaging/icons/netcodex.icns is ready), and a Linux AppImage would have to bundle GTK/WebKit2. On both, use pipx install "netcodex-agent-exporter[desktop]"; on Linux also install a pywebview backend (sudo apt install python3-gi gir1.2-webkit2-4.1 with pipx inject netcodex-agent-exporter pygobject, or pipx inject netcodex-agent-exporter "pywebview[qt]"), or run netcodex desktop --browser.

Local UI: the Conversation export desk

netcodex ui            # opens http://127.0.0.1:<port>/app/#token=... in your browser
netcodex ui --port 8765 --out D:\exports --no-open
netcodex --version

netcodex ui serves the full export desk from your own machine: an upload rail for JSONL/SQLite/ZIP files with source auto-detection, a Local sources tab that reads the detected tools directly (Codex, Claude Code, Copilot, Cline, Cursor, Gemini CLI, ...), MD/QD/PDF formats with Quarkdown templates, the Upload > Analyze > Review > Export > Done tracker, a system activity log, the preview and the export summary with the ZIP download. The preview shows the Quarkdown HTML for QD/PDF exports and a rendered (sanitized) Markdown view for Markdown-only exports, plus the Markdown source tab. Where are my chats? (header button and Upload rail link) lists every supported tool with its status, the folder found on this computer (Copy path / Open folder) and what to import. QD and PDF need the Quarkdown CLI; the desk says so when it is missing.

Everything runs on 127.0.0.1: --host with a non-loopback address is refused unless --allow-remote is given, API calls need the per-launch token from the URL (exchanged for an HttpOnly, SameSite=Strict session cookie), and requests whose Host is not a loopback name are rejected. Nothing is sent to a NetCodex server.

The desk is the Next.js app in web/, built as a static site by npm run desk:build (scripts/build-desk.mjs) into src/netcodex/web/desk/ and shipped in the wheel. A source checkout without that build falls back to a minimal built-in page.

License

MIT, see LICENSE.

Setup (development)

uv sync
uv run netcodex --help

Common Commands

uv run netcodex sources                      # registered sources, found / not found
uv run netcodex where                        # where each tool keeps its chats, and what is on this machine
uv run netcodex where --json                 # same, machine-readable (also: sources --paths)
uv run netcodex scan --sources all
uv run netcodex analyze --source auto --json
uv run netcodex export --all --out exports   # every available source, every session
uv run netcodex export --all --since 7d --workspace my-repo
uv run netcodex export --source claude --formats md,qd --limit 1
uv run netcodex export --local --source codex --formats md,qd,pdf --template galactic-guide --json
uv run netcodex validate exports

export accepts --source auto|all|<name>[,<name>] (or --all), --limit N per source (default 0 = all sessions), --since/--until (ISO date or an age such as 7d, 12h, 2w) and --workspace <text> (case-insensitive match on the session's working directory). Tool inputs/outputs are capped per block with --max-tool-output-lines (default 200) and --max-tool-output-bytes (default 32000); the Markdown notes how much was left out. Payloads over 200k characters are also cut at import time, before redaction.

Exports are incremental: <out>/.netcodex-state.json records a fingerprint of each session's source files (size and mtime, including subagent files), its title and the export options. Re-running export into the same folder only re-renders new or changed conversations (renamed ones replace their old folder); --force re-exports everything and --no-incremental ignores the state file. To keep a folder up to date continuously:

uv run netcodex watch --out exports --interval 60   # Ctrl+C to stop

Large exports use worker processes (--jobs, default automatic, up to 4).

The "Where are my chats?" table above, netcodex where, the desk help panel and the public /where page all come from netcodex.sources.locations. After changing it, regenerate the README table and web/lib/chat-locations.json with uv run python scripts/export_locations.py (a test fails while they are out of date).

Sources live in a registry (netcodex.sources.registry). Store locations come from a per-platform path matrix (netcodex.sources.paths: Windows %APPDATA%, macOS ~/Library/Application Support, Linux ~/.config) that also enumerates VS Code-family editors (Code, Insiders, VSCodium, Cursor, Windsurf, Trae, Antigravity, Kiro, Positron).

Each export creates one folder per conversation named <source>/<date>-<title-slug>-<short-id>/ containing conversation.md, metadata.json and netcodex-manifest.json, plus an index.md table (date, title, tool, turns, link) at the export root.

conversation.md (Markdown v2) starts with YAML frontmatter (title, id, source, tool, originator, model, workspace, git_branch, started_at, ended_at, turn_count, subagent_count, parent_id), uses one ## Role · timestamp heading per turn, keeps code fences intact and puts tool calls/results and reasoning in collapsible <details> blocks. Images and attachments become placeholders. Content switches:

uv run netcodex export --source codex --limit 20 `
  --no-reasoning --no-tool-output --include-system-context --no-subagents `
  --max-tool-output-lines 50

Every export records the shared workflow analyze -> parse -> render -> package inside netcodex-manifest.json, including generated artifact hashes without storing transcript bodies.

PDF export uses Quarkdown for the MVP. If Quarkdown or its browser runtime is not available, the CLI reports the missing dependency instead of failing silently.

Releasing

1. Bump version in pyproject.toml and src/netcodex/__init__.py, merge to main.
2. Push a tag vX.Y.Z matching that version. The tag pipeline builds the sdist and wheel, PyInstaller single-file CLI binaries for Linux and Windows, the Windows desktop app (release:desktop-windows on the GitLab.com Windows runner: installer + portable exe, smoke-tested and install-tested), uploads everything to the project's generic package registry, writes the pointer netcodex-desktop/latest/latest.json (version, file names, sizes, SHA-256), creates the GitLab Release, publishes to PyPI with the masked, protected CI/CD variable PYPI_TOKEN (job skipped when the variable is absent) and, when the masked variable DOKPLOY_DEPLOY_TOKEN exists, redeploys the public landing (release:landing) so its download button serves the new installer.
3. macOS binaries need a macOS runner; build them locally with uv run pyinstaller --onefile --name netcodex --collect-submodules netcodex --collect-submodules uvicorn --collect-data netcodex scripts/netcodex_entry.py.

Development

uv run ruff check .
uv run pytest
uv build
npm run diagrams:check

Local Web

Install dependencies once:

uv sync
npm install
npm install --prefix web

Run the local API and web UI together from one terminal:

npm run dev

This starts:

• API: http://localhost:8000
• Web: http://127.0.0.1:3100

You can still run each side separately when debugging:

npm run api:dev
npm run web:dev

In development (npm run dev) the desk reads NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL (default http://localhost:8000) and the dev API also serves the local-sources endpoints. The MVP web flow accepts .jsonl, .sqlite, and .zip uploads, analyzes detected Claude/Codex sessions, previews Markdown, and downloads generated artifacts plus netcodex-manifest.json as a ZIP.

Public landing deployment (landing-only mode)

The web app can be deployed publicly as a marketing site (e.g. Dokploy/Nixpacks with build path web, npm run build then npm run start). Because the export workspace needs the local API, a production build runs in landing-only mode when NEXT_PUBLIC_LANDING_ONLY=1 is set, or when NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL is unset: /app shows a "This tool runs locally" panel with install instructions instead of the upload form, and every "Open app" call to action points to /install. Set NEXT_PUBLIC_LANDING_ONLY=0 to force the full workspace in a production build. next dev always keeps the local workspace.

Download for Windows. The GitLab project is private, so visitors cannot download Release assets. The landing serves the installer itself: npm run build runs prebuild (web/scripts/fetch-downloads.mjs), which reads latest.json from the generic package registry with a project deploy token that only has read_package_registry, downloads the installer and the portable exe into web/public/downloads/, verifies size and SHA-256 and writes web/lib/downloads.json (version, size, SHA-256 shown on the page). Configure it as build-time environment of the landing app (never commit it): GITLAB_DEPLOY_TOKEN_USER, GITLAB_DEPLOY_TOKEN (optional GITLAB_PROJECT_ID, GITLAB_URL, NETCODEX_DOWNLOADS_REQUIRED=1 to fail the build when the download fails). Without a token the page shows the pipx instructions only. The token is used only during the build; it never reaches the browser.

See docs/web/local-web-api.md for the API contract and temporary file cleanup policy.

Architecture

The canonical architecture model lives in docs/architecture/likec4/model.c4 and is validated with LikeC4. GitLab-friendly Mermaid mirrors live in docs/architecture/c4.md.

VS Code users should open the .c4 file with the LikeC4 extension installed. The expected extension id is likec4.likec4-vscode.

GitLab Flow

NetCodex uses GitLab Flow, not Git Flow:

• main is protected and always releasable.
• Work starts from issue branches named issue/<iid>-<short-slug>.
• Every change goes through a merge request into main.
• Merge requires a green pipeline and resolved discussions.
• release/* branches and v* tags are reserved for release preparation.

See docs/development/gitlab-flow.md for the full policy.

Privacy Rules

• Do not commit real exports, raw .jsonl files, SQLite databases or local attachments.
• Use sanitized fixtures only.
• Keep parsers read-only against source directories.
• Use --include-paths only when full local paths are intentionally needed in the generated metadata.