Basic Memory

Import Your ChatGPT History

Every conversation. Not just a summary.

Switching AI tools shouldn't mean starting over

  • You have months or years of conversations in ChatGPT. That's real knowledge — decisions, research, ideas, code.
  • Other tools offer "memory import" — but it's just a prompt that generates a summary. You get a paragraph. You lose thousands of conversations.
  • ChatGPT's own export gives you a zip file of JSON. Good luck searching that.
  • Your AI history is trapped. Until now.

Others offer “memory import” — but it's a prompt you paste into ChatGPT to generate a summary, then paste that summary into the new tool. You get a few paragraphs. Your actual conversations? Gone.

Summary vs. the real thing

A summary loses context. Your actual conversations don't.

Summary import
Basic Memory
What's imported
AI-generated summary
Every conversation, verbatim
Searchable
No — it's a text blob
Full semantic search
Format
Pasted into one provider
Plain Markdown files you own
Accessible from
One tool only
Any AI tool via MCP
Conversations preserved
~0
All of them
Can reference specific chats
No
Yes — search and link

Your conversations, actually useful

Import once. Search, reference, and build on everything you've discussed.

Semantic search across everything

Find that conversation from six months ago about database schemas. Or the one where you worked through that algorithm. Full-text and semantic search across your entire history.

Plain text you own

Every conversation becomes a Markdown file. Read them in Obsidian, version them with git, grep them from the terminal. No proprietary format, no lock-in.

Works with every AI tool

Your imported knowledge is available via MCP to Claude, Cursor, Codex, ChatGPT itself, and any other tool that supports the protocol. Your history isn't locked to one provider.

Knowledge that compounds

Imported conversations connect to new ones. Basic Memory builds a knowledge graph across everything — old ChatGPT discussions linked to today's Claude sessions.

Three steps. Every conversation.

1

Export from ChatGPT

Go to ChatGPT Settings → Data Controls → Export Data. You'll get a zip file with your full conversation history.

2

Import into Basic Memory

Upload through the web app or run `basic-memory import chatgpt` from the CLI. Every conversation is converted to searchable Markdown with semantic structure.

3

Use from any AI tool

Your ChatGPT history is now a knowledge base. Search it from Claude, Cursor, Codex, or any MCP-compatible tool. Reference old conversations in new ones.

What users are saying

Basic Memory changed my whole relationship with LLMs... I switched from GPT and Gemini to exclusively Claude and Claude Code because of this integration and am completely revamping all our companies processes around a basic memory workflow now.
Alex
TrainerDay
Basic memory is the missing 'wow' factor in AI chatbots—now I can't imagine Claude or Claude Code without it.
Caleb
Caleb Picker Consulting

Don't leave your knowledge behind

Try Basic Memory free for 7 days. Import everything. Your data stays yours either way.

7-Day Free Trial

$14.25$19/month
25% beta discount
  • Full access to every Basic Memory feature
  • Unlimited notes and projects
  • Mobile and web access anywhere
  • Private, exportable Markdown files
  • Cancel anytime, your data stays yours

Open source available for power users

View on GitHub