AExporter ProEARLY ACCESS

History · 2026

How AExporter came to be

Why it exists, every version of the extension, and how the website grew.

Current version beta.1.2

Why I built it

Sometime in 2026 my AI account was banned. I got it back in the end, but that was when it hit me: every idea, plan and half-finished draft I had worked through with AI lived on someone else's servers. If the account goes, all of it goes with it.

Only after it happened did I start to fix the barn door. "Second brain" was everywhere at the time — notes, ideas and research going into local vaults like Obsidian. Yet the AI conversations I spent the most time in were the hardest part to take with me: Claude's official export is raw JSON nobody can read, Gemini's Takeout has no chats in it, and copy-paste loses code blocks and formatting.

So I decided to build a wall around my own information: save a conversation as my own file in one click — one chat or many, processed locally, readable by me and by future AI. In the end it is about keeping a fuller record of myself. What you save is not chat logs; it is thinking you already did.

Extension history

  1. ResearchMapped the limits of each platform's official export, and settled on four platforms, single and batch export, formats "for people" (HTML, PDF) and "for AI" (Markdown, JSON, TXT), all processed locally.
  2. Userscript v1–v6Started as a ~1,000-line userscript: five formats, batch export, a floating panel. Then a built-in terminal log to track down batch hangs, merging split messages, keeping code blocks and artifact cards, and several rounds of PDF approaches.
  3. 6.9.0 · Browser extensionRebuilt as a Chrome MV3 extension; the export panel, formats and batch tools became the base for everything after.
  4. 7.0.0 · LicensingA backend for plans, redemption codes, device-bound activation, the free quota and email recovery. Licensing is decided server-side; your conversations are always processed locally.
  5. 7.1.0 · Knowledge assetsClean, Pure Dialogue, Obsidian and Agent JSONL exports, smarter lazy-load scrolling and synced settings — from "download chat logs" to "keep reusable thinking".
  6. 8.0.0-beta.1 · Early AccessThe first production release: completeness fixes for long ChatGPT, Claude and Doubao chats, and an honest warning when a scan did not finish.
  7. beta.1.1A reorganised popup: plan, days left and connection status in clear layers; account and settings grouped.
  8. beta.1.2 · On Edge Add-onsLayout fixes for the popup and settings; approved on Microsoft Edge Add-ons, the first official install channel.
  9. beta.1.3 · Payments groundworkPreparing international payments: Paddle checkout and automatic code delivery built and tested.
  10. On the Chrome Web Store · first paying customerThe Chrome version was approved; the website started selling through Paddle (WeChat Pay, PayPal, cards), with codes delivered automatically after payment.
  11. beta.1.4 · In reviewSupport for ChatGPT's new page (full history, image-only turns, attachments), PDF fixed and switched to a light layout, Claude exports the complete conversation, "Load all" fixed on every platform, and a "Check for updates" button.

Website history

  1. First websiteHome, install, redeem, FAQ, privacy, terms and refund pages on aexporter.uk, with [email protected].
  2. Edge Add-ons as the main install routeNo downloadable packages — the site points to the official store; installing Free and buying Pro are separate.
  3. Online checkoutBuy on the website; the code appears on the success page and arrives by email; refunds revoke the license automatically.
  4. New websiteRedesigned: an opening animation, frosted glass over an aurora, inertial scrolling, a section rail and a small easter egg hidden in the logo.
  5. Chrome downloadsChrome Web Store links on the homepage, install page and FAQ.
  6. Version statusThe site shows the version live in the stores, and flags a new one while it is in review.

What I learned