How to export a Claude conversation to Markdown

Reviewed 14 October 2026.

Markdown is a plain text format that keeps headings, lists, links, and code readable. It is a useful way to store a Claude conversation in Obsidian or move it into Notion. You can build a file manually, or use Claude's official archive and a local viewer.

Keep the difference between a conversation and an answer in mind. Copying one response does not preserve the prompt that produced it, later corrections, or an alternate response. Decide what your note should contain before choosing the export route.

Make a Markdown file manually

Open the Claude conversation. Select and copy the first prompt you want to retain.
Open a plain text editor and add a title beginning with a single #. Add a ## You heading, then paste your prompt underneath.
Add a ## Claude heading and copy the corresponding answer. Repeat for the remaining turns in their original order.
Repair headings, links, lists, and fenced code where pasted text lost its Markdown structure. Compare code indentation with the source.
Save the file with a .md extension and UTF-8 encoding. Open it in your notes app and compare the rendered result with the chat.

Clipboard output can vary, so inspect a short response before copying a long exchange. If you see Markdown markers already present, keep them where appropriate. If you see only plain text, add the structure yourself. Avoid wrapping an entire conversation in one code fence: that stops normal headings and links from rendering.

For a code block, put three backticks on a line before and after the code, with the language after the opening fence when known. Preserve the original code rather than asking Claude to recreate the transcript from memory. A newly generated summary is a different document.

Use Claude's official account export

For individual accounts, click your initials at the lower left, open Settings, select Privacy, and choose Export data. Download from the email while signed in; its link lasts 24 hours. Web and Claude Desktop support this; mobile apps do not. Team and Enterprise exports require the organization's Primary Owner. See Claude's official export instructions.

The archive is account data, not a folder of polished Markdown notes. Open a compatible ZIP or conversations.json in the free chat export viewer. Search for the title, select the conversation, inspect its notes, and choose Download Markdown. The viewer reads locally and saves one conversation at a time.

Keep the original archive separately. If the viewer reports unavailable attachments or incomplete branch information, compare with the live conversation when possible. It cannot recover a file that was absent from the export.

Put the file in Obsidian

Obsidian stores notes as local Markdown files, as its import documentation explains. Copy the .md file into a folder inside your vault using your file manager. Then find the note in Obsidian and check both its source and reading views.

Start with one note before importing many. Choose a filename that identifies the topic and date, and avoid replacing an existing note accidentally. If the conversation references images, keep their files and paths with the note; an external URL or placeholder is not a local attachment.

Import the file into Notion

On desktop or web, open Settings, Import, then Text & Markdown, and select your .md file. Notion's import help documents this route. Inspect code, headings, and tables after import; nonstandard Markdown and anchor links may need repair.

Importing into Notion sends the file to your Notion workspace. A local export does not make that later upload local. Check the destination page and its sharing permissions before moving private work there.

Ownchats as another Markdown route

Ownchats exports the open Claude or ChatGPT conversation to Markdown in Chrome. It keeps speaker headings and includes metadata such as the title, platform, date, and model when available. Open the intended branch, choose Markdown, and review the count and warnings before placing the file in your notes.

Markdown and HTML exports are unlimited in the free tier. Word and PDF share a five-export free allowance. Pro adds selected messages and account-archive search and bulk export. The product page currently shows a launch waitlist, so check availability before planning an extension-based workflow.

Ownchats does not push directly into Notion or Obsidian. You save a file and import or copy it yourself. Version 1 supports ChatGPT and Claude, with Gemini still planned. Reasoning and tool output are off by default; attached filenames and image placeholders may need separate handling.