The bridge between your AI chat and your editor.
Exportal is a bidirectional bridge between
Claude.ai / ChatGPT and Claude Code
in VS Code. One click in any chat → clean Markdown in your
workspace, auto-attached to Claude Code as @-mention.
Continue your work without copy-paste.
Under the hood
No mock screenshots — the actual file structure you receive, and the real architecture of the bridge.
The Markdown you receive
# Exportal — claude.ai conversation
- **Title:** Refactoring the auth middleware
- **UUID:** `7f3a4b9c-2d8e-4c11-a8d3-...`
- **Created:** 2026-04-22T14:32:11Z
- **Messages:** 14
- **Redaction:** enabled
## User
Can you read src/auth/middleware.ts and walk me through
how the JWT verification works?
## Assistant
> *thinking*
> Let me read the file first to understand the
> current implementation.
[tool_use: read_file]
{ "path": "src/auth/middleware.ts" }
The current implementation uses `jsonwebtoken` v9 with
HS256. The `verifyToken` function on line 23 takes a
request and...A real export from a Claude.ai conversation. Tool-use blocks, thinking, and inline code are preserved verbatim — ready to paste into Claude Code as context, or auto-attached for you.
How the bridge works
All traffic flows through your loopback address. There is no Exportal cloud, no analytics, no telemetry. The Chrome companion talks only to 127.0.0.1 — your own machine.
What it does
Six capabilities that, taken together, no other tool offers today.
One-click export
From any chat at claude.ai/chat, claude.ai/design/p, or chatgpt.com/c → a clean Markdown file in your VS Code workspace, including tool use, thinking, and results.
Auto-attach to Claude Code
Exported files land as @-mention in the Claude Code panel. Continue the conversation in your editor with full context — no copy-paste, no re-explaining.
Bidirectional
Send any Claude Code session back to claude.ai or ChatGPT. The chat is rendered, copied to your clipboard, and the provider opens — paste and continue in the cloud.
Claude Design support
For claude.ai/design/p projects, generated assets (HTML, JSX, JSON) are also downloaded into a sibling folder so Claude Code sees them too.
Official ZIP imports
Drop a Claude.ai or ChatGPT data export ZIP and Exportal renders it. Auto-detects new ZIPs in your Downloads folder while the panel is visible.
Appear in /resume
Optional opt-in: imported conversations appear in Claude Code's /resume command as if they were native local sessions. Experimental.
How it works
Three steps. After the first pairing, daily use is one click.
-
Install both
The Exportal Companion from the Chrome Web Store, and the Exportal extension from the VS Code Marketplace.
-
Pair once
Ctrl+Shift+P→Exportal: Show pairing token→ click Copy and open Chrome. The companion auto-detects the token and pairs. No copy-paste. -
Click & continue
On any chat, click the floating Exportal button. VS Code opens the conversation as Markdown, attached to Claude Code as
@-mention. Or useAlt+Shift+E.
Architecture & Privacy
For users who care how their tools actually work — and want to verify.
Local-first by design
The Chrome companion and the VS Code extension communicate through
a local HTTP loopback bridge on 127.0.0.1,
authenticated by a token paired once. No remote servers exist in the
data path — the server lives inside your own VS Code, on your own
machine.
- No remote servers. Nothing is sent off your machine.
- No analytics. No telemetry. No accounts.
- Network permissions are used only to talk to
127.0.0.1— your own loopback address. - Reads conversations through your existing browser session, the same way your browser already reads them when you scroll. No automation, no scraping, no rate-limit abuse.
- Open source under MIT — every line of the Chrome extension, the VS Code extension, and the bridge protocol is auditable on GitHub.
The full threat model is documented in
SECURITY.md:
what is treated as a sensitive asset, where redaction applies by
default, what is intentionally out of scope (e.g. encryption at
rest), and how the pairing token mitigates loopback access from
other processes.
Who built this
Built in the open
Every commit, decision, and roadmap item is public. The repo is the source of truth — not a polished landing page.
FAQ
Short, honest answers.
Does Exportal work without the VS Code extension?
No. Exportal is a bridge — both halves are required. The Chrome companion talks to a local HTTP server that lives inside the VS Code extension. Both are free and MIT-licensed.
Why does the Chrome extension ask for network permissions if it's local?
The "network" permission is used only to talk to 127.0.0.1 — your own machine's loopback address. There is no remote server. You can verify this by reading the source code.
Will Anthropic or OpenAI ban my account?
No. Exportal only reads conversations you already have access to, using your existing browser session — the same way your browser does when you scroll through them. No automation, no scraping, no rate-limit abuse.
Does it work with Pro / Max / Team / Enterprise plans?
Yes, with all of them. Exportal uses your existing logged-in session — whatever you can see in your browser, Exportal can export.
What if Anthropic or OpenAI change their internal API?
Exportal parses responses defensively and falls back gracefully. If a structural change breaks something, file an issue on GitHub and it'll be fixed quickly. The official ZIP import path is also always available as a fallback that does not depend on the internal API.
Is the /resume integration officially supported?
No. The .jsonl session format used by Claude Code is reverse-engineered, not officially documented by Anthropic. The /resume integration is opt-in and labelled experimental — it may break across Claude Code versions. The Markdown export, which is the primary feature, is unaffected.
How is this different from existing exporters in the Chrome Web Store?
Existing exporters save chats to a file. Exportal is a bridge: the exported conversation is auto-attached to Claude Code in VS Code so you continue the conversation, not just archive it. It's also bidirectional, supports claude.ai/design/p with asset download, and is the only tool that integrates with Claude Code's /resume command.