Claude Code · history

Export or back up your Claude Code history

Short answer: to export the conversation you are in, type /export (or /export notes.txt to write it straight to a file). To back up all of your history, copy the folder ~/.claude/projects/, where Claude Code keeps every transcript. Claude Code deletes transcripts after 30 days by default, so do it before then.

Where your history is

Claude Code stores session transcripts locally, in plain text, under ~/.claude/projects/: one folder per project, one <session>.jsonl file per conversation. A transcript holds the messages, tool calls and tool results, plus the system prompt, tool definitions and request parameters Claude Code sent the model. (Anthropic: application data, data usage)

On Windows, ~ is your user folder, for example C:\Users\you\.claude\projects\.

Export one conversation: /export

/export [filename] exports the current conversation as plain text. With a filename, it writes directly to that file; without one, it opens a dialog to copy it to the clipboard or save it to a file. (Commands reference)

Good for: sharing or reading one conversation.
Not a backup: it is one conversation at a time, as text, and you have to remember to do it.

Back up all of it

Copy the whole folder somewhere safe, for example:

# macOS / Linux
cp -R ~/.claude/projects ~/Backups/claude-projects-$(date +%F)

# Windows (PowerShell)
Copy-Item -Recurse $HOME\.claude\projects "$HOME\Backups\claude-projects-$(Get-Date -Format yyyy-MM-dd)"

The files contain everything you and Claude wrote, including anything you pasted into a conversation, such as keys or personal data. Store the copy as carefully as the original.

Keep it past 30 days

By default Claude Code keeps transcripts for 30 days, then deletes them in a background sweep, without a message. Raise the limit with cleanupPeriodDays in ~/.claude/settings.json; 0 fails validation, so use a large value such as 3650. (Settings reference) More: how to use cleanupPeriodDays.

Automatic: an archive

A one-off copy goes out of date the next day. Rootz Archive keeps its own exact, byte-for-byte copy of every Claude Code conversation and every file Claude edits, automatically, on your computer, and lets your AI search it. It can also share one conversation with a receipt that proves the file is unchanged. Free for individual users; nothing is sent to Rootz.

claude plugin marketplace add rootz-global/rootz-archive
claude plugin install rootz-archive@rootz

Then type /rootz-archive:accept in a new Claude Code session.

Questions

Where does Claude Code store conversation history?

In plain text under ~/.claude/projects/, one folder per project and one .jsonl file per conversation.

How do I export a Claude Code conversation?

Type /export in the conversation. With a filename, for example /export notes.txt, it writes the conversation to that file as plain text; without one, it offers to copy it or save it.

How do I back up all my Claude Code history?

Copy the ~/.claude/projects/ folder somewhere safe, before the 30-day cleanup deletes older transcripts, or use an archive that keeps a separate copy automatically.

Does Claude Code delete old conversations?

Yes. By default it deletes transcripts after 30 days, in a background sweep with no message. Raise cleanupPeriodDays to keep them longer.

Keep what actually happened. What Claude Code deletes, and when · Search old sessions · Rootz Archive

Facts from Anthropic's documentation as of October 2026. Written with Claude, reviewed by Rootz.