Import history from claude.ai

Import brings a copy of your claude.ai conversations and projects into Claude Desktop on third-party (3P), along with any Cowork and Claude Code sessions already on this machine from an earlier install. Everything lands in the local session store described in User identity and local data, so you can pick up work you started on claude.ai and continue it against your organization’s own inference provider. Each import is a one-time copy. New activity on claude.ai after you import does not appear in Claude Desktop unless you import again, and re-running the import does not create duplicates.

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Automatic import of earlier third-party sessions

Claude Desktop can automatically copy into your history the Cowork, Chat, and Code sessions it stored on this computer under an earlier third-party configuration. In an organization managed from the Enterprise Admin Console, this automatic copy is on unless it’s turned off in your organization’s settings. In any other deployment it runs only if your administrator turns it on. The copy runs once on each computer, in the background shortly after the app starts, and the sessions then appear in the sidebar. Your original sessions stay where they were, and sessions you already imported are skipped. The copy is listed under Import history in Settings → Import & export, where the Remove button deletes the copied sessions from your history. The app doesn’t copy them again later. Use the import wizard for your claude.ai conversations and projects, and for any local sessions the automatic copy left out.

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Before you open the import wizard

• Your administrator has turned import on by setting claudeAiImport with enabled set to true in the managed configuration. The import wizard is off by default; until then, Settings → Import & export has no Import… button and reports that import isn’t enabled for this deployment. The automatic import of earlier third-party sessions doesn’t depend on this setting.
• Claude Desktop is installed and running in third-party mode. See Installation and setup.
• To bring history over from a claude.ai Team or Enterprise workspace, an owner of that workspace has enabled member data export (next section). Personal claude.ai accounts can always export.

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Enable member data export (admins)

On Team and Enterprise workspaces, member data export is off by default. A workspace owner enables it on claude.ai under Settings → Organization → Data and privacy → Allow members to export their own data. Members of the workspace can then export their own conversations. The toggle does not expose one member’s data to another; each member can download only their own history.

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Open the import wizard

In Claude Desktop, go to Settings → Import & export and click Import… to open the Import from Claude wizard. The wizard has three steps: Chats (your claude.ai export), Cowork & Code (local sessions on this machine), and Review. Skip any step you don’t need. A fourth step, Duplicates, appears after the import only when an imported project has the same name as one you already have. See If a project already exists.

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Step 1: claude.ai chats and projects

You can pull your claude.ai history straight into the wizard by signing in, or download it from claude.ai yourself and choose the file. Click Continue, or Skip this step if you only want to bring in local sessions.

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Step 2: local Cowork and Code sessions

The wizard scans this machine for Cowork and Claude Code sessions from an earlier Claude Desktop install and lists what it finds. Choose how far back to include, and add any other folder that holds sessions (for example, a backup or a folder copied from another machine). Sessions are copied, not moved. Your original history stays where it is.

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Step 3: review and import

The Review step summarizes what will be added. Click Import to copy everything into your local session store.

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If a project already exists

When an imported project has the same name as a project already in Claude Desktop, the wizard adds a Duplicates step after the import finishes. This happens, for example, when you set up Northwind on this machine and then bring over history from another machine that also has a Northwind project. The step lists each match with two choices.

• Merge into existing moves the imported chats and sessions into your existing project and removes the duplicate. Folders you attached to the duplicate move with them. If your existing project has no instructions of its own, the imported project’s instructions are shown there for you to review and accept. Later imports from the same source land in the existing project as well.
• Keep separate leaves both projects in place. The imported one keeps a numbered name, such as Northwind (1), and Claude Desktop stops offering to merge it.

The Projects page offers the same two choices, in a row under the duplicate project’s card and at the top of the duplicate project’s own page. Decide there if your history was brought over automatically when you signed in, so you never saw the wizard, or if you closed the wizard before choosing.

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Continue an imported conversation

Open any imported conversation from the sidebar and keep chatting. The first time you send a message in an imported session, Claude Desktop asks you to confirm before it continues. The reply then comes from your configured inference provider, not from claude.ai.

• A session from this app’s earlier third-party configuration on this computer shows a Continue this conversation? prompt. Click Continue to send your message.
• Any other imported conversation or session shows a Resume imported session? prompt. Click Trust and resume to continue.

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Export sessions to move them to another device

When your administrator also sets exportEnabled to true under claudeAiImport, Settings → Import & export offers Export…, which writes this computer’s chats, Cowork tasks, and Code sessions (not terminal Claude Code sessions) to a zip file. On the other device, open the import wizard and select that zip with Choose file…; the wizard lists its sessions in the Cowork & Code step. The export is a one-time snapshot, not a sync, and the zip contains full conversation content, so handle it as sensitive data.

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What is and isn’t included

• Your data only. An export contains your own conversations, projects, and memory. Other workspace members’ content is not included.
• Chats and projects come over. Each imported project appears on the Projects page. If the project has custom instructions, Claude Desktop shows them in the project for you to review and accept before they take effect.
• Project knowledge files and conversation attachments do not. A member’s own export never includes the contents of files uploaded to a project’s knowledge or attached to a conversation. This is a security policy on claude.ai, and it applies to both the Sign in to claude.ai and Choose a downloaded file paths. Imported chats keep the messages that referenced an attachment, but not the file itself. The only export that includes file contents is an organization-level export, which only a workspace owner can request.
• One-time copy. Imported history does not stay in sync with claude.ai. Run the import again to pick up newer conversations; existing imports are matched and skipped, so you won’t get duplicates.
• Download links expire. The email link from claude.ai is valid for 24 hours. Request a new export if it lapses.