For a portable record, open a chat in VS Code and run Chat: Export Chat… to save its prompts and responses as JSON. To see supported Copilot sessions on another device, use session sync. If you restore local session files and history is missing, rebuild the local index with /chronicle:reindex. These are different workflows: VS Code does not document chat-export JSON as a way to restore a conversation as a live session.
Choose the right way to preserve your chats
| Method | What it does | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Chat: Export Chat… | Saves a JSON record containing the session’s prompts and responses. | VS Code’s documentation does not describe importing this file as an active chat. |
| Copy All | Copies the conversation as readable Markdown. | A transcript is not a restorable session. |
| Copilot session sync | Makes supported sessions available across devices and supported surfaces through your GitHub account. | Availability depends on account, feature support, repository exclusions, and organizational policy; opting out does not itself delete cloud copies. |
| Restore local session files and reindex | Rebuilds the local session index after a restore or missing-history event. | Reindexing is not documented as importing an exported conversation JSON. |
| Agent Debug Logs export/import | Exports or opens diagnostic data in OpenTelemetry JSON for inspection. | This is a separate diagnostic workflow, not a conversation-history backup. |
For a backup you control, save important chats as JSON and, if you want a convenient reading copy, also use Copy All for Markdown. Store the files wherever your regular backups include them; an external SSD or USB drive is an optional offline destination, not a VS Code sync or restore feature. The VS Code session-management guide describes the export and copy options.
Export a conversation to JSON or Markdown
- Open the conversation in the Chat view.
- Open the Command Palette and run Chat: Export Chat….
- Choose where to save the JSON file. VS Code documents that it contains all prompts and responses from the session.
- For a human-readable companion copy, open the chat context menu and select Copy All, then save or paste the Markdown somewhere covered by your backup plan.
The export preserves a record of the conversation. The documentation does not promise that it restores the chat’s active context, worktree state, or a live session on another installation.
Use Copilot session sync for supported cross-device access
VS Code’s session-history guide says local Copilot sessions sync to a GitHub account by default, allowing access across devices and supported GitHub and Copilot surfaces. The guide describes supported access through VS Code, Copilot CLI, cloud agent, code review, and the GitHub Copilot Desktop app. This does not establish identical support for every agent or agent harness. See Sync and query session history for the current scope.
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- Easily store and access 2TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
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- To turn off session sync, set
chat.sessionSync.enabledtofalse. - To exclude repositories, configure
chat.sessionSync.excludeRepositories. - Copilot Business and Enterprise accounts may be subject to GitHub enterprise policy or the VS Code
CopilotSessionSyncgroup policy.
Synced sessions are private by default; sharing requires an explicit action. The guide says tokens, API keys, credentials, and other secrets are filtered before session data leaves the machine. Turning sync off does not remove existing cloud copies. To remove data, use the Delete Session Sync Data command and choose whether to delete local-and-cloud data or cloud-only data. Deleting local-and-cloud data cannot be undone.
Restore local session files and rebuild the index
If you restored session files from a backup but sessions do not appear in history, run /chronicle:reindex or use the Reindex Sessions command. The session-history guide also identifies unexpected crashes, manually deleted session directories, and opting back into session sync as situations where reindexing may be appropriate.
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Reindexing rebuilds the local session index; it is not an import command for a JSON file created with Chat: Export Chat…. Follow the documented restore-and-reindex workflow in Sync and query session history.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Keep Agent Debug Logs separate from chat backups
The Agent Debug Logs panel has its own workflow: it can export a session to OpenTelemetry JSON and import a previously exported Agent Debug Log JSON file for inspection in the Summary and Logs views. That diagnostic file is not the conversation JSON produced by Chat: Export Chat…. See the Agent Debug Logs documentation.
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- HI RESOLUTION VIDEO RECORDING: Record Ultra High Resolution (4K 60fs) videos directly onto the T7 Portable SSD with your favorite camera or mobile devices; Supports iPhone 15 Pro Res 4K at 60fps video and more³
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