Session Export Skill

Export Claude Code session JSONL logs to readable, UI-style text format matching the native /export command output.

Capabilities

• Export session transcripts from ~/.claude/projects/<project>/<session-id>.jsonl
• Generate formatted output matching Claude Code's native export style
• Support browsing recent sessions or exporting specific session IDs
• Create timestamped exports with flexible output location

Workflow

1. Identify the Session

When the user asks to export a session, determine which session to export:

If user provides a session ID:

• Look for the JSONL file at ~/.claude/projects/<project-path>/<session-id>.jsonl

If user wants to browse recent sessions:

• List recent sessions from ~/.claude/projects/ for the current project
• Show session timestamps and let user choose

To find sessions for the current project:

ls -lt ~/.claude/projects/$(pwd | sed 's|/|%|g')/*.jsonl | head -10

2. Determine Output Location

Check project context first:

• Look for existing session/transcript directories (e.g., sessions/, transcripts/, chronicles/, docs/sessions/)
• Check CLAUDE.md or project documentation for session export conventions
• If a pattern exists, follow it

If no project convention exists, ask the user:

• Suggest a sensible default like ./sessions/YYYY-MM-DDThhmm-<description>.txt
• Let user specify their preferred location
• Remember their preference for future exports in this session

Output filename format: YYYY-MM-DDThhmm-<description>.txt

• Date/time from the session or current timestamp
• Description from session summary or user-provided label

3. Run the Export Script

The export script is located at: <plugin-dir>/skills/session-export/scripts/export-session.py

python3 <plugin-dir>/skills/session-export/scripts/export-session.py <session-file.jsonl> <output-path.txt>

4. Report Results

After export, report:

• Output file path and size
• Session summary if available
• Number of messages/turns exported

Export Format

The export produces UI-style readable text with:

• Claude ASCII art header with version and project path
• User messages prefixed with >
• Assistant messages with ⏺ bullets
• Tool uses formatted with ⎿ markers
• Concise output (truncates long file contents)
• Filtered meta messages and command tags

Examples

Export current/recent session:

"Export this session" "Save the transcript"

Export specific session:

"Export session abc123" "Export the session from yesterday"

Browse and choose:

"Show me recent sessions to export" "List sessions from this project"

Error Handling

• If session file not found, list available sessions
• If output directory doesn't exist, create it
• If Python script fails, show error and suggest manual export