Conversation Management¶

Learn how to save, load, and manage your chat conversations in Convoscope.

Overview¶

Convoscope automatically saves your conversations and provides tools to manage them effectively. Never lose important chats again!

Conversation management in the sidebar - click to enlarge

Auto-Save Feature¶

How It Works¶

Automatic saving: Every message is saved as you chat
No data loss: Conversations persist even if you close the browser
Instant recovery: Refresh the page and your conversation is still there
Backup system: Multiple backup copies prevent data corruption

What Gets Saved¶

All messages (yours and AI responses)
Timestamps for each message
Provider information (which AI responded)
Conversation metadata (length, tokens used)

Manual Save & Load¶

Saving Conversations¶

Click "Save Conversation" in the sidebar
Enter a descriptive name (e.g., "Python Help Session", "Creative Writing Ideas")
Click Save - conversation is permanently stored
See confirmation - green message shows save was successful

Loading Conversations¶

Use the dropdown menu in the sidebar
Select any saved conversation from the list
Conversation loads instantly - all previous messages appear
Continue chatting - add new messages to the loaded conversation

Best Practices for Naming¶

Use descriptive names: "React Debug Session" vs "Conversation 1"
Include dates: "Marketing Ideas - March 2024"
Add topics: "Python Tutorial - Loops and Functions"
Keep it short: Names appear in dropdown, so be concise

Conversation File Management¶

Where Conversations Are Stored¶

convoscope/
└── conversation_history/
    ├── auto_backup.json          # Latest auto-save
    ├── my_python_help.json       # Your saved conversations
    ├── creative_writing.json
    └── debugging_session.json

File Format¶

Conversations are saved as JSON files with this structure:

{
  "conversation_name": "Python Help Session",
  "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "How do I create a list in Python?",
      "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:15Z"
    },
    {
      "role": "assistant",
      "content": "You can create a list in Python using square brackets...",
      "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:18Z",
      "provider": "openai",
      "model": "gpt-3.5-turbo"
    }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "total_messages": 12,
    "providers_used": ["openai", "anthropic"],
    "conversation_length": "45 minutes"
  }
}

Exporting Conversations¶

HTML Export¶

Create beautiful, shareable HTML files of your conversations:

Click "Export to HTML" in the sidebar
Choose conversation to export
File downloads automatically with styled formatting
Open in any browser - no special software needed

Export Features¶

Formatted text: Proper styling with code blocks, lists, etc.
Timestamps: When each message was sent
Provider info: Which AI responded to each message
Responsive design: Looks great on desktop and mobile
Printable: Clean format for printing conversations

Example Export¶

The exported HTML includes: - Header: Conversation name, date, duration - Message threads: Clean back-and-forth format - Syntax highlighting: Code blocks are properly formatted - Metadata: Total messages, providers used, etc.

Managing Multiple Conversations¶

Conversation Organization¶

flowchart TD A[New Topic?] --> B[Start New Conversation] A --> C[Continue Existing?] C --> D[Load from Dropdown] B --> E[Chat & Auto-Save] D --> E E --> F{Important Conversation?} F -->|Yes| G[Save with Descriptive Name] F -->|No| H[Let Auto-Save Handle It] G --> I[Export if Needed] H --> I style A fill:#e3f2fd style I fill:#e8f5e8

When to Start New Conversations¶

New topics: Different subject matter
New projects: Each project gets its own chat
Context switches: When you need fresh context
Performance: Very long chats can slow down the interface

When to Continue Existing¶

Follow-up questions: Building on previous responses
Iterative work: Refining ideas or code
Context important: When AI needs to remember previous discussion

Advanced Features¶

Backup and Recovery¶

Automatic Backups: - Created every few minutes during active chats - Stored as auto_backup.json - Restored automatically if main conversation fails

Manual Recovery: 1. Check conversation_history/ folder 2. Look for .backup files 3. Rename to .json and load manually if needed

Conversation Merging¶

If you need to combine conversations:

Export both as HTML
Copy content between files
Save as new conversation
Delete originals if no longer needed

Bulk Operations¶

For managing many conversations:

# List all conversations
ls conversation_history/*.json

# Find conversations by content
grep -l "Python" conversation_history/*.json

# Archive old conversations
mkdir archive_2023
mv conversation_history/old_*.json archive_2023/

Storage Limits and Cleanup¶

Managing Storage¶

File sizes: Large conversations (1000+ messages) may slow interface
Disk space: JSON files are text-based, so quite compact
Performance: Consider archiving very old conversations

Cleanup Strategies¶

Regular exports: Export important chats to HTML for archive
Delete test chats: Remove experimental or test conversations
Archive by date: Move old conversations to dated folders
Keep essentials: Maintain frequently-referenced conversations

Troubleshooting¶

Common Issues¶

Conversation Won't Save: - Check file permissions on conversation_history/ folder - Verify disk space available - Look for error messages in interface

Can't Load Conversation: - File may be corrupted - check backup files - JSON syntax error - validate file format - File permissions issue - check read access

Missing Conversations: - Check conversation_history/ folder exists - Look for .backup files - Verify file names match dropdown list

Recovery Steps¶

Check auto-backup: conversation_history/auto_backup.json
Look for backup files: Files ending in .backup
Validate JSON: Use online JSON validator if needed
Restart application: Sometimes fixes loading issues

Need more help? Check the Troubleshooting Guide for additional solutions.