Copilot Chat History Search
A VS Code extension to search and browse your GitHub Copilot chat history. 100% local - everything stays on your machine.
Features
- 🔍 Fuzzy Search - Search through all your chat history with instant results
- 📁 Organized History - View chats grouped by date (Today, Yesterday, This Week, etc.)
- 📦 Archive Support - Shows archived/active/deleted status synced with Copilot
- 📤 Export - Export sessions to Markdown/HTML format (single, bulk, or pair)
- ↗️ Open in Copilot - Button to open session in native Copilot Chat
- 🎨 Rich Rendering - Mermaid diagrams, syntax highlighting, tables, clickable file links
- ⌨️ Keyboard Shortcut -
Cmd+Alt+H (Mac) or Ctrl+Alt+H (Windows/Linux)
Export Options
Export your chat history in multiple formats:
| Export Type |
Formats |
Access |
| Full Session |
HTML, Markdown, or Both |
Header button (hover for dropdown) |
| Single Message |
HTML or Markdown |
Message action button |
| Prompt+Response Pair |
HTML or Markdown |
Pair action button |
| Tree View Bulk |
Markdown |
Right-click folder → Export |
Chat Viewer
The built-in chat viewer includes:
- Mermaid diagram rendering (sequence, flowchart, etc.)
- Syntax-highlighted code blocks
- Markdown tables with styled output
- Clickable file paths that open at specific lines
- Per-message copy and export buttons
- Message highlighting when jumping from search results
Usage
Search
- Click the Chat History icon in the Activity Bar (left sidebar)
- Type your search query (minimum 2 characters)
- Click any result to view the full conversation
Commands
| Command |
Description |
Copilot Chat History: Search |
Open search panel |
Copilot Chat History: Refresh Index |
Re-index all chat history |
Export Session to Markdown |
Export a single session |
Copilot Chat History: Export All Sessions |
Export all sessions |
- 📊 Stats header - Active/archived/deleted counts
- 📂 Folders - Active, Archived, Deleted
- 📅 Date groups - Today, Yesterday, This Week, etc.
- 💬 Sessions - Individual chats with message counts
Settings
Configure via Settings → Extensions → Copilot Chat History Search:
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
storagePath |
(empty) |
Custom path to VS Code User folder. Leave empty for platform default |
maxResults |
100 |
Maximum search results (10-1000) |
fuzzyThreshold |
0.4 |
Search sensitivity (0=exact, 1=loose) |
Default Storage Paths
| Platform |
Default Path |
| macOS |
~/Library/Application Support/Code/User |
| Windows |
%APPDATA%\Code\User |
| Linux |
~/.config/Code/User |
Custom Path Example: Set storagePath to use VS Code Insiders or a portable installation.
| Platform |
sqlite3 |
Notes |
| macOS |
✅ Pre-installed |
Works out of the box |
| Linux |
✅ Usually available |
apt install sqlite3 if needed |
| Windows |
⚠️ Manual install |
See below |
Windows SQLite Setup
For full archive sync support:
- Download from sqlite.org/download.html → "Precompiled Binaries for Windows"
- Extract and add to system PATH
- Restart VS Code
Troubleshooting
Check Extension Status
View → Output → Select "Copilot Chat History"
Look for:
[CopilotHistory] sqlite3 CLI found
[CopilotHistory] Using native sqlite3 CLI for WAL support
Archive Count Mismatch
- Run
Copilot Chat History: Refresh Index
- If still mismatched, reload VS Code window
Custom Storage Path Not Working
Ensure the path:
- Points to the
User folder (not workspaceStorage subfolder)
- Uses forward slashes or escaped backslashes
- Supports
~ for home directory expansion
Privacy
100% Local - No telemetry, no cloud sync, no external services. All processing happens on your machine.
Version History
| Version |
Changes |
| 1.7.1 |
Emoji-styled format pickers (🌐 HTML, 📝 Markdown, 📦 Both), simplified export tooltips |
| 1.7.0 |
Fixed month group exports, format picker before folder selection |
| 1.6.0 |
Export format dropdowns (HTML/MD), colored arrow icon for tree export |
| 1.5.0 |
Tree view export for sessions and date folders |
| 1.4.0 |
Added configurable storage path, search settings |
| 1.3.1 |
Improved session navigation |
| 1.3.0 |
Per-message copy/export buttons, fixed content parsing |
| 1.2.0 |
Improved file link detection, terminal command support |
| 1.1.0 |
Chat viewer with mermaid, syntax highlighting |
| 1.0.0 |
Initial release |
License
MIT
| |
