DEV Community: vuhuutam459-max

Meet Chatrove: a 100% local, open-source vault for your AI chats

vuhuutam459-max — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 10:11:43 +0000

If you followed my earlier posts about Gemini Vault — this is the same project, grown up and renamed. Here's the full story and what it does today.

We don't actually own our AI memories

Every day we pour our best ideas, code and drafts into Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude. But we don't truly own any of it. Accounts get suspended (I lost access to an AI account myself — that's what kicked all of this off). Services go down. APIs change. And the official "Export your data" buttons? They hand you an unreadable JSON dump you can't search or even read.

I got tired of renting my own digital memory from the cloud. I wanted my chats stored safely on my disk, available completely offline, with instant search. So I built a tool to take them back.

Why the rename: Gemini Vault → Chatrove

I originally called it Gemini Vault, but the project outgrew the name. It no longer backs up only Gemini — it merges Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude into one archive — and tying a product to a single provider's trademark was a bad idea long-term. So it's now Chatrove: a chat + trove, a treasure chest for your conversations. Vendor-neutral, and it's still the same MIT-licensed project. (The old repo link redirects to the new one.)

What Chatrove is

A fully local backup tool and offline viewer for your AI conversations. You import the official export once, and you get a fast, private, searchable archive that lives entirely on your machine.

Repo: https://github.com/vuhuutam459-max/chatrove

How it works under the hood

I wanted this to be as lightweight and independent as possible:

Zero-dependency core. The processor runs on the pure Python 3.10+ standard library. No heavy frameworks to install.
Millisecond search. I used SQLite with FTS5 (full-text search), so you can search across thousands of chats instantly, including non-Latin scripts.
Source-agnostic core. An adapter layer normalizes the official JSON exports from Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude into one unified database — adding a new source doesn't touch the core logic.
Offline viewer. A single-page dashboard that works completely offline. It renders LaTeX (KaTeX) for math, syntax highlighting for code, Canvas, and handles broken/missing images gracefully.
Safe re-imports. SHA256 dedup means re-importing a newer export only adds what changed — no duplicates.
Bilingual UI (English / Russian).

The "Smart Librarian" — optional local AI

This is the part I'm most excited about, and it's completely optional. If you have Ollama running locally (e.g. gemma3:4b), Chatrove can:

automatically scan your old chats, generate summaries, and assign topical tags;
power "Ask the archive" — ask a question in plain language, and it does retrieval over your local database and returns an answer with clickable citations straight to the exact chat it came from.

The crucial part: every byte stays on your machine. The LLM endpoint is just an OpenAI-compatible base_url, so you can point it at whatever local model you like. And if you don't run Ollama at all, the archive, search and viewer work exactly the same.

Privacy is the whole point

No server. No accounts. No API keys. No telemetry. Your database, logs and personal exports are git-ignored by design and never leave your device. Chatrove is built for your own trusted data, by you, on your hardware.

How to run it

There's no build step. On Windows, you double-click a launcher and the viewer opens in your browser. On macOS/Linux, you run it with Python. Pick what you need: just the offline viewer, or add the local-AI tools.

It's open-source — and I'd love your feedback

Chatrove is MIT-licensed. If you value your data and want to keep your AI brainstorming safe, give it a try, and I warmly welcome any stars, forks, issues or PRs.

⭐ Repo: https://github.com/vuhuutam459-max/chatrove

One genuine question I keep asking people: how do you currently keep the "good" prompts and important snippets your AI generates? Do you just leave them in the browser history, or copy them into Notion / Obsidian? I'd love to hear your workflow in the comments.

Let's own our data. 🚀

— Max

Meet Chatrove: a 100% local, open-source vault for your AI chats

vuhuutam459-max — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 09:51:18 +0000

Meet Chatrove: a 100% local, open-source vault for your AI chats

If you followed my earlier posts about Gemini Vault — this is the same project, grown up and renamed. Here's the full story and what it does today.

We don't actually own our AI memories

I got tired of renting my own digital memory from the cloud. I wanted my chats stored safely on my disk, available completely offline, with instant search. So I built a tool to take them back.

Why the rename: Gemini Vault → Chatrove

What Chatrove is

A fully local backup tool and offline viewer for your AI conversations. You import the official export once, and you get a fast, private, searchable archive that lives entirely on your machine.

Repo: https://github.com/vuhuutam459-max/chatrove

How it works under the hood

I wanted this to be as lightweight and independent as possible:

The "Smart Librarian" — optional local AI

This is the part I'm most excited about, and it's completely optional. If you have Ollama running locally (e.g. gemma3:4b), Chatrove can:

Privacy is the whole point

How to run it

It's open-source — and I'd love your feedback

Chatrove is MIT-licensed. If you value your data and want to keep your AI brainstorming safe, give it a try, and I warmly welcome any stars, forks, issues or PRs.

⭐ Repo: https://github.com/vuhuutam459-max/chatrove

Let's own our data. 🚀

— Max

I built a local Vault to take back my AI chats. V1.1 is out: Local AI Librarian, ChatGPT/Claude support, and a 1-Click Installer! 🚀

vuhuutam459-max — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 06:36:56 +0000

[Title: I built a local Vault to take back my AI chats. V1.1 is out: Local AI Librarian, ChatGPT/Claude support, and a 1-Click Installer! 🚀[The Problem]Every day, we pour our best ideas, code, and drafts into AI models like Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude. But here’s the harsh reality: we don't truly own our digital subconscious.Corporations hold the keys. Accounts get suspended. APIs change. And official "Data Exports"? They just dump an unreadable JSON file on you.I got tired of depending on the cloud for my digital memory. I wanted my chats stored safely on my local drive, available offline, with instant search.[The Solution]A few days ago, I introduced Gemini Vault. Today, I’m dropping the v1.1 Update, turning it from a geeky Python script into a full-fledged, cross-platform Desktop App.Here is the director's cut of what is new:🔌 The Ultimate AI Convergence (Multi-Source)It’s no longer just for Gemini. The Vault now features an Adapter architecture that seamlessly ingests official JSON exports from ChatGPT and Claude. All your AI memories from different providers are now merged into one lightning-fast SQLite database.🤖 Enter the "Smart Librarian" (Local AI)This is the real game-changer. I built an optional, fully local AI pipeline. If you have Ollama running on your machine (e.g., gemma3:4b), the Vault will automatically scan hundreds of your old chats, generate smart summaries, and assign topical tags. Your archive organizes itself without sending a single byte of data back to the cloud.🔎 "Ask the Archive" (RAG-lite)Can't remember where you discussed that specific Python script or lore idea? Just ask the Vault. It searches your local database and generates an answer with clickable references directly to the exact chat logs.📦 1-Click Windows SetupNo more messing with Python dependencies, environments, and terminals. Thanks to a brand-new GitHub Actions CI/CD pipeline, you can now download a clean Setup.exe from the Releases page, choose your components (Viewer only, or add the Local AI tools), and launch the UI instantly. (macOS and Linux binaries are also available!).✨ Neon Cyberpunk ThemeBecause digging through your digital mind should look cool. Added a new tech-noir dark mode with glowing accents, data-grids, and syntax highlighting for code.[The Credits]📖 Read the original story on Dev.to: https://dev.to/vuhuutam459max/corporation-s-own-your-ai-memories-i-built-a-local-vault-to-take-them-back-1hbm💻 Check out the code & download the release: https://github.com/vuhuutam459-max/gemini-vaultI built this to take back control over my own data. I would love to hear your feedback on the new architecture and the local AI integration!Let's own our data. 🚀

corporation s own your AI memories. I built a local Vault to take them back.

vuhuutam459-max — Sat, 30 May 2026 08:29:03 +0000

very day, we generate gigabytes of ideas, code, and drafts in our conversations with AI like Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude. But here’s the harsh truth: we don't truly own this data.

Tomorrow, your account could be suspended (I just lost access to an AI account recently!), the service might go down, or the API might change. And the official "Export Data" features? They usually give you an unreadable JSON file that is impossible to navigate or search through.

I got tired of depending on the cloud for my digital memory. I wanted my AI chats to be stored safely on my local drive, available completely offline, with instant search.

So, I built Gemini Vault.

What is Gemini Vault?

It’s a fully local backup tool and offline viewer for your AI conversations.
GitHub Repo: https://github.com/vuhuutam459-max/gemini-vault

How it works under the hood

I wanted this to be as lightweight and independent as possible:

Zero-dependencies core: The processor runs on the pure Python 3.10+ standard library.

Millisecond Search: I used SQLite with FTS5 (Full-Text Search). You can search through thousands of chats instantly.

Source-Agnostic Core: The database and search engine are designed to be easily expandable without breaking the core logic.

Local UI: A sleek Single Page Application dashboard (index.html) that works completely offline. It supports LaTeX (KaTeX) for math, syntax highlighting for code, and handles broken images gracefully.

The Journey

Building this wasn't just smooth sailing. Initially, I tried parsing data via internal APIs, but realized that violates Terms of Service and isn't stable. Shifting to processing official GDPR/Takeout JSON exports was the turning point for stability. I also had to battle through environment limitations and resource constraints to make the parsing process robust.

What’s next?

Currently, the vault perfectly saves text, code, and formulas from Google Gemini. My next goals for the near future are:

Multi-Source Support (ChatGPT & Claude): The architecture is already prepared for this. I am currently finishing the adapter patterns to normalize exports from OpenAI and Anthropic into the same unified database. This is coming very soon!

Local Media Caching: Automatically downloading inline images from chats so the backup is 100% autonomous even if the original web links die.

Neon Cyberpunk Theme: Adding a custom UI toggle for a dark tech-noir aesthetic to match the project's vibe.

Try it out!

The project is fully open-source (MIT License). If you value your data and want to keep your AI brainstorming sessions safe, check it out.

I’m looking for feedback! I would love to hear what you think, and I warmly welcome any stars, forks, or pull requests on GitHub.

Repo: https://github.com/vuhuutam459-max/gemini-vault

Let's take our data back! 🚀