feat(cli): Add /export command to export chat history to markdown and jsonl

[ssarangi]

TLDR

This pull request introduces a new /export command that allows users to export their chat history to either jsonl or markdown format. This functionality addresses several open issues requesting a way to save conversations.

Dive Deeper

The /export command is implemented with two sub-commands: /export jsonl and /export markdown. It includes an --output <file_path> flag to save the conversation to a file. If the flag is omitted, the output is printed directly to the console for maximum flexibility.

During development, the CommandService was significantly refactored on the main branch. This PR adapts the new command to the updated architecture by registering it in the BuiltinCommandLoader. The implementation also includes a robust test suite covering happy paths, edge cases (like empty history), and error handling (like file write failures).

Reviewer Test Plan

To validate this change, please pull down the branch and run the following commands in the Gemini CLI:

1. Start a chat and have a few turns of conversation.
2. Test Markdown export to console: Run /export markdown. Verify that the conversation is printed to the terminal in Markdown format.
3. Test Markdown export to file: Run /export markdown --output test.md. Verify that a test.md file is created with the correct content.
4. Test JSONL export to console: Run /export jsonl. Verify that the conversation is printed in JSONL format.
5. Test JSONL export to file: Run /export jsonl --output test.jsonl. Verify that a test.jsonl file is created.
6. Test help text: Run /help export. Verify that the description clearly explains the --output flag.
7. Test empty history: Run /clear and then /export markdown. Verify you get an informational message stating there is no conversation to export.

Testing Matrix

	🍏	🪟	🐧
npm run	✅
npx	❓
Docker	❓
Podman	❓	-	-
Seatbelt	❓	-	-

Linked issues / bugs

Closes #4191
Closes #3882
Closes #5101

[gemini-code-assist]

Summary of Changes

Hello @ssarangi, I'm Gemini Code Assist¹! I'm currently reviewing this pull request and will post my feedback shortly. In the meantime, here's a summary to help you and other reviewers quickly get up to speed!

This pull request primarily introduces a new /export command to the CLI, fulfilling user requests to save chat history. This command allows exporting conversations in either JSONL or Markdown format, with options to output to the console or a file. Additionally, the PR includes the creation of a new mock server, mcp-server, which appears to be a separate, albeit potentially related, development effort for handling tool execution requests.

Highlights

• New /export CLI Command: Introduces a new /export command to the CLI, enabling users to export their chat history.
• Multiple Export Formats: The /export command supports two subcommands, /export jsonl and /export markdown, allowing users to export chat history in JSON Lines (jsonl) or Markdown format.
• Flexible Output Options: Users can choose to print the exported conversation directly to the console or save it to a specified file using the --output <file_path> flag.
• Robust Error Handling and Edge Cases: The implementation includes comprehensive checks for scenarios such as no active chat client, empty conversation history, and file write failures, providing informative messages to the user.
• New Mock Server for MCP: A new mcp-server directory has been added, containing a basic Node.js Express server that acts as a mock for a 'Custom MCP Server,' handling /tool/execute requests. This appears to be a separate addition not directly related to the chat export functionality described in the PR title and body.

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[gemini-code-assist]

Code Review

This pull request introduces a valuable /export command for saving chat history. The implementation is well-structured with good test coverage. My review focuses on improving robustness, security, and data integrity. Key suggestions include updating outdated and vulnerable dependencies in the new mock server, fixing a critical data loss bug in the export logic where non-text message parts are ignored, and making the command-line argument parsing more robust to handle file paths with spaces.

[ssarangi]

/gemini review

[gemini-code-assist]

Code Review

This pull request introduces a useful /export command for saving chat history. The implementation is solid, with good test coverage. However, I've identified a few critical and high-severity issues that should be addressed. The new mock server's package.json has a configuration issue that will prevent it from starting and uses outdated dependencies with known vulnerabilities. Additionally, the export functionality has a data loss bug for non-text message parts, and the command's argument parsing is not robust enough to handle file paths with spaces.

[gemini-code-assist]

The mcp-server/index.js file uses ES module syntax (import). However, this package.json file is missing the "type": "module" field. Without it, Node.js will treat .js files as CommonJS modules by default, which will cause a syntax error when it encounters the import statement. This will prevent the server from starting.

  "main": "index.js",
  "type": "module",

[gemini-code-assist]

The versions for express (^4.17.1) and nodemon (^2.0.15) are outdated. Older versions of express in the 4.x line have known security vulnerabilities (e.g., CVE-2022-24999). It's important to use updated packages to ensure security and stability. Please update these dependencies to their latest stable versions.

  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.19.2"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "nodemon": "^3.1.0"
  }

[gemini-code-assist]

The current implementation only handles text parts of a message, which can lead to data loss during export if the conversation contains other content like images (inlineData). To prevent this, you should handle other Part types to avoid exporting incomplete conversations. A similar change should be applied to the model role handling below.

        text:
          item.parts
            ?.map((part) => {
              if ('text' in part && part.text) return part.text;
              if ('inlineData' in part) return '[Image content not supported in export]';
              return '';
            })
            .join('') || '',

[gemini-code-assist]

The argument parsing for the --output flag using args.split(' ') is not robust. It will fail for file paths that contain spaces, even if they are quoted. This can lead to unexpected behavior and a poor user experience. Please use a more reliable method for parsing arguments, such as a dedicated library or a more robust regex.

Suggested change

	const argParts = args.split(' ').filter(Boolean); // Split by space and remove empty strings
	const outputIndex = argParts.indexOf(outputFlag);
	let outputPath: string | undefined;
	if (outputIndex !== -1 && outputIndex + 1 < argParts.length) {
	outputPath = argParts[outputIndex + 1];
	}
	// Using a regex to handle quoted paths. For more complex scenarios, a dedicated arg parser is recommended.
	const outputMatch = args.match(/--output\s+((?:\"[^\"]+\"|'[^']+'|\S+))/);
	const outputPath = outputMatch ? outputMatch[1].replace(/['"]/g, '') : undefined;

[Manamama]

My take on the very idea of such manual exports: #3882 (comment)

[westurner]

Here's a sed expression to extract prompts from gemini-cli text output:

cat ./gemini-cli-promptlog.01.txt | \
grep -E '│  > (.*)' -A 2 | grep '^│' | sed 's/^\s*│\s*/  /g' | sed 's/^\s*>/-/' | sed 's/\s*│$//'

• Write an expression to transform that to markdown/jsonl

[gemini-code-assist]

That's a clever sed expression for extracting prompts!

With this pull request, you'll be able to use the new /export command directly within the Gemini CLI to achieve this. It supports both markdown and jsonl formats, and you can specify an output file or print directly to the console.

For example, to export to markdown:

• /export markdown (to console)
• /export markdown --output my_chat_history.md (to file)

And similarly for JSONL:

• /export jsonl (to console)
• /export jsonl --output my_chat_history.jsonl (to file)

The "Reviewer Test Plan" in the pull request description provides more detailed examples of how to use this new functionality.

[westurner]

e.g. simonw/llm optionally logs all prompts and outputs to SQLite; so that you don't have to hope that you typed /export before/after gemini-cli or the workstation crashes:

• https://llm.datasette.io/en/stable/logging.html#logging
• https://github.com/simonw/llm/blob/0bf655a1feabb8a57497d920dfe20f04df895668/llm/cli.py#L1481 :

  @click.option("-q", "--query", help="Search for logs matching this string")

jsonl or sqlite or duckdb in WASM:

• DuckDB can connect to sqlite databases, and ducklake format supports storing data in compressed parquet files: https://duckdb.org/2025/07/04/ducklake-02.html

[BitBeaver-182]

is there any updates on this pr?

[westurner]

Would .ipynb format solve for this? Unfortunately there's not yet a markdown format that includes output cells (likely due to the unusability of base64 encoded binary data). There are existing issues TODO to create a new format for Jupyter notebooks; which have notebook-level metadata, cell-level metadata, input cells, and output cells

…

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[jackwotherspoon]

I think we can safely close this PR @ssarangi

As part of #8139 we implemented /chat share which allows saving chat history to a json or md file.

[chrstnb]

Thank you for the contribution! We're closing this as there haven't been updates in 60 days. If you'd like to re-open, please ensure there is issue attached that has been approved by and discussed with a maintainer and merge conflicts and comments resolved.

[toponseo25]

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