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ChatGPT integration

Students using ChatGPT can import selected conversations into the same trail. ChatGPT cannot run commands on your machine, so this integration is import-based.

In ChatGPT, click Share on a conversation, then run:

showtail import chatgpt https://chatgpt.com/share/<id>

Showtail fetches the shared page, logs your prompts as prompt events tagged chatgpt, and stamps each one with its original time. This keeps the timeline accurate even if you import at the end of a work session.

Example timeline:

brainstormed in ChatGPT -> built with Copilot -> debugged in Claude Code

Options:

  • --no-responses logs only your prompts. ChatGPT's answers are imported as ai_output by default.
  • --file <path> imports from a saved share page or saved transcript instead of fetching the page. This is useful offline or if the share format changes.

Re-importing the same link is safe. Showtail skips messages it has already imported by message id.

A share link may not work if your school blocks public links, you do not want to make the conversation public, or the fetch is blocked. In that case, copy the conversation and import it from your clipboard:

showtail import chatgpt --paste     # reads your clipboard, shows a preview to confirm

Copy the conversation first, then run the command — Showtail reads it from your clipboard and prints back what it recorded so you can skim it. Add -y to skip the confirmation prompt. (Piping still works for scripts: cat my-chat.txt | showtail import chatgpt --paste.)

You can also import from a saved text file:

showtail import chatgpt --file my-chat.txt

You do not need to clean up the pasted text first. Showtail strips common ChatGPT interface text such as Thought for 12s, Edit, and attachment chips. It records your prompts and prints them back so you can skim them.

If something was imported by mistake, undo the whole import in one step:

showtail import undo

Because pasted text does not always identify who wrote each line, responses are only captured when the copy includes You said: and ChatGPT said: markers. Otherwise, Showtail records the pasted text as your prompts. Showtail never guesses based on writing style.

If the paste has no timestamps, add a date:

showtail import chatgpt --paste --date 2026-06-10

Imported prompts appear under Imported from ChatGPT in your report.

Share links are still the best option when you can use them, because they capture responses and exact times automatically.

Import is deliberate and per conversation. Showtail does not read your full ChatGPT history.

Privacy

A ChatGPT share link makes that conversation public on OpenAI's servers. Create the link, import it, then delete the link. The import itself stays local like everything else in Showtail.