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How to move your ChatGPT memory, projects and GPTs to Turnstone (2026)

How to export ChatGPT memory, projects and custom GPTs to another AI in 2026, and keep using ChatGPT on the plan you already pay for.

Aryan Vij ·
Brain

There's no button that exports your ChatGPT memory as a file, so the easiest way to move it is to let ChatGPT write it out. Connect Turnstone to ChatGPT as a custom MCP server, then ask ChatGPT to turn your projects and GPTs into Turnstone Agents and send each one everything it knows about you.

You don't have to give up ChatGPT to do this. We make Turnstone, a free, model-agnostic app that runs a team of AI Agents on the AI subscriptions you already have. For ChatGPT plans, it runs OpenAI's official Codex app on your Mac, signed in with your own ChatGPT account. So you're not leaving ChatGPT. You're bringing your memory and setup into Agents that can keep using it, plus Claude, Gemini or Grok if you want. Everything here was checked on October 28, 2026.

Can you export your ChatGPT memory?

Not as a file you can import somewhere else. Here's what OpenAI offers.

  • Memory settings. Open Settings, then Personalization, then Memory. You'll see a memory summary, a list of saved memories, or both. OpenAI says the summary "is a high-level view and may omit details," and that you can "ask ChatGPT what it remembers about you."
  • The data export. Open Settings, then Data controls, then Export. OpenAI says the ZIP "includes your chat history and other relevant account data." Custom instructions are in it. Saved memories and the memory summary aren't listed, and OpenAI's page on moving an export to another account says it doesn't move "settings, memories, GPTs, files." Business and Enterprise workspaces can't use the self-service export.
  • Reference chat history. What ChatGPT learns from past chats isn't a list you can copy. OpenAI says it "can change as ChatGPT updates what is most useful to remember."

So the export keeps your conversations. The memory itself is best pulled out by asking ChatGPT to write it down.

How do I move my ChatGPT setup to Turnstone?

Turnstone has a hosted MCP server. You add it to ChatGPT as a custom connector. Then, in a normal chat, you ask ChatGPT to create Turnstone Agents and send each one what it knows. ChatGPT does the copying.

Check your ChatGPT plan first

Custom MCP connectors aren't on every ChatGPT plan, and what OpenAI has said about which ones has changed. Its help center says full support is "available for ChatGPT Business and Enterprise/Edu customers on ChatGPT web," and on Business "only admins and owners" can add one. It says "Pro users can connect custom MCP servers with read/fetch permissions." When OpenAI launched developer mode in September 2025, it added write actions, and launch coverage said that was for Plus and Pro. The help center no longer names Plus.

Two things matter. Turnstone needs write actions, because creating an Agent is a write, so read-only access can't do it. And OpenAI says custom MCP servers are "web only," not mobile. If your plan can't add the connector, use the manual way below. It works on every plan.

The steps

  1. Install Turnstone on your Mac and sign in with your ChatGPT account, or any other AI plan you want your Agents to use.
  2. Copy your MCP link. In Turnstone, open Settings, then MCP and webhooks, and select Copy MCP link.
  3. Add it in ChatGPT on the web, where apps are added, not in a chat. OpenAI's current path is Plugins, then the plus button, then Add custom MCP server. Name it Turnstone, paste the link, choose OAuth if asked, accept the risk warning and select Create as a plugin. OpenAI says this no longer needs Developer mode, but some accounts may still need it on under Settings, then Security and login. Menus move often.
  4. Sign in and allow access with the same Turnstone account that's signed in on your Mac.
  5. Start a chat, type @, select Turnstone and paste the prompt below. ChatGPT may ask you to confirm actions.
  6. Watch the Agents appear in Turnstone, each with its name, its job and a first message marked "From ChatGPT."
  7. Check each Agent. Read what it got, correct its memory, reconnect its apps and pick its model.
Using the Turnstone connector, move my setup into Turnstone.
For each project and custom GPT I use, create a Turnstone Agent with a
clear name and a one-paragraph job. Then send that Agent one message with
everything it needs: its instructions, everything you remember about me
that matters for it, key facts and decisions from our past chats, any
files or knowledge it relies on (summarized), and any scheduled tasks
with their timing, so it can set them up as Schedules. Also create one
Agent called "About me" and send it everything you remember about me in
general, plus my custom instructions. Write it all out in full. Don't
summarize away details. Tell me when every Agent has its message.

Keep each job short. It holds about 1,000 characters, while the first message can run to 100,000, so memories, instructions and project notes go there.

One chat may not see everything. Project instructions and files belong to their project, and a project with project-only memory can't see chats outside it. For the best result, run the prompt inside each project and ask ChatGPT to move only that one. Then check your Scheduled page, since ChatGPT may not list every task on its own.

What moves and what doesn't

Turnstone only gets what ChatGPT writes out. It can't reach into ChatGPT's hidden memory or chat history, so ask for thoroughness.

In ChatGPTIn Turnstone
Saved memories and memory summarySent to an "About me" Agent and saved in one shared memory of your people, projects and decisions, stored as plain files on your Mac you can open and correct
Custom instructionsSent as text. Also in your data export
A project's instructionsThe Agent's job and first message
Project filesSummarized by ChatGPT. Download the originals from the project's sources list and add them yourself
Custom GPT instructionsSent as text, or copied from the GPT editor
GPT knowledge files and custom actionsFiles don't move. Actions are rebuilt with apps or connectors
Scheduled tasksSent with their timing and set up as Schedules
Past chatsOnly the facts and decisions ChatGPT writes out. Your export keeps the full text
Connected apps and loginsNever move. You sign in again. Turnstone has 60+ apps built in, like Gmail, Slack, Notion, iMessage and WhatsApp, plus any website, your Mac apps and connectors you add
The modelChatGPT through Codex, or Claude, Gemini, Grok, Cursor, OpenRouter, Ollama or your own OpenAI or Anthropic key, per Agent

Your Agents run on your Mac, so keep Turnstone open and signed in while ChatGPT sends the work.

Do I have to stop using ChatGPT?

No. Turnstone runs ChatGPT through OpenAI's Codex, signed in with your own account. OpenAI supports Codex sign-in on every ChatGPT plan, with limits that vary by plan, and usage counts against your plan. Turnstone doesn't add credits or a meter. OpenAI says Codex, ChatGPT Work and Workspace Agents "use a shared allowance and credit pool," so heavy Agent use and heavy Work use draw from the same place.

Keep ChatGPT for quick chats if you like it. Your Agents handle the standing work. Each has its own model, and you can switch it mid-chat, say to Claude when you hit a ChatGPT limit. Our Turnstone vs ChatGPT Work and Turnstone vs ChatGPT dots pages compare OpenAI's own agents. One detail matters here: a dot receives your ChatGPT memories, but OpenAI says you "cannot view, delete, or directly modify individual dot memories."

What if my ChatGPT plan can't add connectors?

Do it by hand. ChatGPT writes, and you paste.

  1. Ask for your memory in a normal chat with the prompt below.
  2. Repeat inside each project for its instructions, decisions and what its files cover.
  3. Copy your custom instructions from Settings, then Personalization.
  4. Copy each GPT's instructions from its editor (see the next section).
  5. List your scheduled tasks from the Scheduled page, with their timing.
  6. Paste it all into Turnstone. Create an Agent, or ask your first Agent to set them up. Ask it to save what matters to memory and turn tasks into Schedules.
Write out, in plain text, everything you remember about me: my saved
memories, what you've learned from our past chats, my custom instructions,
and the people, projects and decisions that come up most. Then, for each
project and custom GPT I use, write its instructions, the key facts and
decisions, what its files cover, and any scheduled tasks with their
timing. Write it in full. Don't summarize away details.

Keep a copy for yourself. It's the closest thing to a memory export ChatGPT has.

What happens to my custom GPTs?

OpenAI is retiring them. Its help center says "Custom GPTs are scheduled to retire on Dec 11, 2026," and after that "custom GPTs and their GPT pages become inaccessible." Past conversations stay. New GPT creation is already off on personal accounts, including Free, Go, Plus and Pro.

OpenAI's own path is Migrate to plugin, under My GPTs. It turns instructions into a skill and copies knowledge files, but "GPT custom actions do not transfer," and the model doesn't carry over.

To move a GPT you built into Turnstone, open My GPTs, choose it and select Edit GPT, if your plan still lets you edit. Copy its instructions, note its knowledge files, and paste them into the prompt or straight into an Agent. For someone else's GPT you can't see the instructions, so describe what you use it for and let ChatGPT write what it knows from your chats.

Can Turnstone bring in my Codex history?

Yes, for Codex chats already on your Mac. In Turnstone, open Agent Library, then Your Agents, then Find my Agents. It reads your recent chats (those with at least ten back-and-forths in the last six months), groups them by project and builds Agents with their own memory. It reads Claude Code and Claude Desktop or Cowork history too. Before it starts, it tells you the chats are sent to Turnstone's servers for analysis. It doesn't import ChatGPT export ZIPs.

What to do after the move

Read each Agent's memory and fix what's wrong. Our AI agent memory guide shows what to look for. Run each new Schedule once while you watch, then pause the matching ChatGPT task so nothing runs twice. Keep your data export as a backup.

Know what's different. ChatGPT's scheduled tasks run in OpenAI's cloud, and ChatGPT Work can start tasks from Gmail, Slack or GitHub events. Turnstone runs on your Mac today. Cloud, the iPhone app and the web app are coming soon, and there's no Windows, Linux or Android app. Moving from Grok Bot too? The Grok Bot guide uses the same method. Our facts page lists what Turnstone does today.

Questions

Can I export my ChatGPT memory? Not as a file. You can read it under Settings, then Personalization, then Memory, or ask ChatGPT what it remembers. To move it, have ChatGPT write it all out, to Turnstone Agents through the connector or in a chat you copy.

Does the ChatGPT data export include saved memories? OpenAI says the export holds your chat history and other account data, including custom instructions. It doesn't list saved memories, and its account transfer page says memories and GPTs don't move. Ask ChatGPT for them instead.

Which ChatGPT plans can add the Turnstone connector? Not every plan. OpenAI's help center lists full custom MCP support for Business and Enterprise/Edu on the web, read/fetch only for Pro, and doesn't name Plus. Turnstone needs write actions. If yours can't, use the manual way.

Can I keep using ChatGPT after I move? Yes. Turnstone runs on your ChatGPT plan through OpenAI's Codex, with your own login, and usage counts against your plan's limits.

Do my project files move? Not automatically. ChatGPT can summarize them for the Agent. For the originals, download them from the project's sources list and add them in Turnstone.

What happens to my custom GPTs after December 11, 2026? OpenAI says they become inaccessible, though past conversations stay. Copy the instructions of any GPT you built before then.

Does Turnstone need to be open during the move? Yes. Your Agents run on your Mac, so keep Turnstone open and signed in with the account you connected to ChatGPT.

Sources

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