Configuration reference¶

ConverterConfig is the single source of truth for all converter settings. It reads values from CLI flags, environment variables, and .env files.

Class¶

from chatgpt_to_markdown.config import ConverterConfig

ConverterConfig extends pydantic_settings.BaseSettings. Environment variables use the CONVERTER_ prefix and are loaded from .env if present.

Fields¶

input_dir¶

Path to the ChatGPT export. Accepts either:

• An extracted directory containing export_manifest.json
• A ZIP file directly (extracted to a temporary directory automatically)

output_dir¶

Path where the Markdown archive is written. Created automatically if it does not exist.

redact_pii¶

When True, replaces personally identifiable information in user metadata (user.json) with [REDACTED]. Affected fields: email address, phone number, birth year.

Conversation content is not redacted — only the user profile metadata file.

include_thinking¶

When True, renders thinking/reasoning blocks from o-series models (content type thoughts) into the output Markdown. When False, thinking blocks are filtered out during the filter step.

deduplicate_by_hash¶

When True, identical media files are stored once and linked from multiple conversations. Deduplication uses SHA-256 content hashing. Reduces archive size when the same image appears in multiple conversations.

max_filename_length¶

Maximum character length for generated output filenames. Enforced to keep filenames within cross-platform limits (FAT32, macOS HFS+, Windows NTFS).

Precedence¶

Configuration values are resolved in this order (highest to lowest priority):

1. CLI flags (when running chatgpt-to-markdown directly)
2. Environment variables (CONVERTER_*)
3. Values in .env file
4. Field defaults

.env file¶

Create a .env file in the working directory to persist settings:

CONVERTER_REDACT_PII=false
CONVERTER_INCLUDE_THINKING=true
CONVERTER_MAX_FILENAME_LENGTH=150

The .env file is loaded automatically. Never commit secrets to .env.

See also¶

• Environment variables reference — compact variable listing
• Configuration how-to — practical usage guide
• CLI reference — full flag documentation