{
  "id": 18567656,
  "title": "Where Claude Code, Codex and Cursor Keep Your Chat History on Disk, and How to Read It",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/where-claude-code-codex-and-cursor-keep-your-chat-history-on-disk-and",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-11-06T21:13:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/open-agentic-brain-and-memory/where-claude-code-codex-and-cursor-keep-your-chat-history-on-disk-and-how-to-read-it-hc3"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor each store their session histories in different locations on your machine. Claude Code keeps its chat logs as plaintext JSONL files in the ~/.claude/projects/ directory, with one file per session. These files are automatically deleted after 30 days by default, although this can be adjusted. Codex stores its session logs in dated rollouts located at ~/.codex/sessions/YYYY/MM/DD/rollout-timestamp-uuid.jsonl, while Cursor uses SQLite databases named state.vscdb in the User folder on macOS, Linux, and Windows. It's important to note that these files hold more than just your typed prompts; they also contain file contents, command output, and pasted text. While searching and deleting these files is possible using command-line tools like grep and sqlite3, keep in mind that transcripts and rollouts can be quite voluminous, potentially consuming a significant portion of your API usage limits.",
  "summary": "Why your session history matters more than you think Claude Code chat history is stored on your own machine as plaintext JSONL files under ~/.claude/projects/ , one file per session, and deleted after 30 days by default. On Windows the same folder is %USERPROFILE%\\.claude\\projects\\ . Codex and Cursor keep their own records in their own places and formats. Paths and defaults below were last…",
  "key_points": [
    "Claude Code stores chat logs as plaintext JSONL files in ~/.claude/projects/",
    "Codex stores session logs in dated rollouts at ~/.codex/sessions/YYYY/MM/DD/",
    "Cursor uses SQLite databases named state.vscdb in the User folder on all platforms"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}