How to organize your ChatGPT chats into folders
Updated
ChatGPT doesn’t have folders. It has Projects, which group chats around shared files and instructions, pins for a few chats you want at the top, and archive for the ones you’re done with. Everything else is one long list by date, and after a few hundred chats that list stops being useful.
Speed Booster Toolkit puts folders in ChatGPT’s own sidebar. Make as many as you like, put folders inside folders, give them colors and drag chats in. They follow you to every browser where you use the extension with the same ChatGPT account.
How to make a folder in ChatGPT
- Install Speed Booster Toolkit for Chrome or Firefox. It’s free.
- Your ChatGPT sidebar now has a Recents & Folders section. Click the folder button beside its search box and name your folder.
- Drag a chat onto the folder. Or open the chat’s ⋯ menu, the toolkit’s or ChatGPT’s own, and choose Move to folder.
- For a folder inside a folder, open the folder’s menu and choose New subfolder. The same menu has Rename, Change colour and Delete folder.
Projects or folders?
They do different jobs, and plenty of people use both.
| ChatGPT Projects | Speed Booster folders | |
|---|---|---|
| What it’s for | Work where ChatGPT needs the same files and instructions every time | Keeping chats where you can find them |
| Changes ChatGPT’s answers | Yes, a moved chat picks up the project’s instructions and files | No, it only sorts |
| Folders inside folders | No, projects can’t be nested | Yes |
| Move many chats at once | One at a time | Tick them and move them together |
| Chats made with a GPT | Can’t be moved in | Can be filed like any other |
A simple rule: if ChatGPT should know something every time you open the chat, make it a Project. If you just want to find the chat again, put it in a folder.
A setup that stays tidy
- One folder per thing you work on, a client, a course, a side project, rather than per topic. Topics overlap; projects don’t.
- Use subfolders sparingly. Two levels is plenty. Deeper than that and you spend more time choosing a folder than you save finding the chat.
- Give the busy ones a color, so your eye lands on them first.
- Rename the vague chats you keep. ChatGPT names chats for you, and “New chat” in a folder is no help six weeks later.
- File the backlog in one go. Tick a run of old chats and move them all at once (selecting many chats), and archive what you won’t need.
Filing a chat into a folder
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Common questions
Does ChatGPT have folders?
Not as such. ChatGPT has Projects, which group chats around shared files and instructions, plus pinned chats and an archive. For folders and subfolders in the sidebar you need an extension such as Speed Booster Toolkit.
How do I make a folder in ChatGPT?
Install Speed Booster Toolkit, then click the folder button beside the search box in the new Recents & Folders section of the sidebar. Name the folder and drag chats onto it, or use Move to folder in a chat’s menu.
Can I put folders inside folders?
Yes. Open a folder’s menu and choose New subfolder.
Will my folders show up on my other computer?
Yes, in every browser where you use the extension with the same ChatGPT account. Changes made elsewhere show up within a few minutes of opening ChatGPT.
Can anyone else read my folder names?
No. Your folders are encrypted on your computer, so only you can read them.
How many folders can I make for free?
5, subfolders included. Every install starts with 7 days of Pro with no limit, and folders made then are kept. Pro removes the limit for good.