Set up GPT Instruction Backup in about two minutes
Follow these steps once. After that, saving every GPT you own is a single click.
In this guide
Before you start
- Google Chrome on a Windows PC or a Mac, version 116 or newer. If Chrome is up to date, you are set.
- The ZIP file you received after purchase.
- Your ChatGPT sign-in for the account that owns your GPTs.
Install the extension
Save the ZIP somewhere you can find it
Download the ZIP file from your purchase email or receipt page. Your browser usually saves it to the Downloads folder.
Unzip it into a folder you will keep
Open File Explorer and go to Downloads. Right-click the ZIP file and choose Extract All. Change the location to Documents, then click Extract.
Open Chrome's Extensions page
In Chrome, click the address bar, type chrome://extensions, and press Enter (Return on Mac). You can also click Chrome's three-dot menu, then Extensions, then Manage Extensions.
Turn on Developer mode
Find the Developer mode switch in the top right corner of the Extensions page and turn it on. It turns blue.
Click Load unpacked
A new row of buttons appears near the top left. Click Load unpacked.
Select the folder named extension
Click extension once to highlight it, then click Select Folder.
Pin it to your toolbar
Click the puzzle piece icon at the top right of Chrome, then click the pin next to GPT Instruction Backup. The HN logo now sits in your toolbar.
Make your first backup
Sign in to ChatGPT
Open chatgpt.com in the same Chrome window and sign in. If you have more than one workspace, pick the one you want to save.
Open the dashboard
Click the HN icon in your toolbar. The GPT Instruction Backup dashboard opens in a new tab.
Click Back up all my GPTs
Every GPT you own is read straight from ChatGPT and saved inside Chrome on your computer. A library of a few hundred GPTs takes about a minute. Keep the dashboard open while it runs.
Spot-check a few GPTs
Click Preview on two or three GPTs and compare them with ChatGPT. Once you are happy, click Mark compared with editor.
Download your ZIP
Click Download ZIP in section 2, right beside Collect selected, or use the button at the bottom of the list. Leave Include knowledge files checked to bring your uploaded files along. One GPT selected downloads as Your GPT Name.zip. Several GPTs download as My GPTs - 230 GPTs - date.zip.
Just need one GPT?
Open that GPT in ChatGPT, choose its tab in the dashboard's tab list, and click Capture this GPT. It becomes the only selected GPT, so Download ZIP of this GPT saves just that one.
What is inside your ZIP
- A folder for each GPT, named after the GPT.
- Your GPT Name - Instructions.txt with the exact instruction text, ready to paste anywhere.
- Knowledge Files with the PDFs, documents, and other files you uploaded.
- metadata.json with the name, description, conversation starters, capabilities, and dates.
- combined-instructions.txt with every GPT in one searchable document.
- backup.json, which you can load back into the dashboard with Import JSON backup.
- export-report.json, listing the status of every GPT and file.
Team and Enterprise workspaces
Each backup covers the account or workspace selected in ChatGPT at that moment. To save another workspace, switch to it in ChatGPT, click + New collection in the dashboard, give it a name such as Business workspace, and click Back up all my GPTs again.
Update to a new version
- 1For extra safety, open the dashboard, select all GPTs, and click JSON backup.
- 2Unzip the new version and copy its contents over your existing folder, replacing the old files.
- 3Go to chrome://extensions and click the round reload arrow on the GPT Instruction Backup card.
Troubleshooting
Developer mode is off. Turn on the switch at the top right of chrome://extensions and the button appears.
Chrome was pointed at the outer folder. Click Load unpacked again and choose the folder named extension, the one inside the folder you unzipped.
Open chatgpt.com in the same Chrome profile and sign in. Reload the ChatGPT tab, then click Back up all my GPTs again.
The backup covers the workspace selected in ChatGPT. Switch workspaces in ChatGPT and run it again in a new collection. GPTs owned by other people are not included.
The rest of the ZIP still downloads. The file that failed is listed in export-report.json. Try the export again a little later.
Chrome may remind you that an extension was installed by hand. That is expected for extensions installed this way. Choose to keep it.
Chrome loads the extension from that folder. Go to chrome://extensions, click Load unpacked, and choose the extension folder in its new spot. Your saved backups may need to be reloaded with Import JSON backup.
Your computer is managed by a company or school, and extensions installed by hand are blocked. Use a personal computer or Chrome profile, or ask your IT team.
Your privacy
- Your backups are stored inside Chrome on your computer and in the files you download. Nothing is uploaded to The Hampton Network or anyone else.
- The extension only works on chatgpt.com, and only when you click a button.
- It reads your GPTs through your own signed-in ChatGPT tab, the same way ChatGPT's own My GPTs page loads them. Your sign-in is never stored or shared.
- It never edits, migrates, publishes, or deletes anything in ChatGPT.
You are all set
Your GPTs are safe, organized, and ready for whatever comes next. Questions? Visit hamptonnetwork.com.
To your success!