Extract Transcripts

Extracts readable markdown transcripts from Claude Code and Codex CLI session JSONL files.

Scripts

Claude Code Sessions

Extract a single session

uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/extract_transcript.py <session.jsonl>

With tool calls and thinking blocks

uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/extract_transcript.py <session.jsonl> --include-tools --include-thinking

Extract all sessions from a directory

uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/extract_transcript.py <directory> --all

Output to file

uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/extract_transcript.py <session.jsonl> -o output.md

Summary only (quick overview)

uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/extract_transcript.py <session.jsonl> --summary

Skip empty/warmup-only sessions

uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/extract_transcript.py <directory> --all --skip-empty

Options:

• --include-tools : Include tool calls and results

• --include-thinking : Include Claude's thinking blocks

• --all : Process all .jsonl files in directory

• -o, --output : Output file path (default: stdout)

• --summary : Only output brief summary

• --skip-empty : Skip empty and warmup-only sessions

• --min-messages N : Minimum messages for --skip-empty (default: 2)

Codex CLI Sessions

Extract a Codex session

uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/extract_codex_transcript.py <session.jsonl>

Extract from Codex history file

uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/extract_codex_transcript.py ~/.codex/history.jsonl --history

Session File Locations

Claude Code

• Sessions: ~/.claude/projects/<project-path>/<session-id>.jsonl

Codex CLI

• Sessions: ~/.codex/sessions/<session_id>/rollout.jsonl

• History: ~/.codex/history.jsonl

DuckDB-Based Transcript Index

For querying across many sessions, use the DuckDB-based indexer:

Index all sessions (incremental - only new/changed files)

uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/transcript_index.py index

Force full reindex

uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/transcript_index.py index --full

Limit number of files to process

uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/transcript_index.py index --limit 10

List recent sessions

uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/transcript_index.py recent uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/transcript_index.py recent --limit 20 uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/transcript_index.py recent --project myapp uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/transcript_index.py recent --since 7d

Search across sessions

uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/transcript_index.py search "error handling" uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/transcript_index.py search "query" --cwd ~/myproject

Show a session transcript

uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/transcript_index.py show <file_path> uv run ~/.claude/skills/extract-transcripts/transcript_index.py show <file_path> --summary

Requirements: uv (dependencies auto-installed via inline script metadata)

Database location: ~/.claude/transcript-index/sessions.duckdb

Output Format

Transcripts are formatted as markdown with:

• Session metadata (date, duration, model, working directory, git branch)

• User messages prefixed with ## User

• Assistant responses prefixed with ## Assistant

• Tool calls in code blocks (if --include-tools)

• Thinking in blockquotes (if --include-thinking)

• Tool usage summary for Codex sessions