👋 Introduction
ChatGPT-EX is an Electron wrapper for ChatGPT that runs ChatGPT in its own desktop window instead of a browser tab. It is a fork of jfscoertzen/ChatGPT-client.
ChatGPT-EX is partially vibe-coded with OpenCode: OpenAI GPT-5.5 🤖
The goal is simple: keep the official ChatGPT web experience, but add the desktop behavior I want day to day: quick refresh, a tray icon, local exports, print support and a few quality-of-life controls around the app window.
The original ChatGPT-client application was made only for Linux, because of the lack of an official ChatGPT app.
More information is available on a blog post of the author: ChatGPT Desktop Client for Linux
I liked the idea also for Windows, so I added a Windows build, even though an official ChatGPT app already exists.
The application loads https://chatgpt.com directly.
Prints, Markdown and PDF exports are generated from the conversation that is already rendered in the window, then saved locally through Electron.
No extra OpenAI API calls are made for exporting or printing.
This project is currently built with Electron 37 and packaged with electron-builder.
❗ Build Requirements
- Node.js 24
- npm is used for dependency management.
- Linux builds produce AppImage and Debian packages.
- Windows builds produce an NSIS installer and a portable executable.
npm install
npm startBuild packages with:
npm run build:linux
npm run build:win✨ Features
- Dedicated desktop window - ChatGPT opens as a standalone Electron app.
- Bottom-right action buttons - Refresh, Print, Markdown export, and PDF export are available inside the app window.
- Local Markdown export - Saves the currently rendered chat as
chatgpt-export-YYYY-MM-DDTHH-MM-SS.md. - Local PDF export - Saves the currently rendered chat as
chatgpt-export-YYYY-MM-DDTHH-MM-SS.pdfusing Electron’s localprintToPDFsupport. - Print - Prints the currently rendered chat.
- System tray integration - Closing the window can hide it to the tray instead of quitting the app.
- Tray settings - Toggle close-to-tray, start minimized, and always-on-top behavior.
- Browsing-data cleanup - Clear cookies, cache, local storage, IndexedDB, and service worker data from the tray menu.
- Native edit context menu - Right-click for cut, copy, paste, and select all.
- F5 reload shortcut - Reload ChatGPT without leaving the app.
- Spell checking disabled - Prevents the embedded browser spellchecker from interfering with typing.
📥 Downloads
Windows
Linux
💻 Source
🏛️ License
MIT License
Copyright (c) 2026 Stephan Coertzen
Copyright (c) 2026 BrainByteZ
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.
