How to save a Claude or Gemini chat as a PDF (2026)

If you want a Claude chat from claude.ai or a Gemini chat from gemini.google.com as a PDF, there are two practical routes: print the chat from the browser, or save it as Markdown first and turn that into a PDF. To be clear up front: ThreadVault 1.2.4 does not create PDF files. It exports Markdown and JSON. We do not describe a built-in PDF button in Claude or Gemini here, because we have not verified one; check the app's own share and export menus too.

1. Print the open chat to PDF (one chat, free)

Open the chat on claude.ai or gemini.google.com in a desktop browser.
Scroll from the top to the bottom so every message has loaded.
Press Ctrl+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+P (Mac).
Set the destination to Save as PDF. If code blocks look blank, turn on Background graphics under More settings. Save.

This is quick for one chat you want to share. How it looks depends on each site's page layout: long chats can split awkwardly across pages, and sidebars or buttons may print too. Check the preview before you save.

2. Export Markdown with ThreadVault, then convert (many chats)

For more than a handful of chats, or if you also want a clean text copy for notes, export first and convert after.

Install ThreadVault (1.2.4 or later) in Chrome.
Open claude.ai or gemini.google.com in a tab you are already signed into. For Gemini with several Google accounts, open the account you want first (the address shows /u/1/, /u/2/ and so on).
Click the ThreadVault icon. Choose Export this chat for the open conversation, or Bulk export and pick the chats you want (or Select all shown). Bulk export saves one ZIP in your Downloads.
Unzip it. You get a Markdown file and a matching JSON file per chat, in a claude/ or gemini/ folder. Your messages are under a "You" heading and the replies under a "Claude" or "Gemini" heading, in order. Code blocks are kept as they were. A manifest.json lists every chat exported and any that could not be read.
Turn the Markdown into a PDF in another app, for example:
- Open it in a Markdown app that can export to PDF, such as Obsidian (its Export to PDF command) or Typora.
- Or convert it to Word first, then save the Word file as a PDF. We tested the Markdown-to-Word step with Pandoc on ThreadVault's Claude-format Markdown; the steps, including a loop for a whole folder, are in our Claude and Gemini to Word guide.
- Or open the .md file in Google Docs (Google's Markdown in Docs help) and use File, Download, PDF Document.

Claude thinking sections. When a Claude reply includes thinking text, ThreadVault puts it in a collapsed "Thinking" section in the Markdown. Whether that shows up in your PDF depends on the app you convert with (in our Pandoc-to-Word test it became ordinary paragraphs), so check the result and delete it if you only want the final answers.

The conversion is done by that other app, not by ThreadVault, so it is one file at a time unless your app can batch it. The upside is that you keep the Markdown and JSON as your real archive, and make PDFs only of the chats you need to share or print.

Which to use

One chat to send to someone today: print to PDF.
A whole Claude or Gemini history: export with ThreadVault and keep the ZIP. Make PDFs from the Markdown later, as needed. If you plan to delete chats, see back up Claude before deleting or back up Gemini before deleting.
Notes you will edit or search later: Markdown is usually better than PDF. See Claude to Markdown and Obsidian and Gemini to Markdown and Obsidian.

What ThreadVault does and does not cover

Tested with Claude and Gemini before the 1.2.4 release for visible text, turn order and code blocks. Images, uploaded files, Claude artifacts and Projects, Gemini Canvas and Gems, citations, and work or school accounts were not part of that test, so they are not claimed here.
Export runs in your browser, from the tab you have open. Chats are not sent to Loomwise.
It also works with Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and Microsoft Copilot. See save a ChatGPT chat as a PDF and save a Grok or Copilot chat as a PDF.

Pricing

ThreadVault is free for 25 threads on this browser. Unlimited is $9 for the first 50 buyers, then $19, one-time, inside the extension. No subscription.

Keep every Claude and Gemini chat, not just one PDF. ThreadVault (disclosure: we make it) is a Chrome extension that exports those chats to Markdown and JSON in one ZIP on your computer, from a tab you are already signed into. Make PDFs from the Markdown whenever you need them. Free for 25 threads.
Add ThreadVault to Chrome Learn more

Related guides

Not affiliated with Anthropic, Google, Obsidian, Typora or the Pandoc project. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic; Gemini is a trademark of Google LLC. Last checked November 13, 2026 against ThreadVault 1.2.4 (listing and extension source) and Google's Docs Editors Help. Print and third-party app menu names can change; verify them in your browser or app. Questions or corrections: hello@loomwise.app.