Where did my chats go?

Chats live in the browser that made them. A second machine, a second browser or a second profile is empty because nothing was ever put there - expected behaviour, not a fault.

My chats aren't on my other device

Nothing was ever sent anywhere, so a second device has nothing to fetch. Two in-app messages describe this, not a failure: On the Free plan, chats are saved only in this browser. and Cloud backup is paused. New chats are saved only in this browser.

1. To have them on both devices, sign in on each and subscribe (why a device is empty).
2. Without a subscription, move them as a file (move to a new computer).

I signed in and my chats are gone

Chats belong to the account that made them. On the hosted app, signing in moves you between accounts. An empty list means this account did not make those chats - they are still on this machine, under the other account. Sign in as the account you used before and they reappear. Do not clear device data while looking at the empty list.

Two accounts in one browser profile keep separate chat stores, while settings and API keys are shared across the profile. On a shared computer the boundary is the profile, not the account.

I signed out and my chats are gone

Keep on device - the default - leaves everything in this browser: sign back in and the chats are there. Remove from device (Clear & Sign Out) already ran the wipe, and on this device it is permanent. With no cloud backup that option is marked "Will lose all data". The controls themselves: your account and Pro.

I deleted a chat and want it back

Deleting removes it from this device at once. A subscribed account with the cloud trashcan turned on keeps a copy for 90 days and can restore it to every device.

1. Restore it from the trashcan (the cloud trashcan). That page names the two conditions: a subscription, and protection already on when you deleted.
2. Without that, the only earlier copy is a file you saved (restoring a file).

I cleared my browser

Clearing site data removes the databases the conversations live in. Without a backup file or a cloud copy, there is no way to recover them.

What	Where the bytes would be
conversations	IndexedDB, key app-chats in the keyval-store database · hosted: a database named zync-storage-<id>, or zync-storage-anon
images, audio, generated media	a database named Big-AGI, table largeAssets
settings, model services, keys	localStorage, keys beginning app-

1. A different browser, a different profile or another machine may still hold them.
2. If they are not there, they are gone. Big-AGI asks the browser not to evict its storage, but that is a request the browser can refuse, and it refuses silently.
3. To stop it happening twice, keep a file (back up and restore).

An off-the-record chat vanished

Nothing was written to storage, which is what the mode is for. There is no way to recover it.

1. Confirm what the mode does before relying on it (confirm nothing was written).
2. For work you intend to keep, leave the mode off.

My chats from an older version didn't come across

Big-AGI moves work out of an older local storage format once, on first load, and then marks the job done. Data Actions -> Re-import Local Data, on the account page, clears that marker so the migration runs again.

the confirmation names the conditions under which the button does anything at all:
  legacy data still on this device
  at most two items per type already here
  no earlier migration

1. Read that confirmation before accepting it.
2. Accept it, and the app reloads by itself.
3. It reads nothing from a file. A backup you saved, or one taken in Big-AGI v1, goes in through back up and restore.

None of these match

Describe what you did immediately before, and on which device: where to send it. Never paste the content you were working on.

Related

• Sync and devices
• Back up and restore
• Delete everything
• Your account and Pro
• Fix a problem