# NorthLab Apps

> Independent studio building small, fast, privacy-first browser tools. Flagship product: NorthLab Folders — folders, subfolders, pinning, date stamps and Markdown export for ChatGPT (chatgpt.com) and Claude (claude.ai), as a Chrome and Safari extension. Strictly local-first: conversation content never leaves the browser; the extension stores only folder names and conversation IDs.

Every article below is plain Markdown at the same URL as its HTML page plus a `.md` suffix (e.g. `/blog/claude-folders.md`). AI agents should fetch the `.md` version — same content, no HTML to parse. All `.md` URLs are also listed in the sitemap.

## Product

- [NorthLab Folders](https://northlabapps.com/folders): features, pricing (free tier; Pro $4.99/mo, $39/yr, or lifetime), and FAQ
- [Install for Chrome](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/folders-pin-export-for-ch/dampacngiienmgjldeiljaojdanoekem): Chrome Web Store listing
- [Install for Safari (macOS)](https://github.com/sshahzaiib/northlab-releases/releases/latest): signed & notarized DMG, latest release
- [Privacy policy](https://northlabapps.com/privacy): what the extension does and doesn't collect

## Claude Code guides

- [The .claude Folder, Explained: What's Inside It and What to Commit](https://northlabapps.com/blog/what-is-the-claude-folder.md): Claude Code keeps two .claude folders — one in your home directory, one per project. What each file does, which ones to commit to git, and which to never hand-edit.
- [Claude Code Commands: The Cheat Sheet I Wish I'd Had on Day One](https://northlabapps.com/blog/claude-code-commands-cheat-sheet.md): The Claude Code slash commands worth memorizing, the ones to skip, and how to build custom commands in .claude/commands — a working developer's cheat sheet.
- [Claude Code settings.json & Permissions: The Practical Reference](https://northlabapps.com/blog/claude-code-settings-json.md): Which of the three settings.json files wins, how allow/deny permission rules actually match, and the safe-by-default setup — a practical Claude Code reference.
- [Claude Code vs Cursor: An Honest Comparison From Daily Use of Both](https://northlabapps.com/blog/claude-code-vs-cursor.md): Claude Code is a terminal agent, Cursor is an AI-native IDE — and the right answer depends on how you review code. A working developer's honest comparison.
- [CLAUDE.md, Explained: The File That Teaches Claude Code Your Rules](https://northlabapps.com/blog/claude-md-complete-guide.md): What CLAUDE.md is, where Claude Code looks for it, and how to write rules it actually follows — with the hierarchy, imports, and mistakes that waste your context.
- [How Claude Code Memory Works: CLAUDE.md, Auto Memory & the # Shortcut](https://northlabapps.com/blog/claude-code-memory.md): Claude Code remembers through layered files, not magic — the CLAUDE.md hierarchy, the auto memory directory, the # shortcut, and how to keep all of it trustworthy.

## Claude (claude.ai) guides

- [One Extension for Both ChatGPT and Claude: What Actually Works (2026)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/one-extension-for-chatgpt-and-claude.md): Yes, one extension can organize both ChatGPT and Claude. We compared every option that genuinely supports both platforms — including our own — on features, permissions, and privacy.
- [How to Build an AI Second Brain from Your ChatGPT and Claude History](https://northlabapps.com/blog/ai-second-brain.md): Your best thinking already lives in your AI chats — it's just unfindable. A practical system for turning ChatGPT and Claude history into a real second brain.
- [Claude Chat History, Explained: Where It Lives, How Long It Lasts & How to Save It](https://northlabapps.com/blog/claude-chat-history.md): Where Claude chat history is stored, how long Anthropic keeps it, why it sometimes seems to disappear, and how to delete or back it up before you need it.
- [How to Export Claude Conversations (One Chat or Your Entire History)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/export-claude-conversations.md): How to export claude chat conversations: the official full-account export, single-chat Markdown/JSON, and bulk folder export — with honest limits on artifacts and images.
- [Can You Make Subfolders in Claude? (Not Natively — Here's the Fix)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/claude-subfolders.md): Claude Projects can't nest: no projects inside projects, no folders inside a project. Here's how people fake a hierarchy — and how to get real subfolders in claude.ai.
- [Claude Projects vs Chats vs Skills: Which One Do You Actually Need?](https://northlabapps.com/blog/claude-projects-vs-chats-skills.md): Projects hold knowledge, Skills teach Claude how to do things, plain chats do neither. A practical guide to picking the right container — and what none of them solve.
- [How to Upload a Whole Folder to Claude (3 Ways That Actually Work)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/add-folder-of-files-to-claude.md): Claude has no folder-upload button — but you can still get a whole directory in. Multi-select, zip upload (yes, Claude reads zips), or Project knowledge files: here's when to use each.
- [Can Claude Read a Folder of Files?](https://northlabapps.com/blog/can-claude-read-folders.md): Can Claude read a folder on your computer? It depends on which Claude you're using. Here's an honest capability map for claude.ai, Claude Code, and Desktop.
- [Claude on Mac: Find Your Projects, Folders & Files](https://northlabapps.com/blog/claude-folders-mac.md): Clear up the confusion: where Claude projects live on Mac, what the ~/.claude folder actually is, and how to get real folders in Safari.
- [Claude Projects, Explained: Folders, Limits & Setup](https://northlabapps.com/blog/claude-projects-explained.md): What Claude Projects are, how to use them, and their real limits — knowledge files, instructions, the 5-project free cap, sharing, and when you need more.
- [How to Make a Folder of Chats in Claude (2 Ways — One Takes 2 Minutes)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/make-folder-of-chats-claude.md): Yes, you can group Claude chats into folders: use Projects (built in, with limits) or add real folders with subfolders and per-chat pinning via an extension. Step-by-step for both.
- [The Only ChatGPT Folder Extension for Safari on Mac (2026)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/chatgpt-folders-safari.md): Every ChatGPT and Claude folder extension is Chromium-only — except one. Here's how Safari users on Mac can finally organize their AI chats with NorthLab Folders.
- [How to Export ChatGPT and Claude Conversations to Markdown (2026)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/export-chatgpt-claude-markdown.md): Four honest methods for exporting ChatGPT or Claude chats to Markdown — plus PDF export, downloading your full history, and moving conversations into Claude.
- [ChatGPT Toolbox Alternative in 2026: Who Should Switch?](https://northlabapps.com/blog/chatgpt-toolbox-alternative.md): AI Toolbox is genuinely capable — but it's ChatGPT-only, cloud-synced, and skips Safari. Here's an honest look at when NorthLab Folders is the better fit.
- [Easy Folders Alternative for ChatGPT & Claude in 2026](https://northlabapps.com/blog/easy-folders-alternative.md): Comparing Easy Folders vs NorthLab Folders: privacy, Safari support, subfolders, and cross-device sync — an honest look at both.
- [How to Add Folders to Claude: 4 Ways That Actually Work (2026)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/claude-folders.md): Claude still has no native folders — but Projects, one extension, a naming system, and local export get you real organization in minutes. Compared honestly.

## ChatGPT guides

- [How to See the Date of a ChatGPT Conversation (3 Ways)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/chatgpt-conversation-dates.md): How to see the date of a ChatGPT conversation: what the sidebar actually shows, the exact timestamps buried in your data export, and how to get dates in the sidebar.
- [ChatGPT Projects, Explained: How They Work, Limits & Projects vs Folders](https://northlabapps.com/blog/chatgpt-projects-explained.md): What ChatGPT Projects are, how they work, the real file and visibility limits, and when you need folders instead of (or alongside) the projects feature.
- [How to Copy a ChatGPT Conversation (the Whole Chat, No Broken Formatting)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/copy-chatgpt-conversation.md): How to copy a ChatGPT conversation, a single reply or the entire chat, without the broken formatting that shows up when you paste into Word, Docs, or Notion.
- [How to Export ChatGPT Conversations: One Chat, Your Whole History, or PDF (2026)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/export-chatgpt-conversations.md): How to export a ChatGPT conversation — one chat, your entire account, or a clean PDF — with the honest trade-offs of each method, official and third-party.
- [How to Pin a Chat in ChatGPT (And What to Do Past the 3-Pin Limit)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/pin-chatgpt-chats.md): How to pin a chat in ChatGPT using the native sidebar option, why it caps out at 3 pins, and the workarounds and extension that get you past it.
- [How to Delete Your ChatGPT History (Without Losing the Chats You'll Need)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/delete-chatgpt-history.md): Delete one chat, everything at once, or archive instead — exact steps, what the 30-day retention window really means, and what to back up before you wipe.
- [How to Search Your ChatGPT History (Full Text, Not Just Titles)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/search-chatgpt-history.md): ChatGPT's built-in search misses old chats, has no filters, and stops at one platform. Here's every way to actually find that conversation from three months ago.
- [The Best Superpower ChatGPT Alternative in 2026 (Lighter, Private, Works on Claude Too)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/superpower-chatgpt-alternative.md): Superpower ChatGPT collects more data than most users realize. Here's a lighter alternative compared head-to-head on data collection, pricing, and ChatGPT + Claude support.
- [Best Privacy-First ChatGPT Folder Extensions (Honest 2026 Roundup)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/best-chatgpt-folder-extensions.md): We compared the best ChatGPT folder extensions on privacy, permissions, and features — including our own. Here's where each one shines and falls short.
- [How to Organize ChatGPT Chats: The Ultimate Guide to Sidebar Mess](https://northlabapps.com/blog/organize-chatgpt-chats.md): Four real ways to organize ChatGPT chats — Projects, a ChatGPT folders extension, naming systems, and local export — with honest pros and cons of each.

## Gemini guides

- [Gemini Bulk Delete: How to Delete All Your Gemini Chats at Once](https://northlabapps.com/blog/delete-gemini-chats.md): Gemini has no bulk-delete button, but My Activity does the job. Exact steps to delete one chat, a date range, or everything at once — plus auto-delete setup and why recent chats vanish.

## Chrome & browser guides

- [Best Session Buddy Alternatives in 2026 (After the v4 Data Losses)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/session-buddy-alternatives.md): Session Buddy's v4 rewrite cost users years of saved sessions. Honest alternatives compared — Tab Session Manager, Workona, Toby, OneTab — and what to demand from any of them.
- [Session Buddy Lost Your Sessions? How to Try Recovering Your Data](https://northlabapps.com/blog/session-buddy-data-recovery.md): If Session Buddy's update wiped your saved sessions, the data may still exist on disk. Where to look, what's recoverable, and how to make this unrepeatable.
- [Side Panel Tab Managers for Chrome: Why the Sidebar Is the Right Place](https://northlabapps.com/blog/side-panel-tab-manager.md): Chrome's Side Panel API finally gives tab managers a persistent home — vertical tabs, drag-and-drop, always visible. The current options compared honestly.
- [Tab Suspender for Chrome: What Still Works in 2026 (Honest Comparison)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/tab-suspender-chrome.md): Chrome's Memory Saver vs Auto Tab Discard vs The Marvellous Suspender and friends — which tab suspender actually frees RAM, and the malware history to know first.

## Other articles

- [The best time to run, according to the weather (not your alarm clock)](https://northlabapps.com/blog/best-time-to-run.md): The best time to run isn't a fixed hour. It's whenever temperature and dew point line up, often dawn in summer, midafternoon in winter.
- [Dew Point and Running: The Chart That Explains Your Awful Summer Runs](https://northlabapps.com/blog/dew-point-running.md): Dew point, not humidity, predicts how hard a run feels. See the dew point running chart and pace adjustments for every dew point range.
- [How Accurate Is Life360? And Why It Drains Your Battery](https://northlabapps.com/blog/how-accurate-is-life360.md): Life360 accuracy depends on your phone's GPS, not the app. Here's why it shows the wrong location, why it drains battery, and how to fix both.
- [Is Life360 free? What the free plan actually includes in 2026](https://northlabapps.com/blog/is-life360-free.md): Is Life360 free? Yes, but limited to 2 Places and 2 days of history. Here's what's included and how the $7.99-$24.99/mo paid plans compare.
- [Life360 vs Find My: which should your family use in 2026?](https://northlabapps.com/blog/life360-vs-find-my.md): Life360 has ~97.8M monthly users (Q1 2026) vs Find My's free, Apple-only sharing. Here's which one actually fits your household.
- [Marathon weather forecast: when to check it and how to change your race plan](https://northlabapps.com/blog/marathon-weather-forecast.md): Marathon weather forecast timing: skip the 10-day guess, trust the 5-day (90% accurate), and adjust pace using dew point, not just temperature.
- [When is it too hot to run outside? A practical threshold guide](https://northlabapps.com/blog/too-hot-to-run.md): No single temperature is 'too hot' to run: it depends on dew point and WBGT. Race flags run caution above 65°F, red above 73°F, and cancelled above 82°F WBGT.
- [What to wear running: the temperature chart runners actually use](https://northlabapps.com/blog/what-to-wear-running.md): What to wear running by temperature, from 70°F down to below 20°F, plus the 10-20 degree rule, rain gear tips, and the wind chill modifier that changes everything.

## Meta

- [Sitemap](https://northlabapps.com/sitemap-index.xml): all HTML pages and Markdown mirrors
- [RSS feed](https://northlabapps.com/rss.xml): new-article feed