ChatLab is a desktop application for analyzing chat history with AI on your local machine.
The tool solves the problem of extracting insights from chat data while keeping conversations private. It works by combining a SQL engine with AI agents that can search, summarize, and analyze chat records. The application normalizes exports from multiple platforms—WhatsApp, LINE, QQ, Discord, Instagram, Telegram, iMessage, and Google Chat—into a unified format, then processes them through a five-stage pipeline: format detection, stream parsing, local persistence, SQL and AI querying, and visualization. It handles large histories efficiently through stream parsing and multi-worker processing, remaining responsive even at million-message scale.
ChatLab suits developers and individuals who want to understand patterns in their conversations without uploading raw data to cloud services. The local-first approach means all chat data and settings remain on your machine. The tool provides visual insights including trends, time patterns, interaction frequency, and rankings. It can be deployed as a desktop application or run as a CLI service with Node.js, making it flexible for different workflows.
Maintainers respond to new issues and pull requests within hours. Work in the issue tracker centers on bug fixes, feature development, and discussion threads.
