ChatshelfChatGPT folders gone: what to check
Updated
Check the sidebar for Projects and archived chats first. If the folders came from an extension, they live in that extension's storage in your browser, so check it is still installed and enabled. This page does not state what OpenAI changed, because its help pages would not load.
Chatshelf runs in Microsoft Edge and Firefox on desktop. No account.
What I could not confirm
OpenAI’s help centre returned an error when I tried to read it on 6 October 2026, so I cannot quote what it says about Projects or about older ways of grouping chats. If you want the current rules, read the help centre yourself. Anything below that concerns ChatGPT is limited to what our organizing guide already states: ChatGPT’s own grouping is Projects, which gather related chats and files under one name.
Where to look first
- Open the ChatGPT sidebar and check for Projects and for archived chats. A chat that left the main list may only have moved.
- Search by a word from the chat title, in case it is still there but out of sight.
- If the folders came from an extension, open the browser’s extension page and check it is installed, enabled and in the profile you are using.
If your folders came from an extension
An extension keeps its folders in its own storage in your browser. They are not kept by OpenAI. That has two sides. A change on the ChatGPT site does not delete them. Removing the extension, clearing its data or switching browser profile does, which is why a backup file matters.
Chatshelf keeps folders, pins, rules and prompts in your browser, with no account. Backup and restore writes them to one JSON file, free, and Pro adds the saved chat text to it. Free keeps up to 8 folders, and Pro, at €29 a year or €49 once, has no limit. It runs on Microsoft Edge today, with Firefox in review.
If a folder feature you relied on is missing from a tool, say so on the roadmap page. Chatshelf is built from those requests.
Questions
Did ChatGPT remove folders?
We could not check. OpenAI's help pages refused our request on 6 October 2026, so this site makes no claim about what ChatGPT added or removed. Look at your sidebar and at OpenAI's help centre.
What does ChatGPT offer instead of folders?
Our organizing guide describes Projects, which group chats and files under one name. Open your sidebar to see whether Projects is there for your account.
My extension's folders disappeared. Can I get them back?
Folders from an extension live in that extension's storage. Check it is installed and enabled in the same browser profile. Removing an extension usually removes its data, so keep a backup file.
Are Chatshelf folders affected by changes on the ChatGPT site?
They are stored in your browser, not by OpenAI, so a change to the site does not delete them. A change to the page layout can still break the extension until it is updated.
Keep your own folders
Chatshelf keeps folders in your browser and writes a backup to one JSON file, free.
Chatshelf runs in Microsoft Edge and Firefox on desktop. Chatshelf is an independent product and is not affiliated with OpenAI, Anthropic or Google.
More guides
Sources: OpenAI's help centre (help.openai.com) returned an error on 6 October 2026 and was not read. Chatshelf's own plan limits, 6 October 2026. Chatshelf is an independent product and is not affiliated with OpenAI.