Chrome extension · Free & open source

Your PDFs
Now Have Memory

Persist embeds conversation history directly into your PDF.
Upload it again and pick up exactly where you left off —
no accounts, no cloud, no friction.

Install for Chrome — Free See how it works

Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok & Perplexity · No sign-up required

claude.ai/chat
architecture.pdf
Persist
Watching for PDF...
Upload PDF
Features

Everything you need.
Nothing you don't.

Persist does one thing and does it perfectly: keeps your AI conversations alive across sessions.

Automatic Memory

Upload a PDF — Persist instantly detects any prior history and injects it as context before your first message. No setup, no configuration.

  • Detects PDFs in all upload flows
  • Parses and formats history automatically
  • Works on first message of every session
Most loved

Cross-Platform

One PDF, any AI. Use it on Claude today, switch to ChatGPT tomorrow. Persist speaks every platform's language — no re-uploading context manually.

  • Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini — full support
  • Grok, Perplexity — full support
  • 5 platforms, one extension

Privacy First

Your conversation history never touches our servers. It lives in your PDF's metadata — encrypted, portable, and 100% under your control.

  • Zero server-side storage
  • No account required
  • History travels with your PDF
How it works

Four steps.
Then it runs itself.

01

Install Persist

One click from the Chrome Web Store. No permissions you didn't expect — Persist only activates on Claude.ai and ChatGPT.

02

Upload your PDF

Drag it into Claude or ChatGPT like you normally would. If the PDF has prior history, Persist loads it and injects context automatically.

03

Chat normally

Have your conversation. Persist silently captures every message in the background — you'll see the count update in the badge.

04

Save memory

Click "Save Memory" in the Persist badge. Your PDF downloads with the conversation embedded. Upload it again next time — it remembers.

Pricing

Free extension. Your API keys.

Persist charges you nothing. Optional summarization uses providers you already pay — Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI, OpenRouter, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.

Everything in the extension
$0 to Persist

MIT-licensed, no account, no telemetry. History lives in your PDF metadata and local browser storage.

Install from source
  • Capture & inject context on supported AI chats
  • Save memory to PDF — no enforced monthly cap
  • Local truncation when history exceeds 50KB
  • Auto-save & invisible mode (toggle in popup)
  • Optional smart compression via your API keys
If you enable summarization

When embedded history exceeds 50KB, you can add a key in Smart Compression so older messages are summarized instead of only truncated. You pay the model provider under their pricing — not Persist.

  • Pick preset providers or a custom base URL + model
  • Input is capped per request to keep costs predictable
  • Chrome may ask permission once for custom API hosts
Read privacy policy
FAQ

Common questions.

How does Persist store conversation history?

Persist writes conversation history to your PDF's metadata field — specifically the document info dictionary using a custom PersistHistory key. The data is base64-encoded JSON. Your original PDF content is never modified, only the metadata layer. The file size increase is proportional to the conversation length.

What happens when the conversation gets too long?

Metadata is capped around 50KB. Without an API key, Persist truncates older messages locally and adds a notice. With an optional key (Smart Compression), it can summarize older turns using the provider and model you configure, keeping a fixed number of recent messages verbatim.

Is my data private? Does anything go to your servers?

Persist does not run a backend for your chats. History is stored in the PDF and in local extension storage. If you enable summarization, message text is sent only to the API endpoint you choose, using your key — not to Persist.

Which AI platforms does Persist support?

Persist currently supports Claude.ai and ChatGPT. Since history is stored in the PDF itself, you can use a PDF on Claude today and open it on ChatGPT tomorrow — the history travels with the file. Additional platforms are on the roadmap.

Can I share a PDF with embedded history?

Yes. The file is a normal PDF; metadata is readable by tools that read PDF info. Recipients can continue the thread in any supported chat with Persist installed. Treat shared PDFs like any sensitive document.

Ready to give your PDFs memory?

Clone the repo, run ./setup.sh, load unpacked in Chrome. No fee to Persist — ever.

Install for Chrome — Free

Chrome 88+ required · MIT licensed · Open source