I built ChatShelf, a tool that saves ChatGPT conversations to Notion, making it an assistant for ChatGPT users.

ReadPo
3 min readSep 13, 2023

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Hi there! I’m Kane, a software engineer and product manager with a coding journey spanning over two decades.

Throughout my career, I’ve crafted numerous products. Yet, in recent years, the internet started feeling a tad monotonous to me. It seemed like ages since a product genuinely dazzled me. Over the past three years, I’ve dabbled in IOT hardware and WEB3 App. However, I found that these innovations either no longer thrilled people or felt detached from their daily lives.

But then, earlier this year, I stumbled upon ChatGPT and the new wave of AI it’s ushering in.

Back in 2016, I developed some deep learning-based applications that addressed real-world problems. I thought the era of powerful AI had truly dawned. But, in hindsight, it was just another fleeting hype. Yet, many brilliant minds persisted. They introduced large models, attention mechanisms, and Transformers — groundbreaking innovations that promise to reshape our world.

It’s been a whirlwind!

The first half of this year saw me immersed in a plethora of new products and technologies. At times, I felt overwhelmed by the rapid influx of innovations. I knew I had to contribute.

Over the past few months, I’ve experimented with various applications, from GPT wrappers to toolkits and chatbots. Naturally, I subscribed to ChatGPT Plus, making it an integral part of my daily routine. However, I began noticing certain limitations, such as:

  • ChatGPT’s occasional instability.
  • The lack of a search function for past dialogues.
  • The constant need to copy content back and forth, especially with platforms like Notion.
  • The inability of ChatGPT to persistently store knowledge.
  • And a few other interaction issues.

Initially, I brushed these off as mere UX challenges. But after some searching, I realized no one was adequately addressing them. I felt compelled to take matters into my own hands. Thus, ChatShelf was born.

After dedicating over a month of my free time to its development and receiving positive feedback from friends, I submitted it to the Chrome Store. While awaiting its approval, I thought it’d be apt to introduce ChatShelf more formally and kickstart a new blog to chronicle its journey:

  • What is ChatShelf? It’s a browser extension primarily designed to save ChatGPT dialogues to Notion, streamlining storage, management, and reuse.
  • Why ChatShelf? It seamlessly translates most content into Notion blocks. I’ve also incorporated middleware to preemptively save content, ensuring no data loss and swift synchronization.
  • The Name? Inspired by ‘BookShelf’, ChatShelf embodies our deep integration with ChatGPT and the organized storage of your invaluable conversations. Think of it as a dedicated bookshelf for your AI chats!

What’s Next for ChatShelf?

  • I’m actively working on supporting more AI chatbots and note-taking platforms.
  • Search functionality is on the horizon, though for now, you can search within Notion.
  • I’m exploring ways to embed saved data back into ChatGPT, addressing the memory issue.
  • And, of course, always eager to hear user feedback.

Feedback is invaluable to me! To enhance ChatShelf, I’d love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, and any feedback. Whether it’s about features, user experience, or anything else, please share. Here’s how you can reach out:

Enjoy it!
kane at shelf.chat

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