Files and Data

Tuochat saves conversations, extracted code files, and token usage data locally. This page explains where everything goes and how to control it.

Data directory

Platform Default path
Linux ~/.local/share/tuochat/
macOS ~/Library/Application Support/tuochat/
Windows %LOCALAPPDATA%\tuochat\

Override with the TUOCHAT_DATA_DIR environment variable.

Inside the data directory:

tuochat/
|- tuochat.db
|- audit_state.json
|- conversations/
|  |- <conversation>/
|  |  |- data/
|  |  |  |- <conversation>.md
|  |  |  |- hello.py.check
|  |  |  \- ...
|  |  |- bagit.txt
|  |  \- tagmanifest-sha256.txt
\- logs/

What gets saved

  • Conversation transcript - every turn is saved to SQLite and written to markdown
  • Extracted code files - fenced code blocks with file names can be written to separate files
  • Token usage - tracked per conversation and aggregated for weekly reports
  • Startup audit state - last-run state for the optional pip-audit startup check

Code file safety

By default, extracted code files are saved with a .check extension added to the filename.

What Duo suggested What tuochat saves
hello.py hello.py.check
deploy.sh deploy.sh.check
config.json config.json.check

Tuochat never overwrites an existing file. Collisions are numbered.

All extracted files include a generated header unless you disable it in config.

Two storage modes

Mode A: Central data folder (default)

All conversation files go to the data directory. Extracted code files land in the conversation subfolder, away from your project source tree.

Mode B: Write-here mode

Enable with /write-here-mode on in the REPL or the Write here toggle in the GUI.

In this mode:

  • Conversation transcripts go to .tuochat/conversations/ inside the current working directory
  • Extracted code files go directly into the current working directory
  • .tuochat/ is automatically excluded from git via git info/exclude

Approval mode

In write-here mode, you can require confirmation before each file is written:

/approve-writes on

Or use the Approve writes toggle in the GUI.

Workspace memory files

When you use /memory, /todo, or /compact, tuochat stores pinned workspace notes under the current working directory:

.tuochat/memory.md
.tuochat/todo.md
.tuochat/compact.md

These files are injected into future conversations for that workspace, giving you local persistent context without server-side memory.

Disabling persistence

If you do not want any data written to disk:

/no-write on

With no-write enabled:

  • Nothing is saved to the database
  • No transcript or code files are written
  • Search and history are unavailable for the current session

Conversation management

tuochat convo list
tuochat convo search QUERY
tuochat convo export ID
tuochat convo open ID
tuochat convo archive ID
tuochat convo delete ID

BagIt tamper detection

If you have installed the optional antitamper extra, tuochat can create BagIt manifests for stored conversations:

/update-bagit
/check-bagit

Or from the command line:

tuochat archive bagit-update
tuochat archive bagit-check