Hi HN, I've been working on a solution to a problem that's been driving me crazy: finding specific conversations in my ChatGPT history. The native search is basically useless (exact keyword match only), and I've accumulated hundreds of chats over the past year.
The Problem:
ChatGPT's search only does exact keyword matching. Valuable insights from research/brainstorming sessions get buried. Manual export tools exist but don't provide searchability. No highlights or jump-to-context. None of the Chrome extensions for this purpose work properly.
My Solution - ChatSherlock:
PWA (Progressive Web App) with hybrid keyword + semantic search Browser extension for automatic conversation capture. Manual upload of ChatGPT data export (.zip) file. Optional sync through ChatGPT API key. Cross-device sync with end-to-end encryption. SaaS model ($4.99/$9.99 tiers)
Technical Stack:
React PWA as the main app (works on mobile/desktop/tablet). Lightweight browser extension just for data capture (Chrome/Firefox). Vector embeddings for semantic search on Pro tier. Client-side encryption before cloud storage.
Questions for HN:
Technical approach - Am I over engineering this? PWA + lightweight browser extension for capture feels right for cross-platform access with zero-friction data collection, but I'm curious about edge cases I'm missing.
Market validation - Does this resonate with other heavy ChatGPT users here? Or is this solving a problem only I have?
Competitive moat - OpenAI could obviously build better native search. Is first-mover advantage + cross-platform access enough defensibility?
Privacy concerns - Even with E2E encryption, are people comfortable with a third party handling their ChatGPT conversations? This feels like the biggest potential blocker.
Pricing validation - Does $4.99/$9.99 monthly feel reasonable for this? I'm targeting researchers, grad students, consultants, entrepreneurs, knowledge workers and content creators who live in ChatGPT.
Looking for honest technical feedback, potential gotchas I haven't considered, and general "would you use this?" validation. Particularly interested in hearing from other ChatGPT power users. Thanks for reading!
cacojara•5mo ago
Questions for HN: Technical approach - Am I over engineering this? PWA + lightweight browser extension for capture feels right for cross-platform access with zero-friction data collection, but I'm curious about edge cases I'm missing. Market validation - Does this resonate with other heavy ChatGPT users here? Or is this solving a problem only I have? Competitive moat - OpenAI could obviously build better native search. Is first-mover advantage + cross-platform access enough defensibility? Privacy concerns - Even with E2E encryption, are people comfortable with a third party handling their ChatGPT conversations? This feels like the biggest potential blocker. Pricing validation - Does $4.99/$9.99 monthly feel reasonable for this? I'm targeting researchers, grad students, consultants, entrepreneurs, knowledge workers and content creators who live in ChatGPT. Looking for honest technical feedback, potential gotchas I haven't considered, and general "would you use this?" validation. Particularly interested in hearing from other ChatGPT power users. Thanks for reading!