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# Introduction

ChatLab is a free, open-source, local-first chat analysis app.

In the digital era, chat histories are no longer just plain text. They carry a decade of social connections, precious voice notes from loved ones, and serve as the emotional memory we keep in the digital world.

ChatLab was built to **give everyone a private, secure way to analyze and revisit their own conversations.**

## What you can do with ChatLab

- **Visual analytics**: Word frequency, word clouds, activity rankings, interaction heatmaps, time-of-day breakdowns — understand your chat history at a glance.
- **AI chat**: Connect an AI model and explore your chat history in natural language — search, summarize, and analyze with an AI Agent.
- **Privacy first**: Everything stays on your device. No uploads, no cloud, no exceptions.
- **What's next**: ChatLab's goal is to become the standard infrastructure for social memory — building a persistent record of every relationship, and serving as the local interface through which AI Agents understand your social world. See the [Roadmap](https://chatlab.fun/roadmap/intro).

## Supported platforms

| Platform | Status |
|----------|--------|
| QQ | ✅ Supported |
| WhatsApp | ✅ Supported |
| LINE | ✅ Supported |
| Discord | ✅ Supported |
| Instagram | ✅ Supported |
| Telegram | ✅ Supported |
| iMessage | ✅ Supported |
| Messenger / KakaoTalk | 🔜 Coming soon |

## Two ways to run ChatLab

**Desktop app**: Download the installer and double-click to get started. Best for personal use.

**CLI**: Install via npm and run from the terminal. Good for server deployments, automation scripts, or pairing with an AI Agent like Claude Desktop.

Both share the same underlying data engine — your data works across both.

## Next steps

Ready to install and import your first chat records? See [Quick Start](./usage/quick-start.md).

Running into import or AI issues? Check [Troubleshooting](./usage/troubleshooting.md).

Your export format isn't supported yet? See the [AI Conversion Guide](./standard/ai-converter.md).

Building a tool or integrating with the API? See [API & Standards](./standard/chatlab-api.md).

For anything else, join the community: [Community](https://chatlab.fun/other/community)
