Migrate from ChatGPT Work to an open-source system you own
A migration from ChatGPT Work to Kortix, the open-source AI Operating System, means rebuilding the assets that shape an assistant's behavior. Instructions, skills, memory, connectors and schedules each become a file in a git repo you own. An export cannot hand you that repo.
The rebuild, as files and one command.
Each panel is a real Kortix excerpt with its source.
kortix_version: 2default_agent: kortix project: name: my-project description: What this project is.agents: release-bot: file: agents/release-bot.md connectors: [github] kortix_permissions: [project.gitops.push] secrets: [GITHUB_AGENT_TOKEN]$ curl -fsSL https://kortix.com/install | bash$ kortix init$ kortix shipWhat a migration from ChatGPT Work actually moves
ChatGPT Work is OpenAI's hosted product for teams, and the instructions, skills, memory, connectors and schedules that shape it live inside OpenAI's workspace. A migration to Kortix rebuilds each of those as a file in a git repo you own. Five classes matter, and each lands in a different place.
- Instructions become an agent file,
agents/<name>.md, whose body is the system prompt. - Skills become
skills/<name>/SKILL.md. - Memory becomes the
memory/directory, plain files that accumulate. - Connectors are declared in
kortix.yaml, which sets the apps an agent may reach. - Schedules become triggers in
kortix.yaml, either a cron or a signed webhook.
Kortix keeps all five together in one repo you own. 3,000+ apps in a click, plus MCP, OpenAPI, Postman, GraphQL and raw HTTP. Connector credentials are brokered server-side and never enter the machine. The connectors and automation page covers how a connector and a trigger are declared.
The steps to rebuild
- Install the CLI, then run
kortix initto scaffoldkortix.yamlplus theagents/,skills/and runtime config. - Write one agent file for each set of instructions you want to keep.
- Move skills into
skills/<name>/SKILL.mdand memory intomemory/. - Declare the connectors and the schedules as triggers in
kortix.yaml. - Run
kortix shipto push the repo and bring it live.
The three commands are install, scaffold and ship, documented in the Kortix on GitHub README. The repo is what you keep from the move: versioned, diffable and reviewed like code.
What an OpenAI export does not carry
An OpenAI export is a copy of account data. It is not a package you can import into another platform, and it never produces a git repo. OpenAI's export help says the ZIP holds chat history and other account data, that an export can take up to 7 days, and that the download link expires 24 hours after it arrives (checked October 2026). Its transfer help adds that uploading an export to another account does not move custom instructions, memories, GPTs, or other account settings. The same help states that self-service export is not available in ChatGPT Business or Enterprise workspaces at all.
Because the export carries conversations, the connectors, the schedules and the instructions are the assets you rebuild as files.
Models and keys after the move
Any model provider with your own keys. Or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for. The models and your keys page covers how a provider is connected and how a key is held.
Who governs the agents you rebuild
Per-resource permissions for people and agents. Roles, groups, and an audit trail. Approval gates you set. Off until you set them. Session work reaches main through a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents. The governance and permissions page covers the grants and the change-request gate.
Questions about moving.
Can I export ChatGPT Work and import the export into Kortix?
No. Exports are conversation files, and Kortix reads a git repo of agents, skills, memory, connectors and triggers. You rebuild those assets as files, then commit them. OpenAI's own transfer help says an uploaded export does not move custom instructions, memories, GPTs, or settings (checked October 2026).
What does the ChatGPT export include, and what does it leave out?
The ZIP holds chat history and other account data. OpenAI's export help says an export can take up to 7 days to arrive and the download link expires 24 hours later (checked October 2026). Its transfer help states that uploading an export to another account does not restore your chat sidebar.
Do my connectors and schedules move with the export?
No. The export does not carry connector connections or schedules. In Kortix you declare connectors in kortix.yaml, and schedules become triggers, either a cron or a signed webhook. Connector credentials are brokered server-side and never enter the machine.
Can I rebuild one job at a time instead of the whole workspace?
Yes. Start with the job that matters most: write its agent file, declare the connectors it needs, and ship. Each session has its own isolated machine and branch, so one agent’s rebuild does not block the next.
Rebuild your first agent in a repo you own.
Start with the one job that matters and grow the repo from there.
Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem