How to Export Skype Chat to Text File?

  

Published By Jamie Kaler 

Approved By Rollins Duke

Published On March 10th, 2025

Reading Time 5 Min Read

With Microsoft planning to retire Skype on May 5 of 2025, many users are looking to export Skype chat to Text file and take backup of their chats before the access shuts down. Whether for personal data or even business purposes, it is necessary to know how to backup Skype conversations to Text file. Hence, this guide provides the easiest methods to extract and save your chat history so that no precious information is lost. Follow these steps to securely archive your Skype messages.

Why Export Skype Chat to a Text File?

• Save important conversations: Export Skype chat history to Text file and safeguard important information before Skype shuts down its services.
• Documentation for legal or business: Some chats contain important agreements, instructions, or details needed for future reference.
• Text is easy to access: Text files are easy to access across various platforms without having internet.
• Transfer to other platforms: If you use Microsoft Teams or any other, having backups will help you to stay with old messages.
• No data is Lost: Getting your chat history might not be an easy thing once Skype gets closed, so it would be suitable to export Skype chat to Text file right now.

Challenges Users Face When They Backup Skype Conversations to Text File

• Limited Export Options: Skype does not directly offer a “Save as Text” option, making the process complicated.
• Large Chat Histories: Users with long conversations may face slow downloads or incomplete exports.
• File Format Issues: Skype exports data in JSON, which takes extra steps to convert them into a readable format.
• Time-Consuming Process: Depending on file size, getting the extraction and conversion done can take a while, maybe even longer if the chats are very heavy.

How to Export Skype Chat to Text File Manually?

there’s no straightforward way to backup Skype conversations to Text file. However, you can simply export Skype Chat history in JSON format and then convert that file into JSON.

1. To begin with, navigate to the Skype Chat Export page and log in using the Skype credentials associated with your account.
2. Once logged in, choose a Conversations option for Skype to export one or more of your chats.
   Then, simply press Submit Request for Skype to handle the request.
3. Once it’s done, you will receive a message when your export is ready, Inviting you to click a link to download it as a .tar file.
4. The next step is to extract this .tar file after downloading it. After this, you will receive your Skype Chat history in JSON format.

The JSON format is not a user-friendly file to read as it needs technical knowledge to understand. The only possible way to handle such files is backup Skype conversations to Text file. However, Skype does not have a built-in option to export Skype chat to Text file, you will need third-party softwares. There are a few tools for exporting Skype chat to Text files. Some are free online converters but with certain restrictions regarding file size, formatting, or security issues.

However, a professional tool would be a better way to view your chat history directly, as well as export it to the required format without data loss.

How to Export Skype Chat to Text File?

1. Install the software, then run it on your computer.
   
2. Click on the “Browse” icon to add your Skype chat main.db.
   
3. Once loaded, all chat data will be displayed by the software, including messages, contacts, call logs, and shared files, for easy preview.
   
4. Click on “Export Options” and select TXT as the output format for saving the Skype conversations.
   
5. Browse for a destination folder, then Finally, click the “Save” button to finish.
   

Benefits of Using the Tool

• You will receive your chat history in a .json format, which is difficult to access for users. But the software can export Skype chat to Text file that you can easily read on any device.
• It allows to load of the main.db file from the default storage path, eliminating the process of manually exporting data.
• Allows to backup Skype conversations to Text file with full details within the Skype account, including messages, call logs, contacts, and shared files, in a well-organized view.

Conclusion

As Skype will cease operation on May 5, 2025, it is vital to back up your chat history to save any conversations with significance. While doing this manually can mean difficult steps for extracting and converting, the given tool will do it faster and hassle-free. The tool allows users to directly access, preview, and export Skype chat to Text file from the main.db file, including personal, legal, and, business. Do not wait until it is too late, backup Skype conversations to Text file today and create backup of your messages before it’s gone.