OpenAI ChatGPT Classic

About this release

This is the desktop client rather than the browser tab, and the difference shows up within the first hour of using it. A global hotkey brings a compose window over whatever is currently in front of you, and the window can take the active screenshot, a selected region, a file dragged onto it or plain typed text as its starting point. The answer arrives in the same window, so there is no tab switching and no copying text back and forth between applications.

Screenshot handling is the part people keep. Capture a spreadsheet region, an error dialogue, a chart from a report or a page of a scanned contract, and ask about it directly. The client keeps the capture attached to the conversation so follow up questions do not need it pasted again. File attachments work the same way for documents, spreadsheets, code files and plain text, with the content read locally before the request is composed.

Conversations are stored on the machine in a searchable history with folders, pinning and export. Long threads can be branched so a tangent does not destroy the main line of a discussion, and any message can be edited and resent to change the direction of everything after it. Prompt templates cover the requests people make daily, and custom instructions apply to every new conversation without being retyped.

The classic build keeps the older single window layout that the newer redesign moved away from, which is the reason a lot of people look for this specific release. Model selection, temperature style controls and the response length preference all sit in one settings panel instead of being spread through nested menus.

What it does

Global hotkey compose window

A single key combination opens the assistant over any application, with the active window available as context immediately.

Screenshot and region capture

Grab the full screen or a dragged region and ask about it directly, with the image staying attached through follow up questions.

Local file attachments

Documents, spreadsheets, code and plain text are read on the machine and attached to the conversation as context.

Searchable local history

Every conversation is stored locally with folders, pinning, full text search and export to plain text or markdown.

Conversation branching

Fork a thread at any message so a side question does not overwrite the main discussion.

Prompt templates

Reusable prompt blocks with fill in fields for the requests that come up every day.

Changed in this version

• Capture window rewritten with faster region selection and better handling of multiple monitors.
• History search now covers attachment contents as well as message text.
• Conversation export gains a markdown option alongside plain text.
• Reduced memory use on very long threads.
• Classic single window layout retained as the default rather than an option.

System requirements

Install order

1. Unpack the archive to a folder with no accents in the path.
2. Run the installer and choose whether the client starts with the system.
3. Set the global hotkey on first launch before closing the welcome panel.
4. Open the settings panel once and pick the history folder location.

Worth knowing before you start

File details