Open the affected task before collecting evidence. For an assistant to read the conversation, save it as Markdown. For a crash, failed request, or disconnected Runtime Host, also copy diagnostics. These exports answer different questions.
The old record file row showed the workspace's shared runtime.sqlite database, not a separate text file for the selected conversation. It was added in #2196 on August 8, 2026, and explicitly removed, together with its unused service and bridge fields, in #3610 on August 23, 2026.
The current Trace panel reads a Session-specific projection from the Runtime Host: usage, context composition, and the turn timeline. It does not expose a replacement database-path button. The removal commit establishes what changed; it does not document a broader product rationale for removing path access.
Markdown contains the user messages, assistant answers, and tool names/intents. It leaves out reasoning, raw tool results, token-usage records, and permission decisions. It is useful for discussing what happened in the conversation, but it is not a complete execution trace. User text is kept as entered; assistant text and tool intents pass through secret redaction. Review the selected content before sharing it.
With the affected task open, choose Copy diagnostics in the command palette. The shortcut is Cmd+Shift+D on macOS or Ctrl+Shift+D on Windows/Linux. The report is copied to the clipboard; paste it into a text file or your report. Settings → About → Copy diagnostics is also available for general app issues.
The report includes the Desktop environment, recent main-process logs, and Runtime Host diagnostics when available. A task-targeted report resolves the Host for that task; an unavailable Host is reported as unavailable. Reports apply secret redaction and home-path shortening. They are not full conversation exports. Include the action that failed, the approximate time, and the relevant Trace-panel error or screenshot alongside the report.
Builds containing #5197, merged on September 12, 2026, also offer Settings → Import/export tasks → Export tasks for the Local Host. Choose the task and export a .maka-session file. Wait until the task and its subagents have stopped running; confirm inclusion of subagent conversations if prompted. This Desktop export surface is not shown for remote Hosts.
The bundle carries the selected Session, its subagent subtree, and referenced artifacts/context-offload data. It excludes connection credentials and the user's project directory. It also intentionally omits diagnostic events such as provider-request captures, model-call attempts, and stream diagnostics, so it does not replace the diagnostic report. Conversation and artifact content can still contain private information.
A .maka-session bundle is intended for import into a compatible Maka installation, not for opening as plain text. Use Markdown for an assistant that only needs readable conversation text. If the export page is absent on an older build, use the Markdown and diagnostic commands available there.