How to export your data from Teams

Microsoft Teams has no single self-serve 'export workspace' button for business tenants: an admin must request Microsoft's free Teams data export tool (or use the Teams Export APIs) to pull chats, channel messages, meetings and rosters as a ZIP of JSON files; consumer Teams Free users can self-export chats, contacts (CSV) and calendar (JSON) directly from the app.

Formats: JSON, CSV, TAR, ZIP (containing JSON)Plan: Any Teams/Microsoft 365 plan for the org tool (tenants up to 500 users); Export APIs require an active Teams license on each exported user; Teams Free (personal) export is available to any consumer accountRole: Global Administrator (Teams admin center data export tool); Azure AD app + admin consent (Export APIs); no special role needed for Teams Free personal export

✓ Verified against Teams's official documentation, September 2026

Step by step

1Request access to the Teams data export tool: submit Microsoft's request form, selecting 'Data Export Tool (500 users or less)' and describing your tenant size and that you're switching away from Teams.
2Wait for Microsoft to notify you that access has been granted (the tool is then usable for 90 days).
3Sign in to the Microsoft Teams admin center as a Global Administrator and locate the 'Teams data export' card on the Dashboard.
4Choose a date range (e.g. 'Entire history') and select Export to start the job.
5Accept the read-only permissions prompt for the Teams Data Export Tool (access to chats, channels, meetings and related metadata).
6Watch the export card for status (e.g. 'Preparing the data') until it shows the job is complete.
7Go to Analytics & reports > Usage reports > Downloads tab in the admin center and select Download - the file expires 24 hours after it becomes available.
8Unzip the downloaded archive: it contains per-user and per-team JSON files (messages, retained/edit history, meetings, teams/channels lists, installed apps).

What the export includes

✓1:1 chats, group chats, meeting chats and channel messages
✓Message edit history (retainedMessages files)
✓Team and channel structure, plus channel member rosters
✓List of installed apps per channel
✓Meeting metadata and links to meeting recordings/transcripts
✓Meeting Q&A messages and reactions
✓For Teams Free (personal): chat history + media (as a .tar file), contacts (CSV), and shared calendar events (JSON)

What it doesn't include

✗Actual file attachments/content - files live in SharePoint/OneDrive and must be exported separately
✗The recording/transcript media itself - the export only contains links to them
✗Any content created or changed during or after the export run (you must run a new export to capture it)
✗Admin center configuration, policies, or app/tenant settings
✗On-premises (hybrid Exchange) user chat data, which requires a separate eDiscovery-based flow
✗Anything beyond 500 users via the free data export tool - larger tenants must use the Teams Export APIs directly or a third-party backup/eDiscovery tool

Before you start

⚠The free 'Teams data export tool' is explicitly for switching to another provider, not for tenant-to-tenant migration or routine backup
⚠It's capped at tenants of 500 users or fewer and access must be requested/approved via a Microsoft form first
⚠Once granted, you only have 90 days to use the tool, and each generated download link is only valid for 24 hours
⚠Only a Global Administrator can access and run the tool in the Teams admin center
⚠New/changed content during an export run isn't captured - you need to re-run the export to pick it up
⚠Classic eDiscovery (Content Search, eDiscovery Standard/Premium) was retired on August 31, 2025 except for 21Vianet-hosted (China) tenants; use the new eDiscovery experience in the Microsoft Purview portal instead for legal-hold style exports
⚠The programmatic Teams Export APIs require Azure AD app registration, admin-consented Graph permissions (e.g. Chat.Read.All, ChannelMessage.Read.All), and are subject to Graph throttling limits (recommended page size 250)
⚠Individual (non-admin) users on business Teams cannot export their own chat history themselves - only Teams Free personal accounts have a self-service export at teams.live.com/dataexport

Where to take your data

Free and cheaper tools that can take a Teams export. See all Teams alternatives →

Slack Free

Alternatives Teams vs Slack Free

There is no native importer for the Teams JSON export. Use the exported per-team/per-channel JSON (messages_{teamId}.json, channels_{teamId}.json) as a reference to manually recreate channels and pin/repost key messages and files (pulled separately from SharePoint) into Slack.

Discord

Alternatives Teams vs Discord

No direct import exists. Recreate your channel/team structure manually in a Discord server, then use the exported JSON files as a reference archive, and re-upload important shared files (from your separate SharePoint/OneDrive export) into the matching channels.

Teams Free

If you're downsizing from a paid Microsoft 365/Teams tenant to consumer Teams Free, contacts and calendar exports don't have a bulk-import path in Teams Free - re-add contacts manually and recreate recurring events; chat history from the admin export is for archival reference only.

Exporting from Teams: common questions

Can I export my own Teams chat history without involving an admin?+

Not on a business/work Teams tenant - only a Global Administrator can request and run the Teams data export tool, or use the Export APIs. On Teams Free (personal accounts), you can self-export your chats, media, contacts, and calendar directly from teams.live.com/dataexport.

What file format do I actually get?+

The admin data export tool and the Export APIs return JSON files packaged in a ZIP. Teams Free personal exports give you a .tar archive for chat/media, a CSV for contacts, and a JSON file for calendar events.

Can I export just one team or channel instead of everything?+

The data export tool lets you choose a date range (e.g. entire history) for the export job, but the output still contains per-team and per-user JSON files for the whole tenant scope you were granted - it isn't a single-channel picker.

Are file attachments included in the export?+

No. Files shared in chats and channels live in OneDrive/SharePoint and are not bundled into the Teams data export - you need to export those document libraries separately.

Does running an export delete or move any of my Teams data?+

No, exporting is a read-only, non-destructive copy operation.

My organization has more than 500 users - can we still use the free export tool?+

No, the free data export tool is limited to tenants of up to 500 users. Larger organizations need to use the Teams Export APIs (Microsoft Graph) programmatically or a third-party backup/eDiscovery solution.