What the file is
When you asked Skype for a copy of your data, it prepared a download on its export page. The download is a single file ending in .tar, usually named like 8_live_yourname_export.tar or 8_yourname_export.tar. A .tar file is an archive: a box holding other files.
Inside the conversations export is a file called messages.json, which holds every message as text, with names, dates and some markup. If you also chose Files, that export holds a folder called media with the photos, videos, voice messages and documents people sent.
Open it here
- Find the .tar file. It is usually in your Downloads folder, unless you moved it.
- Drop it on the box on this page, or press Choose your export and pick it.
- Your conversations appear on the left, newest first. Choose one to read it.
There is no need to unpack the .tar first. If you have already unpacked it, you can choose the messages.json file instead, or the whole folder.
The file is read by your own browser. It is not uploaded, so it does not matter how large it is or how slow your internet connection is. Exports of several gigabytes work; the photos are only read when you scroll to them.
If you have two files
Skype often delivered conversations and files as separate downloads. Choose both at once, or open the conversations first and then use Add photos and files at the top of the reader. Photos then appear in the conversation where they were sent.
If it won't open
- The download stopped part-way. A cut-short file can't be read to the end. If you have the original download, try that copy. Kept Chats shows whatever it could read before the break.
- It was renamed or zipped. A .zip that contains the .tar works too, as does a .tar.gz.
- It is a different file. Contacts exports (a .csv file) contain no messages. A Teams export is a different format and isn't supported.
Other ways to open it
Microsoft offered a small viewer called skype-parser: you unpack the .tar, open its index.html, and load messages.json. It shows the text of each conversation but not the photos, and has no search. Desktop programs such as Skyperious (free, open source) can import the export too, if you prefer something installed.