Disclosure up front: I make ModernTex, which is one of the options at the end. The export steps come from OpenAI's Prism to Codex migration guide, read October 25, 2026. I have not run an export from a real Prism account, so I describe what OpenAI says it produces and what a folder of this kind needs on a Mac.
What OpenAI says about the shutdown
The help centre says Prism is being retired and that after shutdown all Prism-related data will be deleted and cannot be recovered. The date given in OpenAI's notice is January 1, 2027. Export before then and keep a backup.
Step 1: export your projects
- In Prism, open the user or workspace menu, then Settings, then Data Controls, then Export all projects (zip), then Download zip.
- To export one project, use Export (zip) in its project-title menu. For a project someone else owns, this keeps the files but not your Prism conversation history.
- Unzip the archive. Keep one untouched copy and work on another.
- For each important project, open it with its latest good preview loaded and choose Download PDF in the PDF viewer. You will compare your Mac build against that PDF.
If an export fails, OpenAI says to check export-errors.json in the archive and retry from the project menu.
What the zip does not carry
- Project history and inline comments.
- Collaborator permissions. Whoever you wrote with has to be set up again wherever you go next.
- The live Zotero connection. Export or refresh your
.bibfile from Zotero. - Prism chats. Some archives include a conversations folder of JSON files. Treat it as an archive.
Step 2: build it on your Mac
An exported project is a folder of ordinary .tex, .bib and figure files. OpenAI's guide notes that most multi-file projects need a local TeX toolchain. On a Mac that is MacTeX or the smaller TinyTeX; the install guide compares them. If the project has a latexmkrc, build with latexmk -pdf from the project folder so the same settings apply.
Then compare the new PDF with the one you downloaded from Prism: title and authors, section order, figures, tables, equation numbers, citations, bibliography and page count. Fix differences before you edit the text.
Editors for the folder
Any editor works on the folder. The Mac editor comparison lists the options. VS Code with LaTeX Workshop is covered in its own guide. OpenAI's guide points to Codex, which can edit and help build the files but, per the same page, is not a shared real-time editor.
ModernTex is my option. It opens the project folder, finds the root file, builds with MacTeX or TinyTeX (one-click TinyTeX install if neither is present) and shows a synchronized PDF preview. It costs $19.99 once after a 7-day trial, and has no account or compile limit. It is not a fit if several co-authors must type in the same document at the same moment.
Co-authors
A local folder has no live co-editing. Agree on one editor at a time, or keep the draft in a service built for it. If your co-authors use Overleaf, this guide covers the Git route, which needs a paid Overleaf plan.