Export

Save any AAI output to a file. “Save this” after a query, or “export the deadlines on Doe” to run-then-save. Markdown by default, CSV for tabular data. Lands in ~/.aaicase/exports/ with a dated filename, owner-locked. Every file carries the verify-independently disclaimer.

The filenames and case names in this page are fictitious demonstration data. Your exports use your real case data.

What it is

At the prompt:

aaicase> export this
aaicase> save the morning brief to a file
aaicase> export the deadlines on Doe as CSV

The skill writes the relevant output to a file in the exports directory, names it with today’s date and the content type, and confirms the path. The most common use is “I just ran an audit / brief / deadlines check and I want to keep it” — export captures the output before it scrolls away.

Save-previous vs. run-then-save

You say	Behavior
“save this” / “export” (after a query)	Saves the previous response — whatever AAI just produced.
“export the morning brief”	Runs the brief first, then saves the result.
“export the deadlines on Doe”	Runs the deadlines skill on Doe first, then saves.

The skill figures out from the phrasing whether you want to capture what’s already on screen or generate something fresh. “Save this” means “the thing I’m looking at”; naming a specific skill means “produce it then save it.”

Where files land

All exports go to:

~/.aaicase/exports/

The directory is created if it doesn’t exist. Keeping everything in one place means the attorney always knows where to look, and scheduled briefs (via schedule brief) write to the same directory — so manual exports and automated ones live together.

File naming

Files use the pattern YYYY-MM-DD-type-casename.ext:

Export	Filename
Morning brief	`2026-05-27-brief.md`
Health check on Doe	`2026-05-27-health-check-doe.md`
Value analysis on Roe	`2026-05-27-value-roe.md`
Audit on Sample	`2026-05-27-audit-sample.md`
Overdue tasks as CSV	`2026-05-27-overdue-tasks.csv`

The date prefix means exports sort chronologically in the directory. The type and casename mean you can tell what each file is without opening it. Same convention as the upload filenames AAI enforces elsewhere — date-first, descriptive, lowercase.

Markdown, CSV, PDF

Format	When	How
Markdown (default)	Briefs, audits, valuations, narrative output	Written directly with a title header and the verify disclaimer.
CSV	Tabular data — task lists, case lists, deadline tables	Ask for “as CSV.” The skill formats the rows as comma-separated values for import into Excel/Sheets.
PDF	When you need a printable/shareable document	AAI can’t generate PDFs directly. Save as Markdown, open it, and print-to-PDF from the browser or a text editor.

AAI does not generate PDFs. The export skill writes text formats (Markdown, CSV). For a PDF, the workflow is: export to Markdown → open the .md file → print to PDF from your editor or browser. This keeps the skill simple and avoids bundling a PDF rendering engine.

The verify disclaimer

Every Markdown export ends with:

Generated by aaicase. All calculations are estimates — verify independently.

This matters because exports leave the terminal. A settlement valuation exported to a file might get forwarded, printed, or pasted into a client memo. The disclaimer travels with the document — so anyone who reads the exported valuation sees the same “this is an estimate” caveat the attorney saw in the terminal.

The export also includes a header with the generating version, date, and case reference, so the document is self-describing — you can tell when it was produced and against what case without external context.

File permissions

Every export is written with chmod 600 — readable and writable only by the owner. Exports contain real case data: applicant names, settlement figures, medical findings. On a shared machine, owner-only permissions keep them from being readable by other users.

This is the same posture AAI takes with the audit log, the config file, and temp directories — anything containing case data is owner-locked by default.

Common export requests

“Save the morning brief” → runs the brief, saves as YYYY-MM-DD-brief.md.
“Export this settlement analysis” → saves the value output as YYYY-MM-DD-value-casename.md.
“Save this audit” → saves the audit output as YYYY-MM-DD-audit-casename.md.
“Export the health check on Doe” → runs the health check, saves as YYYY-MM-DD-health-check-doe.md.
“Export all overdue tasks as CSV” → formats the tasks as CSV, saves as YYYY-MM-DD-overdue-tasks.csv for import into a spreadsheet.

When to use it

After a valuation — keep the settlement framework for the client memo and settlement conference.
After an audit — the findings list is worth keeping as a record of what was reviewed and when.
For client communication — export a health check or timeline to Markdown, edit out anything internal, print to PDF, share.
For firm reporting — export task lists or case lists as CSV for the firm’s own spreadsheet tracking.
To preserve a brief — if you want to compare today’s morning brief against last week’s, export both.

Troubleshooting

“I can’t find the exported file”

All exports go to ~/.aaicase/exports/. On macOS/Linux, ~ is your home directory; on Windows it’s your user profile folder. List the directory: ls ~/.aaicase/exports/ (or open it in Finder/Explorer).

The CSV doesn’t open cleanly in Excel

If a field contains a comma (a case name like “Doe, Jane”), it needs to be quoted in the CSV. The skill quotes fields with embedded commas; if a particular export breaks, the field may have an unusual character. Open the raw .csv in a text editor to check.

I asked for PDF and got Markdown

Expected — AAI doesn’t generate PDFs. The Markdown is the export; print it to PDF from your editor or browser. Most Markdown editors (and VS Code with a preview extension) have a print-to-PDF option.

The export is missing recent data

“Save this” captures the previous response — if that response was generated a while ago and the underlying case has changed since, the export reflects the older state. Re-run the skill (“export the health check on Doe”) to capture fresh data instead.

Export failed with a permissions error

The ~/.aaicase/exports/ directory may have wrong ownership (e.g. if a scheduled job ran as a different user and created the directory). Check ownership with ls -la ~/.aaicase/; the exports directory should be owned by your user.

I want exports somewhere other than ~/.aaicase/exports/

The default is fixed, but you can move or symlink the exports directory, or copy files out after export. For a different default, that’s a config change worth requesting.

Schedule brief — scheduled briefs write to the same exports directory automatically.
Audit — the findings list worth exporting as a record.
Deadlines — per-case deadline status often exported for case files.
Run report — large reports are best exported to CSV rather than scrolled in the terminal.

Part of AAI for MerusCase — code-guarded AI case intelligence for California Workers’ Comp attorneys.