Can you export your Goodreads library from the app?

No. Goodreads only offers the export on its website, under My Books then Import and export. The iOS and Android apps have no export option at all, which is why the first step is always to open Goodreads in a browser.

Does Goodreads delete your data if you export it?

No. Exporting takes a copy and changes nothing in your account. Your shelves, ratings and reviews stay exactly where they are, so you can export as a backup without deciding to leave.

Will your ratings and dates come across to ReadersGuild?

Yes. Ratings and dates read import along with your currently-reading, read and want-to-read shelves. Custom shelves and long reviews do not, because ReadersGuild has no equivalent place to put them.

What happens if you import the same file twice?

Nothing bad. Books already in your library are matched rather than added again, so a second import of the same export will not leave you with two copies of every book.

Do you have to pick the right service when importing?

It helps, but it is not required. ReadersGuild reads the file's own column headers to work out the format, so a Goodreads file imports correctly even if you tapped StoryGraph by mistake.

The guide

How to export your Goodreads library.

Q: What is in a Goodreads export file?

A CSV with one row per book: title, author, ISBN, your rating, the average rating, page count, publisher, the date you added it, the date you read it, your shelves, and your review text. It is your whole library as plain text.

You cannot export from the Goodreads app. Open Goodreads on the web, go to My Books, then Import and export, and click Export Library. Goodreads builds a CSV containing every book, your shelves, your ratings, your dates read and your reviews, and the download link appears on that same page.

How do you export your Goodreads library?

1Open Goodreads on the web. The phone app cannot export, which is the step most people get stuck on.
2Go to My Books, then Import and export.
3Click Export Library, wait for the file to build, then download it.

The file is a CSV. Goodreads emails nothing and the link appears on the same page, so stay on it while the export builds.

What is in the Goodreads export file?

One row per book, as plain CSV: title, author, ISBN, your rating, the average rating, page count, publisher, the date you added it, the date you read it, every shelf you filed it under, and your review text. It is your whole library, readable in any spreadsheet.

Exporting copies that data. It does not delete or change anything in your Goodreads account, so it is worth doing as a backup even if you are staying.

What carries over into ReadersGuild?

currently-reading: Reading
read: Finished
to-read: TBR

Your ratings and the dates you finished a book come across with the shelves.
Custom shelves do not. Only reading, finished and want-to-read map onto real shelves here.
Long reviews do not come across. The export contains them, ReadersGuild does not store them.
Re-importing the same file is safe. Books already in your library are matched, not duplicated.

The importer reads the file's own column headers to work out which service it came from, so a Goodreads file still imports correctly if you pick the wrong one.

How do you export your StoryGraph library?

1Open app.thestorygraph.com on the web.
2Go to Manage Account, then Manage Your Data.
3Click Export StoryGraph Library and download the file.

StoryGraph exports carry your format and your DNF shelf, so those come across too.

How do you export your Fable library?

1Fable has no export of its own yet.
2On a computer, install the ShelfBridge extension for Chrome.
3Connect it to Fable, then export your library as a CSV.

ShelfBridge is made by someone else, so it could change or stop working. Any CSV with titles, authors and shelves will import here.

Your library is yours. Take it anywhere.

ReadersGuild opens soon, and it reads that file on day one. Put your name down and we will tell you when the doors are open.

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