Import your Goodreads library into Booklore
Moving off Goodreads doesn't mean retyping your shelves. Booklore reads the standard
goodreads_library_export.csv directly — shelves, ratings, reviews, page
counts, and read dates come across in one import. The whole thing takes about five
minutes, and the result lives on your iPhone: no account, no server, no
subscription.
Step 1 — Export your library from Goodreads
- Sign in to Goodreads on the web (the mobile app has no export).
- Open My Books.
- In the left sidebar under Tools, click Import and export.
- Click Export Library. Goodreads generates
goodreads_library_export.csv— download it when the link appears.
Tip: the export can take a few minutes on large libraries. The download link appears on the same page when it's ready.
Step 2 — Get the CSV onto your iPhone
- Save it to Files (iCloud Drive or On My iPhone), or
- AirDrop it from your Mac, or
- email it to yourself and save the attachment to Files.
Step 3 — Import into Booklore
- Open Booklore (free on the App Store).
- Go to Settings and tap Import books (Goodreads CSV or backup file).
- Pick the CSV in the file picker. Done.
On a fresh install you don't even need Settings — the first screen has an Import your Goodreads library button.
Step 4 — Check the result
Booklore reports exactly what happened: how many books were added, how many duplicate rows were merged, and how many rows were skipped (rows without a title). Your shelf is ready immediately — everything stored on your device.
What actually transfers
Booklore reads these columns from the Goodreads export:
| Goodreads column | What Booklore does with it |
|---|---|
| Title, Author | The book. Rows without a title are skipped and counted. |
| Exclusive Shelf | Maps to reading status: to-read → Want to read, currently-reading → Reading, read → Read. |
| My Rating | Your star rating (0–5). |
| My Review | Your review text, kept with the book. |
| Number of Pages | Page count (sanity-clamped at 30,000). |
| Date Read | Finish date, so your reading history and Year-in-Books stats are right. |
| ISBN / ISBN13 | Used to match duplicates so re-imports merge instead of doubling your shelf. |
| Original Publication Year | Publication year on the book's detail page. |
Duplicates in the file are merged during import, and re-running an import won't double your library — matching is by ISBN first, then by normalized title + author.
What doesn't transfer (honestly)
- Friends, groups, and social features — Booklore has none, by design. There is no account.
- Goodreads' own recommendations — Booklore's discovery works from your library, on device.
- Custom shelf names beyond status — the Goodreads export's Exclusive Shelf becomes your status; you can re-shelve inside Booklore afterwards.
Where your data lives afterwards
On your iPhone. Booklore has no server, no account, and no analytics — the privacy policy is one page because there's nothing to disclose (details: what “no account” means). You can export your full library back out as CSV any time (Settings → Export), including everything you've added since — so you're never locked in here either.
Get Booklore free on the App Store
Trouble?
If an import reports skipped rows, the usual cause is a file that isn't the standard
Goodreads export (e.g., a spreadsheet re-saved with different column names). Booklore
needs at least a Title column. See Support or
email us — details on the support page.