How to Import Your Goodreads Library to Book Tracker (Step-by-Step 2026)

If you’ve decided to leave Goodreads for better privacy, a real Mac app, an Apple Watch experience, or just a more modern interface, the first question is the same one every reader asks: “will I lose all my reading history?”

The answer is no. Your books, ratings, reading dates, shelves, and reviews are all preserved in a single CSV file that Goodreads lets you export at any time. The whole migration to Book Tracker takes about 10 minutes, most of which is just waiting for emails and downloads.

This guide walks you through the entire process step by step, with every gotcha addressed (missing page counts, missing covers, what happens to your shelves, what doesn’t transfer).

Quick answer: to import your Goodreads library to Book Tracker, (1) log into Goodreads on a desktop browser, (2) go to My Books → Import and Export and click Export Library, (3) save the CSV file to iCloud Drive, (4) open Book Tracker on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, (5) go to Settings → Import → Goodreads and select the CSV file. The import takes 1-3 minutes depending on library size. Two minor issues may need fixing afterwards (some books showing 0 pages, some missing covers): both take about 30 seconds each.

What you’ll find in this guide

  1. Before you start: what to know
  2. Step 1 — Export your Goodreads library (3 min)
  3. Step 2 — Make the CSV file reachable from your iPhone (1 min)
  4. Step 3 — Import into Book Tracker (3 min)
  5. Step 4 — Verify the import (2 min)
  6. Step 5 — Fix the two common post-import issues (2 min)
  7. What transfers and what doesn’t
  8. Should you keep your Goodreads account?
  9. FAQ

Before you start: what to know

You’ll need: a desktop browser to access Goodreads (the export option is hidden on mobile), the Book Tracker app installed on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac (see Download Book Tracker for iPhone/iPad and Mac App Store for Mac), and about 10 minutes.

Library size matters for waiting time but not for steps:

  • Under 100 books: import takes about 1 minute.
  • 100-500 books: 2-3 minutes.
  • 500-2,000 books: 5-10 minutes.
  • 2,000+ books: 10-20 minutes.

The steps are exactly the same in all cases. Don’t close the app during import.

Account requirement: Book Tracker doesn’t use accounts. You’ll never have to create one. The library is stored locally on your device and synced via your iCloud account, end-to-end encrypted by Apple. See Do I need an account to use Book Tracker? and Why Book Tracker is a privacy-first app.

Step 1 — Export your Goodreads library (3 min)

The Goodreads export option is only available on the desktop website — not on the iPhone or iPad app. So start from a Mac, PC, or any computer with a browser.

  1. Open goodreads.com and log in.
  2. Click your profile image (top-right) → My Books.
  3. In the left sidebar, scroll down to the Tools section and click Import and export.
    Direct link if you’re already logged in: goodreads.com/review/import
  4. Scroll down to the Export your books section.
  5. Click the Export Library button.
  6. Goodreads now generates the file. For most libraries this takes 30 seconds to 2 minutes. The page will refresh automatically when ready, and you’ll see a download link like “Your export from [date] is ready”. Click it.
  7. The browser downloads a file named like goodreads_library_export.csv. Save it somewhere you’ll remember.

That’s it for Goodreads. You can close the browser tab.

Step 2 — Make the CSV file reachable from your iPhone (1 min)

If you’re going to import on Mac, you can skip this step. The file is already on your computer.

If you’re going to import on iPhone or iPad, you need the file accessible from those devices. The easiest way:

Option A — iCloud Drive (recommended):

  1. On your Mac (or any computer), drag the goodreads_library_export.csv file into any folder inside iCloud Drive. The Desktop and Documents folders work if you have iCloud Drive Desktop & Documents enabled.
  2. Wait 30 seconds for sync.
  3. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Files app → iCloud Drive → navigate to where you put the file. It’s there.

Option B — Email:

  1. Email the CSV to yourself.
  2. On your iPhone, open the email, tap the attachment, then Share → Save to Files → choose any location (iCloud Drive or “On My iPhone”).

Option C — AirDrop:

If both your computer and iPhone have AirDrop enabled, AirDrop the file. On your iPhone, choose to save it to Files.

Step 3 — Import into Book Tracker (3 min)

Now the actual import. The flow is identical on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

  1. Open Book Tracker.
  2. Tap (or click) Settings.
  • On iPhone: bottom-right tab.
  • On iPad: in the sidebar.
  • On Mac: menu bar Book Tracker → Settings (cmd+,).
  1. In Settings, find and tap Import.
  2. Select Goodreads as the import source.
  3. A file picker opens. Navigate to where you saved the CSV (iCloud Drive, On My iPhone, etc.) and select goodreads_library_export.csv.
  4. The import begins. You’ll see a progress indicator. Don’t close the app.
  5. When the progress bar completes, you’ll see a confirmation. Tap Done.

For the most current version of this procedure see Migrating from Goodreads and the broader How to import your library into Book Tracker tutorial.

Step 4 — Verify the import (2 min)

Take a moment to check that everything came over.

What you should see:

  1. Total book count — should match (or nearly match) your Goodreads library size. Small discrepancies (1-3 books missing) are usually duplicates that Book Tracker correctly merged.
  2. Reading status — books from your Goodreads “Read” shelf should be marked Read, “Currently Reading” should be Reading, and “Want to Read” should be To Read (TBR). For details on how reading statuses work, see the FAQ How can I mark a book as To Read, Reading, Read, or Abandoned?.
  3. Ratings — your star ratings should be preserved.
  4. Reading dates — start and finish dates from Goodreads should be on the right books.
  5. Reviews/notes — your written reviews should appear as notes attached to each book. See How to add notes and quotes to books for what you can do with them next.

Quick sanity check: browse to 5-10 books at random across different shelves and verify their data looks right.

If everything’s there, you’re 90% done. The remaining 10% is fixing the two known minor issues with Goodreads’ export format.

Step 5 — Fix the two common post-import issues (2 min)

These two issues affect almost every Goodreads import because they’re limitations of Goodreads’ CSV format, not of Book Tracker.

Issue 1 — Some books show 0 pages

Why it happens: Goodreads doesn’t always include the page count in the CSV export, especially for older or less-popular editions.

How to fix it: Book Tracker can re-fetch the page count from its 6 metadata sources, typically from the ISBN if the book has one. The full procedure is in the FAQ Why are some books showing 0 pages?, and there’s a related tutorial for cases where the page count was wrong from the start: What to do if a book has the wrong page count.

Issue 2 — Some covers are missing

Why it happens: Goodreads CSV exports don’t include cover images. Book Tracker fetches covers from its metadata sources at import time, but for some books (especially obscure editions or non-English titles) the automatic lookup fails.

How to fix it: the FAQ Why are covers missing after import? walks through the resolution. In short: Book Tracker has a “search remote covers” feature where you can pull a different cover from any of its metadata sources, or upload your own.

Issue 3 (rare) — Some books didn’t import at all

If a handful of books are completely missing, it’s usually because:

  • The CSV row was malformed (a comma or quote in the title or review broke the parser).
  • The book had no ISBN and no clean title match in the metadata sources.
  • It was a duplicate already present in another shelf.

For these, just add them manually using the How to add a new book in Book Tracker tutorial. Should be five minutes for half a dozen books.

For the broader troubleshooting see How to fix common CSV import issues.

What transfers and what doesn’t

What does transfer ✓

  • All your books (Read, Currently Reading, Want to Read).
  • Star ratings.
  • Reading start and finish dates.
  • Your written reviews (saved as notes inside Book Tracker).
  • ISBN, author, publisher, year (everything Goodreads stores).
  • Custom shelves (translated to Book Tracker’s tags or shelves system).

What doesn’t transfer ✗

  • Friends / following relationships. Book Tracker isn’t a social platform by design — see the Manifesto.
  • Other people’s reviews of your books (only your own reviews come over).
  • Discussion threads / groups you participated in.
  • Reading challenge progress badges (the Reading Challenge concept is replicated in Book Tracker, but Goodreads’ specific badges/achievements don’t transfer. Set up your own using the How to set and follow your Yearly Reading Challenge tutorial).
  • Cover images (re-fetched automatically by Book Tracker from its metadata sources, with manual fallback as described in Step 5).

This is intentional. Book Tracker is built as a private library catalog and reading tracker, not a social platform. See the parallel guide Best Goodreads Alternatives for iPhone in 2026 for a comparison of social vs private alternatives.

Should you keep your Goodreads account?

The short answer: keep it for at least 60 days as a backup, then decide.

The longer answer: even after a flawless import, you may discover something that didn’t transfer: an obscure shelf, a review you really liked, a date that’s wrong by a day. Having Goodreads still active for two months gives you a safety net to go back and check.

After 60 days, if you haven’t needed Goodreads once, you can either leave the account dormant (free, no harm done) or delete it from Goodreads → Account Settings → Close Account. There’s no rush.

FAQ

Q: Can I import only my “Want to Read” shelf, not the rest?

The Goodreads CSV export contains all shelves. Book Tracker imports everything but assigns the right reading status to each book based on its original shelf. You don’t need to selectively export.

Q: I have a 5,000-book library. Will the import work?

Yes. Book Tracker handles very large libraries. Users have reported smooth performance at 5,000+ books. Import will take 10-20 minutes; don’t close the app during. For tips on large library performance afterwards see Tips for syncing large libraries in Book Tracker.

Q: I imported but some Kindle books are missing or look wrong.

Goodreads sometimes stores Kindle editions with non-standard ISBNs (called ASINs). Book Tracker may not match every Kindle edition perfectly. See the FAQ Can I import my Kindle library into Book Tracker? and Can I add Kindle books to Book Tracker?.

Q: Will the import sync to my other devices?

Yes. Once the import completes on one device (say your iPhone), iCloud automatically syncs the entire library to your iPad and Mac. No need to repeat the import. See How to sync Book Tracker across iPhone, iPad, and Mac and the FAQ How do I sync Book Tracker across iPhone, iPad, and Mac?.

Q: What if iCloud sync is slow or stuck after the import?

Importing 1,000+ books triggers a large initial iCloud sync, which can take 10-30 minutes. If something seems stuck, see iCloud sync is not working: how do I fix it? and the longer tutorial How to fix iCloud sync problems in Book Tracker.

Q: Can I run the import twice (e.g. if I add new books to Goodreads later)?

Yes, but Book Tracker will deduplicate based on ISBN. If you re-import a year later, only the new books will be added: your existing entries (with all the changes you made in Book Tracker) won’t be overwritten.

Q: Can I import a Goodreads CSV that I’ve manually edited in Excel?

Possible, but risky. Editing the CSV in Excel can break encoding or row structure (Excel famously mangles CSV files). If you need to clean the data, prefer a plain text editor (BBEdit, VS Code, Sublime Text). For broader CSV troubleshooting see How to fix common CSV import issues in Book Tracker.

Q: I have books in multiple languages. Will the import handle them?

Yes. Book Tracker queries 6 metadata sources, which cover most non-English editions. For Japanese manga, Italian editions, Spanish translations etc., the import works correctly in the vast majority of cases. The full list of supported import sources is at Which apps can I import my library from?.

You’re done. What now?

Now that your library is in Book Tracker, here’s what to explore next:

For the broader picture of where Book Tracker fits in the post-Goodreads landscape, read the parent pillar guide: Best Goodreads Alternatives for iPhone in 2026 (Privacy-First Guide).

For a deeper exploration of why this migration is worth doing in the first place, see Why I Stopped Using Goodreads: The Case for a Private Digital Library and Goodreads vs Book Tracker: Why You Should Switch for Better Privacy.

Download Book Tracker on the App Store (iPhone + iPad + Apple Watch) or on the Mac App Store (Mac).

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