Readwise Reader export: keep the notes you meant to save

You finish an article, highlight a passage and add a thought you want to keep. When you download that work, what should be in the file: your notes, the passages you marked, or the whole article?

Decide that first. It gives you something specific to check when you open the download, and helps you choose the right export in Reader.

Affiliate disclosure: Everyday App Guide is a Readwise affiliate. Our linked Reader walkthrough contains a referral link; we may earn a commission if you subscribe through it.

1. Match the export to what you want to keep

For one article’s highlights and notes, Reader Web provides Notebook → Export → Download annotations. This produces a Markdown file. You can read Markdown in an ordinary text editor; the formatting marks do not prevent you from checking the words.

If you also need article text, Readwise documents two other routes: Print with annotations for a PDF copy of an individual article on the web, and Export Full Files and Articles for a ZIP containing saved article content and uploaded files. The ZIP is prepared for download, with a link sent by email. These are separate from the annotation download used in our test. See the official exporting guide for current instructions.

Choose by your intended use:

• Reuse a passage and your own explanation elsewhere: start with the annotation download.

• Read an article and its annotations in a local PDF: check the web printing route.

• Keep a broader collection of saved articles and uploaded files: investigate the full-content export.

We tested the first route only. The other two are documented options, not hands-on results from this guide. Being able to read an exported file also does not establish that you can restore an identical Reader library from it.

2. Open one file and check five things

Use an article you already have, with a note about the whole document and a note attached to a highlighted passage. Open the downloaded file in a text editor alongside the original article in Reader.

Check these five things:

• Identity: can you tell which article the notes came from?

• Source: is the original article URL present and correct?

• Document note: is the explanation you wrote about the article included?

• Highlight: does the exported passage match the part you marked?

• Highlight note: can you still tell which comment belongs to that passage?

This last check matters when you reuse a note. A quotation and your interpretation do different jobs. Keep the distinction clear, especially if you later copy them into another document.

In our October 18 web test, an AI assistant saved one of our own public articles in our test account, added both kinds of note and downloaded its annotations. We inspected that file outside Reader and checked it again when preparing this guide on October 25.

The file contained the article title, source URL, document note, highlighted passage and attached note. It did not contain the full unhighlighted article body. That was a difference in export scope, not evidence that the article had disappeared from Reader.

This result covers one text article and one annotation file. We have not tested PDF or EPUB annotations, mobile exports, automatic exports to another notes app, or restoring a library here.

3. If something looks missing, compare before changing anything

First check that you opened the download for the right document. Then find the same note in Reader. If you edited it after making the file, download a fresh copy and compare again; the old download is a snapshot of an earlier moment.

If you expected the whole article but only see selected passages, revisit your export choice. An annotation file can be complete for its purpose while still lacking the article text you wanted.

If a note visible in Reader is absent from the file, record what is missing. Keep the source and existing download while you investigate the relevant export instructions. Avoid changing templates or deleting the original just to make the comparison look successful.

4. Keep a short export record

Copy this checklist beside your file:

Article:
Date exported:
What I wanted to keep:
Export option used:
Title and source URL: present / missing
Document note: present / missing / not used
Highlighted passage and its note: present / missing / not used
Full article text: needed / not needed
What this file does not include:

For example, an annotation check might end with: “My passage, both notes and the source link are present. This file is for reusing my notes; it does not hold the full article.” This is an illustrative record, not an additional test result.

That is a useful outcome. You know what the file preserves and what you would need to export separately.

New to Reader?

Our one-article walkthrough covers saving, annotating and finding an article before this export check. That guide includes a Readwise referral link and commission disclosure.

Reader is a paid service with a free trial; check the current plans before subscribing. Inspecting the downloaded Markdown file does not require a second paid app. Use a text editor already available to you.