Free Safari Reading List Exporter: Export Reading List and Bookmarks

How to Export Your Safari Reading List

Safari keeps your Reading List and your bookmarks in one file on your Mac, Bookmarks.plist. You copy that file somewhere you can reach it, drop it into the tool above, and download the format you need. It takes about two minutes the first time.

1. Open the Safari folder in Finder

   In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder (Command-Shift-G), type ~/Library/Safari and press Return. The folder holds Bookmarks.plist, History.db and other Safari data.

2. Copy Bookmarks.plist to your Desktop

   Option-drag Bookmarks.plist to the Desktop so you work on a copy and leave Safari’s file alone. If you prefer Terminal, run cp ~/Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plist ~/Desktop/ instead.

3. Drop the copy into the tool

   Drag the copied Bookmarks.plist onto the box at the top of this page, or click the box and choose it. The file is read in this tab and never uploaded.

4. Check the Reading List tab

   Every saved page appears with its title, address, the date you added it and Safari’s preview text. Use the search box to narrow the list.

5. Download or open your list

   Choose HTML bookmarks to import into another browser, CSV for a spreadsheet or read-later app, Markdown for notes, or a plain URL list. Open in batches reopens the pages as tabs.

Finder or Terminal may refuse with “Operation not permitted”. That’s macOS privacy protection, not a broken file. The next section shows how to allow it.

How Do I Copy Bookmarks.plist? (Full Disk Access)

Since macOS Mojave, Apple has protected the folders where apps such as Safari, Mail and Messages keep their data. An app can only read ~/Library/Safari if you allow it, and the switch for that is called Full Disk Access. Apple describes it as letting an app access all files on your Mac, including data from other apps such as Safari.

Finder can usually open the Safari folder and copy the file without any extra step. Terminal can’t, so a plain ls or cp prints “Operation not permitted” until you give Terminal Full Disk Access. To do that, open System Settings, go to Privacy & Security, then Full Disk Access. Turn on the switch next to Terminal, or click the add button, choose Terminal from Applications > Utilities and click Open. Quit and reopen Terminal, then run the copy command again.

Once the copy is on your Desktop you can switch Full Disk Access off again. The tool only needs the copy, and the permission is broad, so there’s no reason to leave it on for Terminal if you don’t normally need it.

• Finder: Go > Go to Folder, type ~/Library/Safari, then Option-drag Bookmarks.plist to the Desktop.
• Terminal: cp ~/Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plist ~/Desktop/ (needs Full Disk Access for Terminal).
• Want a readable copy too? plutil -convert xml1 -o ~/Desktop/Bookmarks.xml ~/Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plist writes an XML version. The tool reads both.
• Library is hidden in Finder by default. Go to Folder works anyway, and so does holding Option while opening the Go menu.

How This Tool Reads Your File (and What Stays Private)

Bookmarks.plist is a binary property list, Apple’s compact file format for settings and app data. It starts with the bytes bplist00, keeps every value (strings, numbers, dates, lists and dictionaries) in an object table, and ends with an offset table and a 32-byte trailer that says where each object lives. The format is documented in Apple’s open-source CoreFoundation code, CFBinaryPList.c. The tool includes a small parser for it, written for this page, so nothing needs to be installed or sent anywhere.

When you drop the file, the page reads it into memory, follows the trailer to the top object and walks Safari’s structure. Folders are entries of type WebBookmarkTypeList, bookmarks are WebBookmarkTypeLeaf, and the folder titled com.apple.ReadingList is your Reading List. Titles come from each item’s URIDictionary, addresses from URLString, and Reading List details from a ReadingList dictionary with DateAdded, DateLastViewed and PreviewText. Plist dates count seconds from 1 January 2001, and the tool converts them to normal dates.

Everything happens in this browser tab. The file isn’t uploaded, logged or stored, and closing the tab discards it. That matters because the file can hold years of saved pages. The tool doesn’t read History.db, passwords or anything else from the Safari folder, only the one file you give it. It skips Safari’s built-in History shortcut, which is a pointer and not a bookmark.

What Is Safari Reading List and Where Is It Stored?

Safari Reading List is a queue of pages you want to read later. On a Mac you add the current page by holding the pointer over the Smart Search field and clicking the add button, by choosing Share > Add to Reading List, or by Shift-clicking a link. The list lives in Safari’s sidebar, where you can show only unread items, search it, mark items read or unread, and delete them.

Unlike a bookmark, a Reading List item keeps a little reading state: when you added it, a short preview of the text, and whether you’ve read it. Safari can also save items for offline reading. You can do that one at a time with Control-click > Save Offline, or turn on automatic offline saving in Safari Settings > Advanced.

Behind the sidebar, the Reading List is just a special folder inside Bookmarks.plist. The table shows where each piece of data sits, which is also what the CSV export contains.

The file lives at ~/Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plist in your home folder. Safari profiles don’t get separate copies. Apple says bookmarks are the same across all profiles.

Why Is There No Safari Reading List Export Button?

Safari’s export tools are built for moving to another browser, and Reading List isn’t one of the things they export. In Safari 18.2 and later on the Mac, File > Export Browsing Data to File lets you pick Bookmarks, History, Extensions, Credit Cards and Passwords, and saves them in a .zip file. Older Safari versions have File > Export > Bookmarks, which writes a single Bookmarks.html file. Reading List isn’t listed as a data type in either.

Users report that Reading List items do end up in the exported bookmarks HTML, as a folder called Reading List. If that’s all you need, it works. But that file is a list of links only. The date you added each item, the preview text and the read state are gone, and the Reading List is mixed in with the rest of your bookmarks. Apple also warns that the export is not encrypted and suggests deleting it after you import it.

This tool reads the source file instead, so you keep the dates and previews, get the Reading List on its own, and can choose a format other than HTML.

What You Can Do With a Safari Reading List Export

A few real cases, with what goes in and what comes out.

• Clearing a backlog: 1,400 items saved since 2019. Export CSV, sort by Date Added in Numbers or Excel, keep the last year and delete the rest in Safari.
• Switching to Chrome: download HTML bookmarks from the Reading List tab and import it. You get a folder called Reading List with every page, and the date you added each one is kept as the bookmark’s date.
• Moving to a read-later app: the CSV has Title and URL columns, which apps such as Readwise Reader accept on import. Raindrop.io takes the HTML file and keeps the folder.
• Keeping notes: the Markdown export turns the list into dated links, for example “- [A long read about plists](https://example.com/plist) (added 2025-03-14)”, ready for Obsidian or any notes app.
• Checking before a Mac reset: drop the file to confirm the Reading List and bookmarks are all there, then save an HTML copy with your other backups.
• Reopening research: open the Reading List in batches of 10 tabs, read, close, and open the next batch.

Move Your Reading List to Chrome, Firefox or a Read-Later App

Every major browser imports the Netscape bookmarks HTML format, the same one Safari itself exports. Download HTML bookmarks from the Reading List tab (or from the Bookmarks tab for everything else), then import it where you’re going. No browser imports into its own reading list from a file, so the items arrive as bookmarks in a folder.

If Safari syncs through iCloud, you can also leave the Reading List where it is. Exporting doesn’t change or remove anything in Safari.

Safari Reading List on iPhone and iPad, and iCloud Sync

With Safari turned on in iCloud settings on each device, Safari keeps the Reading List the same on your iPhone, iPad and Mac. That’s the easiest way to get an iPhone Reading List out: let it sync to a Mac, then copy Bookmarks.plist there. Open Safari on the Mac first and give it a moment to pull in the latest items.

iPhone and iPad don’t give you access to Safari’s data files, so there’s no Bookmarks.plist to drop in from the Files app. Since iOS 18.2, Settings > Apps > Safari > Export can save Bookmarks, History, Extensions, Credit Cards and Passwords to a .zip file in Downloads. As on the Mac, Reading List isn’t one of the listed types, and whatever comes through arrives without dates or preview text.

No Mac at all? Your options are limited. You can share items one by one, or build a Shortcut on the phone, but neither gives you the full list with its dates. Signing in to iCloud on a borrowed or family Mac with Safari sync on is the practical route, though you should sign out and remove the data afterwards.

Reading List vs Bookmarks vs Tab Groups

Safari has three places to keep pages, and they suit different jobs. The export also differs for each, which catches people out when they switch browsers.

Ways to Export Safari Reading List, Compared

For most people the choice is between Safari’s own export and this tool. Use Safari’s export if you just want everything in another browser. Use the tool if the Reading List matters to you on its own, or you want dates, previews, CSV or Markdown.

Limits and Troubleshooting

• “Operation not permitted”: macOS is blocking the Safari folder. Give Terminal Full Disk Access, or copy the file with Finder.
• “This isn’t a property list”: you picked a different file. Choose Bookmarks.plist, not Bookmarks.html, History.db or a .webbookmark file.
• “The plist trailer is damaged”: the copy is incomplete, which can happen with cloud-synced folders. Copy the file again to a local folder such as the Desktop.
• Reading List is empty: it’s empty on this Mac. If you use it on iPhone, turn on Safari in iCloud on both devices, open Safari on the Mac, then copy the file again.
• Only some tabs open: your browser blocked the rest as pop-ups. Allow pop-ups for belaytab.com and press Open again.
• Tab Groups and open tabs aren’t included. The tool reads bookmarks and the Reading List only. Offline copies of pages aren’t included either, just their links.

Large files are fine. A Bookmarks.plist of about 40 MB with 120,000 items parsed in under a second in our testing on a Mac. The page shows the first few thousand entries, and every item is included in the downloads.