How to Export Kindle Highlights (2026 Guide)

Quick Answer: The fastest way to export Kindle highlights is via Amazon's official page at read.amazon.com — but it only allows manual copy-paste, one book at a time. For bulk export, use the My Clippings.txt file from your physical Kindle device, or connect a third-party tool like Readwise or Chapterly that automatically syncs your Kindle library. If you want to do something useful with your highlights after exporting — like review them with spaced repetition — import them directly into a retention tool rather than into a notes app where they'll sit unused.

You've highlighted hundreds of passages across dozens of Kindle books. Those highlights contain the ideas that matter most to you. But getting them out of Amazon's ecosystem? That's surprisingly complicated.

This guide covers every method to export your Kindle highlights, from the official approach to third-party tools and manual workarounds.

Why Export Your Highlights?

Kindle highlights are useful in the moment, but they become far more valuable when you can:

• Review them using spaced repetition to actually retain them
• Search across all your books at once
• Organize them by theme rather than by book
• Share them with reading partners or study groups
• Import them into learning tools like Chapterly or knowledge management systems

If your highlights stay locked in the Kindle app, they're like notes in a drawer you never open.

Not on Kindle? The same principles apply everywhere — see our guide on how to export highlights from any app. Borrow ebooks from your public library? Libby quietly added a real export tool in a 2026 update — here's how to export Libby highlights and notes, which still works even after a loan expires. Read on Android instead? Google Play Books has its own export paths — here's how to export Google Play Books highlights and notes. On a Barnes & Noble Nook? Here's how to export Nook highlights and notes. And if your library has grown unmanageable, here's how to organize your Kindle library so you can actually find what you've read.

Method 1: Amazon's Read.amazon.com (Official)

Amazon provides an official highlight viewer at read.amazon.com (also called the Kindle Notebook).

Steps:

1. Go to read.amazon.com and sign in with your Amazon account
2. Click on Your Books in the left sidebar
3. Select a book to see its highlights and notes
4. You can copy highlights individually from here

Limitations:

• No bulk export option—you have to copy each highlight manually
• Some publishers limit the number of highlights you can view (Amazon enforces publisher clipping limits)
• Only shows highlights from books purchased through Amazon
• No search across all books

Best For:

Grabbing a few specific highlights from a specific book. Not practical for exporting your full library.

Method 2: My Clippings.txt File

Every Kindle e-reader (not the app) stores highlights in a file called My Clippings.txt.

Steps:

1. Connect your Kindle device to your computer via USB
2. Navigate to the Kindle drive in your file manager
3. Open the documents folder
4. Find My Clippings.txt
5. Copy this file to your computer

Format:

The file is plain text with entries like:

Book Title (Author)
- Your Highlight on Location 1234-1256 | Added on Monday, January 15, 2026

The highlighted text appears here.
==========

Limitations:

• Only works with physical Kindle devices, not the Kindle app
• File gets very large over time and is hard to parse manually
• Includes all highlights chronologically, not organized by book
• Deleted highlights still appear in the file

Best For:

Getting a full dump of every highlight from your Kindle device. You'll need to process the file further to make it useful.

Method 3: Readwise (Automatic Sync)

Readwise connects to your Amazon account and automatically syncs all your Kindle highlights.

Steps:

1. Sign up for Readwise ($6.99–$12.99/month, or $5.59–$9.99/month billed annually)
2. Connect your Amazon account
3. Readwise imports your highlights automatically
4. Export to CSV, Markdown, or directly to Notion/Obsidian

For a head-to-head comparison of Readwise vs alternatives, see Chapterly vs Readwise.

Advantages:

• Fully automatic—highlights sync without manual intervention
• Clean organization by book
• Export to many formats and tools
• Works with Kindle app highlights (not just device)

Limitations:

• Requires a paid subscription
• Still subject to Amazon's publisher clipping limits
• You're depending on a third-party connection to your Amazon account

Best For:

Readers who want a hands-off solution and are willing to pay for convenience.

Method 4: Bookcision (Free Browser Extension)

Bookcision is a free browser bookmarklet that extracts highlights from read.amazon.com.

Steps:

1. Visit the Bookcision website and drag the bookmarklet to your bookmarks bar
2. Go to read.amazon.com and navigate to a book's highlights
3. Click the Bookcision bookmarklet
4. Download highlights as TXT, XML, or JSON

Limitations:

• One book at a time
• Requires manual effort per book
• May break if Amazon changes their page structure
• Still subject to publisher clipping limits

Best For:

Free bulk export from a specific book without connecting any third-party service to your account.

Method 5: Clippings.io (Free/Paid)

Clippings.io parses your My Clippings.txt file and organizes it into a browsable, exportable format.

Steps:

1. Upload your My Clippings.txt file to Clippings.io
2. Browse highlights organized by book
3. Export as CSV, Excel, or to Kindle, Evernote, etc.

Limitations:

• Requires a Kindle device to get the Clippings file
• Free plan has limited exports
• Manual process (upload each time you want to sync)

Best For:

One-time cleanup and export of your existing Kindle device highlights.

What to Do After Exporting

Exporting highlights is only step one. The real value comes from what you do next:

1. Import into a review system: Tools like Chapterly let you import highlights and review them using spaced repetition, so you actually retain the ideas long-term.

2. Organize by theme: Group highlights across books by topic. You'll discover connections between authors that weren't obvious when reading them separately.

3. Process actively: Don't just collect highlights—engage with them. Ask yourself why each one mattered and how it connects to your life. This kind of active reading is what transforms highlights from decoration into knowledge.

4. Review regularly: The forgetting curve is real. Without periodic review, you'll forget most of what you highlighted within weeks.

What Changed for Kindle Export in 2025-2026

A few platform shifts in the last 18 months are worth noting because they affect which export method is most reliable today.

Amazon's Kindle Notebook page (read.amazon.com) is more limited than it used to be. Through 2024 it allowed copy of an entire book's highlights as one block; in late 2024 Amazon began enforcing tighter clipping limits that vary by publisher. For some bestselling nonfiction books, you may now find that only 10-20 percent of your highlights are visible on the official page — the rest exist on your device but cannot be retrieved through Amazon's web interface. This makes the My Clippings.txt method (Method 2) more essential than it used to be for users with physical Kindle devices.

Kindle Cloud Reader's deprecation. Amazon retired Kindle Cloud Reader's standalone interface in early 2025, redirecting most users to read.amazon.com. Some old export tools that scraped Cloud Reader stopped working as a result. If you have a tool that broke recently, this is likely why.

The Kindle Scribe and color Kindle. The Kindle Scribe (handwritten notes) and the 2024 Colorsoft Kindle store annotations differently from older devices. My Clippings.txt now contains both highlight passages and references to handwritten note pages, but extracting the handwritten content cleanly still requires the Scribe's own export feature.

Readwise pricing and policy changes. Readwise raised prices in 2025, and Amazon has periodically tightened the integration. Readwise still works, but if you are sensitive to subscription cost, Method 2 plus a free import to Chapterly covers the same workflow at lower total cost.

Apple Books interop. If you also read on Apple Books, the export process is entirely different and uses Apple's Notes export. See how to export Apple Books highlights for the parallel guide.

The general direction is that Amazon is making bulk export progressively harder, third-party tools are forced to adapt, and the My Clippings.txt file remains the most reliable long-term path for owners of physical Kindle devices. If you do not own a physical Kindle, Method 3 (Readwise sync) is now effectively the only complete option, and Method 4 (Bookcision) is a partial workaround.

For a deeper look at what to do with highlights once exported, see how to take better book notes, smart notes workflow, and spaced repetition for readers.

Our Recommendation

For most readers, we suggest:

• If you have a Kindle device: Start with Method 2 (My Clippings.txt) for a free full export, then import into a learning tool.
• If you use the Kindle app: Readwise (Method 3) is the most reliable sync option.
• For occasional exports: Bookcision (Method 4) works well for grabbing highlights from a specific book.

Whatever method you choose, the important thing is getting your highlights out of the Kindle silo and into a system where you'll actually review and learn from them.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I export all my Kindle highlights at once?

The only true bulk export is the My Clippings.txt file on a physical Kindle device — connect it via USB and copy that single file, which contains every highlight. Amazon's official read.amazon.com page does not offer a one-click "export all," and publisher clipping limits can hide a portion of your highlights there. If you read in the Kindle app rather than on a device, an automatic sync tool like Readwise is the closest thing to a full export.

Can I export Kindle highlights without Readwise?

Yes. The free My Clippings.txt method (for Kindle devices) and the free Bookcision bookmarklet (for read.amazon.com, one book at a time) both export highlights without any paid subscription. Readwise is the most convenient option for Kindle-app users, but it is not the only one, and you can import the resulting file into a retrieval-based review system afterward.

Why can't I see all my Kindle highlights on read.amazon.com?

Amazon enforces publisher-set clipping limits, so for some bestselling titles only a fraction of your highlights are visible on the official Notebook page. The highlights still exist on your physical Kindle device inside My Clippings.txt, which is why that file is the most complete source. This limitation tightened in late 2024 and is the main reason device owners should prefer Method 2.

What is the best format to export Kindle highlights to?

Plain text or Markdown is the most portable — it imports cleanly into nearly every notes app, review tool, or knowledge base. Avoid leaving highlights as screenshots or locked inside a proprietary app, since neither is searchable. Whatever format you pick, pair it with deliberate note-taking so each highlight carries a sentence of context you can actually act on later.

How does Chapterly help you remember what you read?

Chapterly is a nonfiction reading superapp for serious learners, built around AI-driven active reading and spaced repetition. It challenges readers to synthesize ideas after every chapter and draws connections to their previous highlights — so you actually remember what you read.

Related Reading

• How to Remember What You Read: A Science-Based Guide — What to do with your highlights once you've exported them.
• Spaced Repetition for Readers: Beyond Flashcards — The most effective way to review exported highlights.
• How to Export Apple Books Highlights — A similar guide for Apple Books users.

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Once you've exported your Kindle highlights, Chapterly helps you actually remember them. Import your highlights and start reviewing with spaced repetition. Start your free trial.