Import, export and backups

Your library is a file on your computer, and you can move data in and out of it whenever you like. This page covers importing, exporting, backups and moving to a new computer.

Import your browser’s bookmarks#

Koona Pin reads the bookmarks file that Chrome, Edge and Firefox export. Links you already have stay exactly as they are.

1. Export your bookmarks from the browser as an HTML file.
   • Chrome and Edge: Bookmark manager, then ⋯, then Export bookmarks.
   • Firefox: Bookmarks, Manage bookmarks, Import and Backup, Export Bookmarks to HTML.
2. In Koona Pin, choose Import a file… in the ⋯ menu of the toolbar and pick the file, or drop the file on the list.
3. The Import bookmarks dialog shows how many links the file holds. Under Put them in, choose Library (sorted right away) or Inbox (they wait to be sorted, behind the links you saved from the browser).
4. Press Import.

You can keep working while it runs. Nothing is saved until the whole file is in, so if something goes wrong the library is as it was. Pictures, icons and site names are fetched in the background afterwards.

In a new library, the bell also offers Import bookmarks…. The offer goes away for good once you import or press Hide.

What happens to folders and doubles#

• Top-level folders become collections, and folders inside them become tags.
• Bookmarks bar, Other bookmarks and Mobile are not folders of their own: their links get no collection.
• The date the browser saved each link is kept.
• Links already in your library are left as they were, and links in Trash stay there.
• Addresses that aren’t web addresses (such as javascript: or file:), aren’t valid, or repeat within the file are skipped. Show the skipped addresses lists them.

The report at the end counts what was added and the new collections and tags. If you chose Inbox, Open Inbox takes you to the new links. See Inbox and triage.

Import feeds from another reader#

Export your feeds from the other reader as an OPML file, then pick it with Import a file…, or with Import… next to Feeds file (OPML) in Settings, under Feeds. The Import feeds dialog follows the new feeds and leaves the ones you already follow as they are. Folders in the file are not kept: feeds have none. See Feeds.

Import any file or drop it on the list#

You don’t have to say what kind of file you have. Import a file… and a file dropped on the list both look at what the file holds, not at its name, and open the right dialog:

The file is	What opens
A bookmarks file from a browser (.html)	Import bookmarks
A feeds file (OPML)	Import feeds
A .kpin list of links and feeds	The list dialog. See Shareable lists.
A JSON copy made by Koona Pin’s export	Restore from a JSON copy

Drop over the list area: a drop on the sidebar or the toolbar does nothing. Nothing is imported until you confirm in the dialog. Drop one file at a time; if you drop several, only the first is imported, and the app says so. A dropped link, not a file, is saved as a new bookmark. See Save links.

Export your library#

Open the ⋯ menu in the toolbar and choose a format under Export. The export covers your whole library, not only the view on screen. The file is named like koona-pin-2026-10-04.html, and a notice with Show reveals it when it is saved.

Format	Use it for	What it holds
HTML for browsers	Chrome, Edge or Firefox	Collections become folders (empty ones are left out), with tags and notes. Bookmarks without a collection sit at the top. Trash is left out.
CSV for spreadsheets	Excel and other spreadsheets	One row per bookmark: title, address, site, collection, tags, note, favorite, whether it is in Inbox, and when it was saved. Trash is left out.
JSON — full copy	Keeping everything, or another Koona Pin	Every bookmark with its collection, tags, note, favorite and Reading progress, plus your collections and tags. Inbox and Trash are included.

The CSV opens in Excel with a double-click and uses your system’s list separator.

No export holds the feeds you follow, their posts or offline copies. Export feeds as OPML: see Feeds.

Export only some bookmarks#

Select bookmarks, then choose Export on the selection bar and pick a format. The file is named koona-pin-selected-…, so it doesn’t replace a full export. To send links to someone, a shareable list is usually better.

Restore from a JSON copy#

Pick a JSON copy with Import a file…, or drop it on the list. The Restore from a JSON copy dialog checks the whole file before anything changes and shows how many bookmarks, collections and tags it holds. Under How to restore, choose:

• Merge with the current library: adds what the library doesn’t have. Bookmarks already here stay exactly as they are.
• Replace the library: the library becomes the copy. A backup of the current library is saved first. You confirm with Replace, and CtrlZ⌘Z can’t undo it.

A file that isn’t a Koona Pin copy, is damaged, or was made by a newer Koona Pin is refused, and nothing changes. For a newer copy, update the app first.

Automatic backups#

Koona Pin keeps copies of the whole library by itself, to restore after damage or a mistake.

• When: once a day. When the app starts, and every hour while it runs, it makes a backup if the newest one is a day old. Back up now in Settings, under Data, makes one right away.
• How many: the newest copy of each of the last 7 days, and one of each of 4 earlier weeks (Settings shows keeps 7 daily and 4 weekly).
• Where: a backups folder next to your library. Open folder in Settings opens it.
• Before big changes: the app also saves a copy before it updates the library to a new format and before a restore, and keeps the last two of each. They are listed as Before a library update and Before a restore.

To keep a copy elsewhere, such as another drive, press Save a copy… in Settings. Supporters can have every automatic backup copied into a folder they choose: see Sync and Supporter.

Restore from a backup#

1. In Settings, under Data, press Restore… next to Restore from a backup.
2. Pick a copy. Each shows when it was made, what made it (Automatic, Before a library update, Before a restore) and how many bookmarks it holds. For a copy kept elsewhere, press Choose a file….
3. Press Restore…. The confirmation shows how many bookmarks the library has now and how many the copy holds. Everything changed after the copy was made is lost.
4. Press Restore.

A backup of your current library is saved first. CtrlZ⌘Z can’t undo a restore, and the undo history is cleared. A file that isn’t a Koona Pin backup, is damaged or comes from a newer Koona Pin is refused, and nothing changes.

Note: With sync on, a restore stops sync on this computer (“Sync stopped: the library was replaced”). Add the computer to sync again and the restored library merges with your other computers. See Sync and Supporter.

If Koona Pin can’t open the library at all, the screen it shows instead offers Restore from backup… and Open backup folder. See Troubleshooting.

Where your library lives#

The library is a single file. Library folder in Settings, under Data, shows where it is, with Open to show it in your file manager.

System	Library file
Windows	%APPDATA%\Koona\Pin\koonapin.db
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/Koona/Pin/koonapin.db
Linux	~/.local/share/Koona/Pin/koonapin.db (or in $XDG_DATA_HOME/Koona/Pin/)

Next to it are the backups folder, feeds.db with the posts of your feeds, and an offline folder with your offline copies. The list of feeds you follow is part of the library and its backups; the posts and offline copies are not, and they are never synced or exported. Uninstalling the Linux package keeps your library.

Move to a new computer#

Install Koona Pin on the new computer, then choose one way:

• Sync. With Supporter, your library, Reading list and feeds follow you between computers. See Sync and Supporter.
• A backup copy. On the old computer, press Save a copy… in Settings. On the new one, press Restore… under Restore from a backup, then Choose a file…. The library becomes the copy, including the feeds you follow.
• A JSON copy. On the old computer, choose JSON — full copy under Export. On the new one, pick it with Import a file… and choose Merge with the current library (keeps the sample links a new library comes with) or Replace the library. Move your feeds separately with an OPML file.

Feed posts you haven’t saved and offline copies don’t travel: save the posts you want as bookmarks first, and save articles for offline again on the new computer. Install the browser extension there too: see Downloads.