What you’ll get
A local copy of everything you saved in Pocket, plus a clean path into another read-it-later tool. Plan on 30–60 minutes depending on queue size. No coding required.
Before you start
- A Pocket account with the saves you care about
- A desktop browser (export is easier than phone)
- Roughly 500 MB free disk if your archive is huge (mostly HTML, still small)
- A destination in mind: Omnivore, Instapaper, Linkwarden (self-hosted), or plain folders on disk
Pocket’s export gives you HTML with links—not always full article text for every item. That’s normal. Treat the export as a map + partial archive, not a perfect clone.
Steps
1. Export from Pocket
- Log in at getpocket.com.
- Open Settings (gear icon) → Export your data (or go to
getpocket.com/export). - Choose HTML export for a human-readable archive, or CSV if you want to script imports elsewhere.
- Download the zip. Unzip it somewhere safe—external drive or synced folder, not just Downloads.
Keep that zip. Even after you migrate, don’t delete it until you’ve spot-checked a dozen random saves.
2. Sanity-check the export
Open part_XXXXX.html in a browser. Click around:
- Do titles and URLs look right?
- Are tags present if you used them?
- For must-read pieces, open the live URL—if the page 404s, your export may be the only copy left
Sort mentally into migrate, archive only, and delete. You don’t owe a 2,000-item queue a forever home.
3. Pick where you’re going
| Destination | Good if you want… |
|---|---|
| Omnivore | Free reader, newsletters + web, open API |
| Instapaper | Simple reading, strong mobile app |
| Linkwarden | Self-hosted, full-page archive, search |
| Local HTML + bookmarks | No new service; you file it yourself |
There’s no perfect Pocket clone. Pick the column that matches how you actually read—phone at night, desktop at lunch, hoard for search, etc.
4. Import or rebuild (by destination)
Omnivore / Instapaper: Check their help docs for import from Pocket or CSV. Many readers accept a Netscape bookmark file or URL list—you can build one from the CSV with a spreadsheet formula or a short script.
Linkwarden: Import URLs in bulk; let it re-fetch and archive pages over time. Expect rate limits—batch imports, not 3,000 at once.
Manual / local: Keep the HTML export as your archive. For active reading, add only unread or still-relevant URLs to the new app. The rest live in the zip.
5. Fix your capture habit before you migrate
Exporting fixes the past. Capture fixes the future:
- Install the new app’s browser extension or share sheet
- Delete Pocket’s extension so you don’t split queues again
- One rule: save to one place only
If you use our Omnivore deep dive, align the weekly triage step with whatever app you chose.
6. Turn off Pocket when you’re confident
After two weeks of reading from the new queue:
- Confirm must-have items imported or archived locally
- Revoke Pocket’s browser extension
- Cancel any paid Pocket tier if you’re on one
- Leave the export zip on backup storage
Don’t rush step 6 because you’re annoyed with Pocket—rush it because you’ve verified the new setup.
Common mistakes
- Assuming HTML export = full text for every article (often it’s metadata + link)
- Importing 5 years of “maybe someday” without triage—noise follows you
- Running two save buttons in parallel during “transition month”
- Deleting the export zip the day you import (keep it until spot-checks pass)
Tooling that helps
- Spreadsheet to dedupe URLs from CSV before import
- wget or archivebox if you want a heavier local archive than HTML export alone
- Read-it-later app with OPML/import docs—read them once before you start clicking
Wrap-up
You’ve got a file you control and a single new inbox. The export is insurance; the new capture habit is the fix.
Who should skip this: if you read fewer than twenty saved links a year, a fresh start in a new app without migration is faster than moving a graveyard.
