How do I import my Goodreads library?

Export your library from Goodreads as a CSV file, then bring it into Loved or your Wishlist in a few taps.

You can bring your Goodreads books into Spines in two places. Import the books you've read to Loved and we use them to find books you'll like. Import your Want to Read shelf to your Wishlist and we'll flag those books when they turn up on a shelf you scan.

1. Download your Goodreads library

In a web browser, go to goodreads.com/review/import and sign in. The Goodreads app can't do this part.
Tap Export Library. Goodreads takes a moment to build the file, then shows a download link on the same page.
Download the file. It ends in .csv. On an iPhone it goes to Files → Downloads.

2. Import it into Spines

Open the My Books tab, then Loved or Wishlist.
Tap + Add a book, then Goodreads export.
Tap Choose CSV File and pick the file you downloaded. Spines matches your books, which can take a few minutes for a big library.
Tick the shelves you want, then tap Continue with … books. For Loved, tick read. For your Wishlist, tick to-read.
Untick any books you don't want, then tap Import … books.

Keep Spines open until the bar finishes. When you see Import complete!, tap Done.

Does Spines stay in sync with Goodreads?

Not automatically. Goodreads doesn't let other apps connect to it any more, so an import is a one-off copy. To bring in books you've added since, download a fresh export and import it again. Books you already have are skipped.

If something goes wrong

The file is greyed out and won't select. Spines only accepts .csv files. If you opened the export in Numbers or Excel and saved it again, it may now be a different file type. Download a fresh copy from Goodreads and pick that one.
“Invalid file. Please check the CSV and try again.” The file is either not a CSV or bigger than 5 MB.
“We found 0 matched books across 0 shelves.” The file isn't a Goodreads library export. Download it again from the link in step 1.
Some books say “Couldn't identify this book”. We couldn't match them to our catalogue. The rest still import, and you can add the missing ones with + Add a book.
You're worried about duplicates. Books already in your list are skipped, so running an import twice won't add them again.