Move Your Safari Reading List (and Browser Bookmarks) Into Cowpin

Safari’s Reading List and Bookmarks live in the browser chrome — fine until you want search across devices, tags, archive, or an API. Cowpin imports the same Netscape HTML file Safari writes when you export bookmarks.

Export from Safari (macOS)

Safari → File → Export Bookmarks…
Save Safari Bookmarks.html (name varies by locale).

The file includes your bookmark tree and the Reading List folder.

Import in Cowpin

Settings → Account → Bookmarks → Import — upload the .html file or paste contents.

Cowpin’s Netscape parser:

Folders → tags — e.g. Work, Reading List (skipped: “Bookmarks Menu”, “Favorites” containers).
TOREAD="1" → read-later queue (Pinboard/linkding-style exports).
Safari Reading List folder → items import as read-later even when Safari omits TOREAD (folder name Reading List / localized equivalents).
<DD> notes → description + notes where present.
ADD_DATE → original save time when sane.

Chrome, Edge, and Firefox exports use the same HTML shape — one import path for all.

After import

Read-later items show in Cowpin’s unread queue; archive when done.
Re-export from Safari only when you need a delta — Cowpin does not live-sync Safari.

Honest limits

Safari export is links + metadata, not offline article bodies (same class as Instapaper CSV).
Cowpin archives pages on save going forward; run archive on old imports if you want full text.
iCloud sync stays Apple’s problem until you save new links into Cowpin (extension, iOS Shortcut, or Pinboard API).

Chrome / Edge / Firefox

Use each browser’s “Export bookmarks” HTML — import the same way. Pinboard-style TOREAD attributes are honored when the export includes them.

Next steps

Import cohort playbook — second save within a week.
Turn on archive for imports you care about — search works best on saved page text, not bare URLs.