How to export your Fable library in 2026 | Pick Up

skip →

How to export your Fable library in 2026

Pick Up Blog

← All posts<br>The short version

Fable is built around social reading, clubs, lists, and your reading history. If you have spent a while using it, your library is not just a list of books anymore. It is your read pile , your want-to-read shelf , your ratings, and the shape of what you have been reading.

Exporting that library is less obvious than importing into Fable. Fable documents ways to bring books in, but if you are trying to move your books out to another tracker, spreadsheet, or personal archive, you may not see a simple "Export CSV" button in the app.

The current practical route is ShelfBridge, a third-party Chrome extension that can turn your Fable library into a Goodreads-style CSV .

Important: ShelfBridge is not an official Fable export feature. This guide is about moving your own reading data from your own account . Check the extension, the exported file, and the app you plan to import into before relying on it.

A cosy reading setup with a phone, book, coffee, and glasses

What you need

1. A computer with Chrome, or another browser that supports Chrome extensions

2. Your Fable account

3. The ShelfBridge Chrome extension

4. Somewhere to save the CSV file

If the reading app you want to import into is on your phone, you will also need a way to move the downloaded CSV to that device, such as AirDrop, iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox, email, or a USB transfer.

How to export your Fable library

1. Install ShelfBridge

Open the ShelfBridge page on the Chrome Web Store on your computer and install the extension.

Because this is a browser extension, this part is a desktop workflow . It is not something you can usually do from the Fable mobile app alone.

2. Open ShelfBridge and sign in to Fable

Open the extension and follow its Fable sign-in flow. The extension needs access to your Fable account because it is reading your own library and preparing a file from it.

If you use multiple Fable accounts, double-check that you are signed into the right one before exporting.

3. Review the books before downloading

Before you download anything, look over the books ShelfBridge found . This is worth doing because migrations are boring right up until they are mysteriously missing half your shelf.

Check a few things:

Does the total look roughly right?

Are your read, reading, and want-to-read shelves represented?

Are ratings showing where you expect them?

Are ISBNs present for the books that have them?

It does not need to be perfect, but obvious gaps are easier to catch now than after you import the file somewhere else.

4. Download the Goodreads CSV

ShelfBridge exports the library as a Goodreads-style CSV. That wording is confusing if you came from Fable, but it is useful because Goodreads CSV is a format many reading apps already understand.

The downloaded file may be called goodreads_import.csv . That is expected. It can still be your Fable export .

5. Move the CSV if needed

If you are importing into a web app, you can usually upload the file directly from your computer.

If you are importing into a mobile app, move goodreads_import.csv to your phone first . Cloud storage is usually the least painful route: save the file to iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox, or another folder your phone can access, then choose it from the mobile file picker.

What is inside the export?

The exact columns can change, but a ShelfBridge export is designed to look like a Goodreads import file. You should expect fields such as:

ColumnWhat it holdsOften blank?TitleThe book title ShelfBridge found in your Fable library.NoAuthorThe main author shown for that book.SometimesShelf or reading statusWhether the book is read, currently reading, or want to read.NoStarted dateThe closest available start or added date from the export.YesFinished dateThe date tied to books you have marked as read.YesRatingYour star rating, when one exists.YesISBNThe edition identifier, useful for matching covers and metadata.Yes

Some fields may be blank. That is normal. Not every book in a reading app has an ISBN, a rating, a finish date, or complete edition metadata.

Why the file name is confusing

The biggest point of confusion is the filename. If you exported from Fable, seeing goodreads_import.csv can make it feel like you downloaded the wrong thing.

You probably did not. ShelfBridge uses a Goodreads-compatible file because that format is widely recognised by other reading apps. Think of "Goodreads" here as the file format , not the source of the books.

Date fields can be messy

Dates are the part to inspect most carefully. Goodreads-style CSV files do not always have a perfect one-to-one field for every date another app tracks, so an export tool may have to put Fable dates into the closest available columns.

Before importing the file somewhere else, open it in a spreadsheet and spot-check a few books :

A book you...