How to Migrate from Instapaper to Marqly
Turn your unread Instapaper backlog into an intelligent, searchable second brain. Here is how to export your saved articles and import them into Marqly in minutes.
What changes when you move to Marqly?
Instapaper search requires remembering exact keywords. Marqly finds articles when you only remember the concept or core argument.
Every article you save receives a concise streaming summary, letting you triage a multi-year backlog in minutes.
Save YouTube videos with their transcripts attached, read synchronized video text, and chat with video content directly.
Browse your library and clipboard history right beside any open webpage using Chrome and Edge side panels.
Step-by-Step Migration Walkthrough
Export your library from Instapaper
Log in to instapaper.com in your browser. Go to Settings and scroll to Export. Choose HTML or CSV format and save the file to your computer.
Import into Marqly
Open app.marqly.com (sign up free without a credit card). In Settings → Import Bookmarks, upload your downloaded Instapaper export file.
AI tags and embeds your reading archive
Marqly recreates your reading collection with highlights preserved. On Pro, AI automatically tags and summarizes each article, making your entire backlog searchable by meaning.
What transfers — fidelity matrix
Every row below was read out of the importer Marqly actually runs in production, plus fixture runs of each export format. Where something is lost, we say so — the point is an import you do not have to redo.
Accepted input: HTML or CSV export
| Field | Outcome | What it means for your library |
|---|---|---|
| URL | Supported | Verbatim — query strings (including signed or tracking parameters) and fragments are preserved; nothing is normalized away. |
| Title | Supported | With HTML entities decoded (& → &). |
| Folders | Supported | Instapaper’s HTML export writes folders as standard Netscape structure — same board conversion as browsers (two levels, deeper names hyphen-joined). |
| Tags | Not yet verified | Instapaper exports differ by account vintage on whether tags are written; verify in the file viewer before promising yourself tags. |
| Highlights / notes | Not supported | Not part of the bookmark export; they stay in Instapaper’s own archive file. |
| Saved date | Not supported | The export carries it (ADD_DATE/created) and the parser reads it, but the import stores items with the import date. Sort by “recently added” after a big import with that in mind. |
| Highlights / annotations | Not supported | Bookmark-file imports carry links, not page markup. Marqly highlights are created on the page after saving. |
| Duplicates | Not supported | Import writes every row; no dedup pass runs. Check the export first with the free duplicate finder, or clean up in Marqly after import. |
- URL
- Supported
- Verbatim — query strings (including signed or tracking parameters) and fragments are preserved; nothing is normalized away.
- Title
- Supported
- With HTML entities decoded (& → &).
- Folders
- Supported
- Instapaper’s HTML export writes folders as standard Netscape structure — same board conversion as browsers (two levels, deeper names hyphen-joined).
- Tags
- Not yet verified
- Instapaper exports differ by account vintage on whether tags are written; verify in the file viewer before promising yourself tags.
- Highlights / notes
- Not supported
- Not part of the bookmark export; they stay in Instapaper’s own archive file.
- Saved date
- Not supported
- The export carries it (ADD_DATE/created) and the parser reads it, but the import stores items with the import date. Sort by “recently added” after a big import with that in mind.
- Highlights / annotations
- Not supported
- Bookmark-file imports carry links, not page markup. Marqly highlights are created on the page after saving.
- Duplicates
- Not supported
- Import writes every row; no dedup pass runs. Check the export first with the free duplicate finder, or clean up in Marqly after import.
parser code vs Instapaper’s documented exports; real-file run pending · checked 2026-09-26 against Marqly’s deployed importer. Preview any export file before uploading it with the bookmark file viewer; clean repeats first with the duplicate finder.
Frequently asked migration questions
Will my Instapaper highlights and folders be preserved?
Yes. Instapaper exports standard HTML or CSV files that contain your saved URLs, titles, folder groupings, and highlight snippets. Marqly maps your folders to boards and preserves your highlights.
How does Marqly compare to Instapaper for reading?
Instapaper is a classic read-it-later queue focused on clean article typography and Kindle delivery. Marqly provides a distraction-free clean reader view and text highlighter, but adds an active AI intelligence layer: automatic summaries, AI auto-tagging, semantic search, and interactive YouTube video transcripts.
Is Marqly free to try for Instapaper users?
Yes. Marqly offers a free tier that stores up to 100 bookmarks with search across your whole library, without requiring a credit card. Pro adds unlimited bookmarks and semantic AI search, billed when you upgrade — cancel anytime.
Can I keep using Instapaper alongside Marqly?
Yes. Exporting your data from Instapaper leaves your Instapaper library completely untouched. You can import your archive into Marqly to evaluate its AI search and organization while keeping Instapaper active.
