Manual Import
Paste highlights from notebooks, Apple Notes, Obsidian, or any text into Screvi. Use the bulk importer for clean text, AI parsing for messy text, or the Markdown and CSV importers for files.
Updated
Not every highlight comes from an app. Screvi has four ways to bring in text you already have, from a tidy list to a messy paste.
| You have | Use |
|---|---|
| A list of quotes from one book, one per paragraph | Manual Bulk Import (below) |
| A messy paste: mixed notes, page numbers, headings | Intelligent Parsing |
| Markdown files, for example an Obsidian export | Markdown Import |
| A spreadsheet export from another app | CSV Import |
All four live under Integrations in the web app.
Manual Bulk Import
- Go to Integrations > Manual Bulk Import.
- Enter the Title, and optionally the Author and Source Type (Book or Custom).
- Paste your highlights. Separate each one with a blank line.
- Click Parse Highlights, check the preview, then click Import All Highlights.
Formatting
- One highlight per paragraph. Press Enter twice between highlights.
- Notes: start a line with
Note:and it becomes your note on the highlight above it. - Markdown works:
**bold**,*italic*, and lists come through.
Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.
Note: Compare with the chapter on identity in Atomic Habits.
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
Intelligent Parsing
For anything that is not cleanly one-highlight-per-paragraph, use Integrations > Intelligent Parsing. Paste up to 20,000 characters of text and Screvi's AI separates the highlights from the notes, page numbers, and chapter headings around them. Review the result, fix anything it got wrong, and import.
Markdown and CSV Files
- Markdown Import reads
.mdfiles and turns each quote or bullet into a highlight. Drop in an Obsidian or Bear export. - CSV Import takes a spreadsheet and lets you map columns (highlight, note, title, author, location) before importing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I import several books at once?
Manual Bulk Import and Intelligent Parsing take one source at a time. Markdown and CSV Import can handle many books in one file when each row or section names the book.
What about duplicates?
Screvi checks each highlight against what you already have and skips exact matches, so re-importing is safe.
Can I edit highlights afterwards?
Yes. Imported highlights behave like any other: edit, tag, favorite, or move them between sources.
Still have questions?