Migrating from Raindrop.io to Recallio

Raindrop.io has a loyal following and a polished interface. If you're switching to Recallio — for self-hosting reasons, AI tagging, or simply to try something new — here's how to move your entire library cleanly.

Step 1: Export from Raindrop.io

1. Log into app.raindrop.io.
2. Go to Settings → Export.
3. Choose HTML for a browser-compatible export, or CSV for a data-rich export.
4. Click Export and wait for the email — Raindrop sends a download link rather than generating the file immediately.

Which format to use? Use CSV — Recallio's importer recognises url, title, tags, and folder columns by name and turns each distinct folder value into its own collection automatically. HTML import doesn't preserve folder structure at all (everything lands in Unsorted), so for Raindrop specifically, CSV is the better choice if you want your collections to carry over.

Step 2: What carries over from the CSV export

• URLs ✓
• Titles ✓
• Tags ✓ (space-separated in the tags column)
• Collection, from the folder column — Recallio creates a matching collection per distinct value ✓

Not preserved by Recallio's importer, even though Raindrop's CSV export includes them: notes/descriptions, cover images, and dates. If any of those matter to you, you'll need to add them manually after import.

Step 3: Import into Recallio

1. Log into Recallio and open Import from the sidebar.
2. Pick Raindrop.io as your source and click Next.
3. Upload your Raindrop CSV export and click Import.
4. You'll see how many bookmarks were imported and how many were skipped as duplicates.

There's no column-mapping step — Recallio reads url, title, tags, and folder by column name automatically. Raindrop's nested collections don't carry over as nesting; each folder path becomes one flat Recallio collection.

Step 4: Reconciling tags

Your Raindrop tags import directly from the CSV's tags column. After import, check Tags in the Recallio sidebar — you'll see your full Raindrop tag vocabulary. Clean up any that don't fit your intended system; bulk edit makes this fast.

Step 5: Highlights and annotations

Raindrop Pro supports highlights. These aren't included in the CSV or HTML export formats, so they don't come across automatically. If you have important highlights, the only way to preserve them today is to re-create them manually in Recallio once you're browsing the corresponding pages again — select the text and save it as a highlight.

What's different in Recallio

Automatic tagging: Raindrop doesn't tag automatically. After migration, open Settings → Auto-Tagging and run "Tag untagged bookmarks" to have Recallio's rule-based tagger (URL, title, description, and page content) suggest tags for everything you just imported. This can meaningfully improve the discoverability of older saves — though it's suggestion-only, so review and accept the ones that fit.

Smart Collections: Raindrop's Raindrops with filters are similar to Recallio's Smart Collections. After migration, recreate your most-used Raindrop filters as Smart Collections.

Running both during transition

Keep your Raindrop account active for a few weeks while settling into Recallio. Once you've confirmed the import is complete and your workflows are comfortable, cancel the Raindrop subscription if you had one.