How to Export Twitter Bookmarks from Totem to CSV, Markdown, PDF, and AI

There are two export surfaces in Totem.

The library export is for the whole bookmark library. It downloads a ZIP with CSV, Markdown, JSONL, a readme.md, and a manifest.json.

The reader export is for one saved post, thread, or article. It can copy AI-ready text, copy Markdown, download Markdown, or open the browser print flow so you can save that item as a PDF.

Those are different jobs. Start with the job.

Export the whole library to CSV and Markdown

Use this when you want a local file for the whole library: a spreadsheet, a folder of Markdown files, and data Totem can import later.

1. Open a new tab with Totem installed.
2. Wait for your bookmark count to appear at the bottom.
3. Click Export data.
4. Choose Basic export if you need the file now.
5. Choose Full export if you want Totem to fetch richer content first: tweets, threads, and articles where available.
6. Click Download ZIP.
7. Unzip the downloaded file.

Inside the ZIP, the files you will usually care about are:

If you only want a spreadsheet, open bookmarks.csv.

If you want readable local files, open the bookmarks/ folder.

If you want to restore the library later, keep the whole ZIP. Do not pull out just the CSV.

Basic export or Full export?

Basic export downloads what Totem already has locally. Every bookmark gets a CSV row and a Markdown file. Bookmarks with cached detail get richer Markdown.

Full export prepares more missing detail before the download. It is better for a real backup, but it takes longer because Totem is fetching full content at a conservative pace.

Use Basic export when:

• you need the file right now
• you mostly care about URLs, authors, and tweet text
• you are doing a quick spreadsheet pass

Use Full export when:

• you want to read saved threads outside Totem
• you want more complete Markdown files
• you are making a backup you expect to trust later

Export one saved post to PDF, Markdown, or AI text

Use this when the next action is about one saved item, not the whole library.

1. Open a saved bookmark in Totem.
2. Wait for the reader to finish loading the post or thread.
3. Find the export control in the reader toolbar. It defaults to Copy for Agent.
4. Click the small dropdown arrow next to it.
5. Pick the format you need.

The reader menu has four actions:

PDF is per item. Totem does not currently export the entire bookmark library as one giant PDF, because that usually creates a file nobody wants to read. For the whole library, use the ZIP. For a single thread or article you want to keep as a document, use Print / Save PDF.

What to use each format for

The trap is treating “export” as one thing.

CSV is for inventory. Markdown is for reading. AI copy is for one focused prompt. PDF is for one saved item you want to preserve as a document. JSONL is for restore.

A quick check before you trust the export

After downloading the ZIP:

1. Open readme.md.
2. Confirm the bookmark count looks right.
3. Open bookmarks.csv and check a few rows.
4. Open one file in bookmarks/ and make sure it has the readable content you expected.
5. Keep the original ZIP if you may want to import later.

If you chose Basic export and some Markdown files look thin, run Full export later. Basic export is honest about what is already cached. Full export tries to make more of the library readable before the file leaves your browser.

For the field-level format, the technical spec is here: Totem Export Format v1.