How to Export Your Delicious Library Data Before You Switch Apps

Delicious Library still holds years of cataloging work for a lot of collectors. Barcodes scanned, covers matched, loans noted. Before you migrate to Libib, CLZ, a spreadsheet, or a new shelf app, export while the Mac app still opens.

This guide walks through Delicious Library's XML export, how to turn it into something other tools understand, and what to watch for when metadata does not line up cleanly.

Export from Delicious Library

In Delicious Library 3, select your library (or the subset you want), then use File → Export Library (wording may vary slightly by version). Save the XML file somewhere safe: iCloud Drive, Backblaze, a USB stick. Treat it like a backup, because it is one.

The export includes items, creators, tags, notes, and cover URLs where the app had them. It is the richest snapshot you can pull without scripting against the library bundle directly.

What is inside the XML

Delicious Library XML is structured but verbose. Each item typically carries a title, creators, media type hints, identifiers like ISBN or UPC when present, user notes, and paths or URLs for cover images.

You do not need to read XML by hand. The next step is getting it into a tabular format: one row per item, columns you can map to another app.

Open the export in a spreadsheet

On macOS, you can import XML into Excel or Numbers with some cleanup. Many collectors use a short script or an online XML-to-CSV converter for a first pass, then fix headers manually.

Aim for columns like: title, creator, media_type, format, isbn_or_upc, tags, notes, cover_url. Not every row will have every field. Movies may lack ISBNs. Books may lack UPCs. That is normal.

Clean up before import

Split creator strings if your target app wants separate author and director fields. Normalize media types: Delicious Library used its own categories; map them to book, movie, or game in the destination.

Deduplicate obvious doubles from test scans. Trim whitespace on titles. If cover URLs are dead, note them anyway: Open Library and TMDB can refill art on import in some tools.

Keep the original XML untouched. Work on a copy in CSV so you can roll back when a mapping goes wrong.

Import paths today

Libib and CLZ each have their own import wizards. Read their docs for column mapping. Generic CSV often works if you match their templates.

The Big Bookcase accepts CSV in our own template plus Goodreads and Calibre shapes. A straight Delicious Library XML file is not supported yet. Convert to CSV first, or wait for our dedicated DL adapter on the roadmap.

If you already exported Goodreads or Steam libraries, you can mix sources: physical discs from Delicious Library, ebooks from Goodreads, PC games from Steam, then dedupe in the preview step.

Cover images and attachments

Delicious Library cover URLs may point at Amazon or other hosts that changed policies over the years. Expect some broken thumbnails in a raw export.

When moving to The Big Bookcase, ISBNs and titles help us match Open Library or TMDB covers automatically. For odd editions, you can upload your own cover in the inspector. Manual scans and PDF inserts export in our ZIP bundles once attached.

After you land somewhere new

Export again from the new home on a schedule. The Big Bookcase offers CSV and media ZIP export from Settings so you are never locked in. Delicious Library taught a generation of collectors to care about their catalogs. Your next app should respect that habit.

Join the waitlist if you want the direct XML importer prioritized. Tell us how many items you have and which media types matter most. Rescue stories shape our import queue.