readwise-to-burn

Import your Readwise Reader library into Burn 451 — an AI-native read-later with a 24-hour read deadline, AI summaries, and MCP access for Claude Code / Cursor / any MCP client.

npx readwise-to-burn migrates your saved articles, tags, and reading state from Readwise Reader (or a Readwise CSV export) into Burn 451 in one command.

Why migrate

Readwise Reader is great at hoarding. Burn 451 is great at actually reading — every saved article gets a 24-hour timer, then burns. The ones you finish become a permanent vault your AI agents can query.

Differences at a glance:

	Readwise Reader	Burn 451
Pricing	$9.99/month	Free tier + $4.99/month Pro
Forcing function	None — build up forever	24-hour read deadline or it burns
AI integration	Ghostreader ($10/mo)	Built-in summaries + MCP server
Agent access	Read-only API	MCP tools for Claude/Cursor
Export format lock-in	Proprietary	Standard markdown + open MCP

Install

# One-off
npx readwise-to-burn

# Or install globally
npm install -g readwise-to-burn
readwise-to-burn --help

Quick start

# 1. Grab your Readwise Reader API token: https://readwise.io/access_token
# 2. Grab your Burn 451 API token: https://burn451.cloud/developers?ref=readwise-to-burn
# 3. Run:
readwise-to-burn \
  --readwise-token rw_xxx \
  --burn-token burn_xxx \
  --since 2024-01-01

Or use a CSV export from Readwise:

readwise-to-burn --csv ~/Downloads/readwise-export.csv --burn-token burn_xxx

What it does

• ✅ Pulls all saved articles (title, URL, author, saved_at, tags)
• ✅ Maps Readwise location → Burn category (inbox/later/archive → flame/spark/vault)
• ✅ Preserves highlights as Burn notes
• ✅ De-dupes against existing Burn entries by URL
• ✅ Dry-run mode: --dry-run prints what would be imported, no writes
• ✅ Resume on failure: --resume skips already-imported URLs

Status

v0.1 scaffolded 2026-04-20. Reader API integration + CSV importer shipping this week.

License

MIT. Part of the Burn 451 OSS ecosystem.