Guide · Updated 24 October 2026 · About 5 minutes
Kindle highlights not showing? Where they really are, and how to get them out
You highlighted dozens of passages, but Amazon's online notebook shows nothing, or only some of them, or Goodreads never picked them up. In most cases the highlights aren't lost. They're stored somewhere Amazon's web tools don't look. Here's where to find them, and how to export them as notes.
Disclosure: we make the free Kindle clippings tool linked below, and ArticleFerry. Every step here also works without them.
1. Personal documents don't show in the web notebook
The notebook at read.amazon.com/notebook belongs to Kindle for Web, and Amazon's own table lists Kindle for Web as "personal documents aren't supported yet" (Amazon help). So highlights in anything you sent with Send to Kindle, such as EPUBs, PDFs, Word files and articles, won't appear there, even though the same table shows that Kindle e-readers and apps support highlights in those files. Your highlights are on the device and in the apps, not on the web page.
2. Sideloaded books never leave the device
Files copied to a Kindle over USB aren't in your Amazon library, so their highlights can't sync to other devices or to the web. They live only on that Kindle, in a file called My Clippings.txt (see step 5).
3. The publisher's clipping limit
For store books, publishers can cap how much text you can export. Once you pass the cap, the Kindle still shows your highlights on the page, but the exported text is replaced by a line like "You have reached the clipping limit for this item", and the notebook may show only part of the passage. Nothing can lift this limit, but your highlights are still visible inside the book.
4. Sync, and give it time
Highlights reach other devices and the notebook only after the Kindle syncs. Connect to Wi-Fi, then choose Sync your Kindle in settings. On apps, pull down to refresh the library. Recently made highlights can take a little while to appear online.
5. Get everything from My Clippings.txt
Every Kindle e-reader writes each highlight, note and bookmark into My Clippings.txt, including those from personal documents and sideloaded books. Connect the Kindle to a computer with a USB cable, open the Kindle drive, then the documents folder, and copy My Clippings.txt. Newer Kindles connect over MTP, so on a Mac you may need a free MTP app such as OpenMTP to see the files.
The file is a long plain-text list, with every edit of a highlight added as a new entry, so it's full of duplicates. Our free Kindle clippings to clean notes tool groups it by book, removes the duplicates and older versions of edited highlights, and exports Markdown, CSV or plain text. It runs entirely in your browser, so the file isn't uploaded anywhere.
Clean up My Clippings.txt. Highlights grouped by book, duplicates removed, exported as Markdown, CSV or text. Free, private and in your browser.
6. Goodreads only shows some books
Goodreads imports Kindle notes and highlights for Kindle store books linked to your Amazon account, not for personal documents or sideloaded files. If a store book is missing, check that your Amazon account is still linked in Goodreads settings and that the Kindle has synced. For everything else, use the clippings file.
7. "Popular highlights" are a different feature
The dotted underlines with "X highlighters" come from other readers and appear only in store books with enough readers. You can switch them on or off in the Kindle's reading settings. They're unrelated to your own highlights.
FAQ
Why are my highlights not on read.amazon.com?
Usually because the book is a personal document or was sideloaded. The web notebook only covers Kindle store books. Your highlights are still on the device and in the Kindle apps.
Where is My Clippings.txt?
In the documents folder of the Kindle when it's connected to a computer by USB. Kindle apps on phones and computers don't create this file.
Can I export highlights from a PDF or an article I sent to my Kindle?
Yes, through My Clippings.txt on an e-reader. Highlights made in a Kindle app aren't written there.
How do I send articles to my Kindle so I can highlight them?
Send them as EPUB through Send to Kindle. Our guide to sending a web article to your Kindle compares the ways, including ArticleFerry.