Can I import my Pinboard export?

Yes. In Settings → Import, paste a JSON export from pinboard.in. Tags, read-later flags, and URLs come across; duplicates are skipped.

Does Cowpin work with Pinboard apps and the API?

Cowpin implements a Pinboard-compatible API and public RSS profiles so many ecosystem tools keep working. See the docs for token setup and endpoint details.

Are my private bookmarks ever public?

Private bookmarks stay private unless you explicitly enable a public profile. You control username, bio, and which links appear on /u/yourname.

Do you track me or sell my data?

No. Our analytics are cookieless and aggregate — no advertising trackers, no cross-site profiling, no ad networks. We do set one small first-party cookie recording how you found us (a campaign name, the referring site, or simply "direct"). It holds no identifier, is never shared with anyone, and expires after 90 days. We never sell your data or show ads, your bookmarks are private by default, and you can export or delete everything anytime. One honest note: Cowpin is a hosted service with AI features, so when you use them the relevant text is sent to our AI provider to generate results — we respect your privacy, but we're not zero-knowledge.

Am I locked in? Can I move back to Pinboard?

No lock-in — ever. Export your whole library any time as a Netscape HTML file you can re-import straight into Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge, or as Pinboard-compatible JSON to take back to Pinboard (or anywhere else). Your bookmarks are yours; Cowpin is a place you stay because you want to, not because you are stuck.

Can I keep Pinboard and use Cowpin on top of it?

Yes — that's exactly what the two-way mirror is for. Keep Pinboard as your source of truth and run Cowpin as a power kit on top of it: connect your account and your saves and edits flow both ways automatically. It's non-destructive — Cowpin never deletes anything on Pinboard — so you get full-text search, Rediscover, auto-archiving and AI on top of your existing library without committing to a move. Stay one foot in Pinboard as long as you like.

How much does Cowpin cost?

Cowpin is $22/year, or $51/year with the AI & archive add-on (semantic search, Ask your bookmarks, summaries, full-page snapshots). Every account starts with a 14-day free trial of everything, no card required. If you don't subscribe, your library becomes read-only: every bookmark stays visible, searchable and exportable, and nothing is ever deleted.

Why hosted SaaS instead of self-host?

Hosted means backups, search, and save-from-anywhere work on day one without running a server. You can export your library as Pinboard-compatible JSON anytime.

Can AI agents (Claude, Cursor, LLMs) use Cowpin as external memory?

Yes. Cowpin provides a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server at /api/agent/mcp and dedicated REST endpoints. AI agents and LLMs can autonomously store web research, recall context via semantic vector search, and synthesize memories across development sessions.

How do autonomous AI agents pay for API and storage usage?

Agents can authenticate using their cryptographic wallet (Base/EVM, Solana, TRON) and fund their operations with USDC micropayments ($0.001 per save, $0.002 per semantic search). No credit cards, subscriptions, or human signups required.

Is Cowpin accessible for screen readers and keyboard navigation?

Yes. Cowpin is engineered to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards across Web, iOS, and Android. We support full keyboard navigation (including Vim j/k list shortcuts, / for instant search, and ? for cheatsheets), screen readers (TalkBack, VoiceOver, NVDA), high-contrast focus rings, reduced motion, and customizable typography (font sizes, line heights, themes, and font families). We view accessibility as a core product strength and an ongoing craft — we actively prioritize user feedback to perfect our accessibility across every platform. Reach out via in-app feedback or help@cowpin.com anytime.

Live:Bring your whole Pinboard library over, free — in about 2 minutes.

Your bookmarks, kept for good

Tags, privacy, read-later, and full-text search — plus archiving that survives link rot and AI you can actually ask. Bring your browser bookmarks or your Pinboard library over — free, in one click.

Tags & bundlesRead-later queue1-click importInsights & trendsTwo-way Pinboard syncFocus today (AI)

Download for Mac Add to Chrome Add to Firefox

Mac (.dmg universal) · Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc & Firefox supported

Independent, privacy-first Export back to any browser, anytime Fast, and built to last

https://www.cowpin.com/app/bookmarks

14ms latency

Designing Data-Intensive Applications: Reliable, Scalable Systems

dataintensive.net·2 hours ago·#architecture

Why SQLite in Production is the Modern Engineering Renaissance

fly.io·Yesterday·#sqlite

read later

The Fall of Pinboard and the Architecture of Modern Web Archiving

blog.danwang.co·3 days ago·#pinboard Dead link

Pinboard 2-Way Sync & 1-Click Migration is Live

The modern bookmark manager
Pinboard should have been.

Instant sub-50ms search, permanent S3 full-page HTML archiving that beats link rot, distraction-free reader, and private AI you can query. 100% portable with zero lock-in.

2-Way Pinboard Sync Full-Page S3 HTML Archiving Distraction-Free Reader & Notes iOS & Android Apps

Start free trial with 1-click import

Download for Mac Add to Chrome Add to Firefox

Mac (.dmg universal) · Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc & Firefox supported

14-day free trial · No credit card required · Export anytime · No ads, no third-party trackers

Sub-50ms Instant Search S3 Permanent Snapshots Private & Cookieless Pinboard API Compatible

https://www.cowpin.com/app/bookmarks

14ms latency

Designing Data-Intensive Applications: Reliable, Scalable Systems

dataintensive.net·2 hours ago·#architecture

Why SQLite in Production is the Modern Engineering Renaissance

fly.io·Yesterday·#sqlite

read later

The Fall of Pinboard and the Architecture of Modern Web Archiving

blog.danwang.co·3 days ago·#pinboard Dead link

Simple 3-Step Flow

Three steps to your library

Same golden path as the app — sign up, save, find anything.

01Instant Access

Start your free trial

02Omnichannel Save

Save from anywhere

Paste a URL, use the bookmarklet, forward email, or import your Pinboard export.

03Sub-50ms Retrieval

Tag, search, focus

Filter read-later, star favorites, run full-text search, and let Focus today rank what to read next.

Next-Gen Architecture

Everything Pinboard did —
plus what it skipped.

Permanent S3 HTML archiving, sub-50ms search, 2-way continuous Pinboard mirror, and clean reading with highlights.

Anti-Link Rot

Permanent Full-Page S3 HTML Archiving

38% of all bookmarks go dead within 5 years due to domain expirations and redesigns. Cowpin captures full standalone HTML snapshots and text into isolated Amazon S3 storage the second you bookmark.

Original Link Rot

example.com/2021/deep-dive

404 Not Found · Server unreachable

Cowpin S3 Snapshot

Presigned S3 Object · 2.4 MB

📸 Offline HTML Preserved100% Intact

2-Way Mirror

Live Pinboard Sync & API

Run Cowpin alongside Pinboard. Changes sync non-destructively both ways, and existing third-party Pinboard apps work seamlessly with your Cowpin API token.

cowpin sync --watch

✓ 1,420 bookmarks synced (0 conflicts)

Reading Health

Apple Health for Bookmarks

Track 12-week reading volume, revisit rates, topic breakdowns, and dead links. Turn your link stash into an active, high-yield knowledge system.

Revisit Rate42% (Top 5%)

Readwise Built In

Distraction-Free Reader & 1-Click Markdown Export

Read cleanly without ads or paywalls. Select any sentence to create a permanent highlight with attached personal notes, then export your notes to Obsidian, Logseq, or Markdown with 1 click.

"The best bookmark managers don't just store URLs; they preserve the exact thoughts and highlights that inspired you in the first place."

1 note attached Export to Obsidian ↗

Omnipresent

Save From Everywhere

Save without opening the dashboard. Use the official Chrome & Firefox extensions, iOS/Android share sheet, save-by-email forwarding, or bookmarklet.

Chrome Extension Firefox Add-on

Share Sheet

Email Save

#Bookmarklet

Private AI

Ask Your Library (AI)

Query your bookmarks naturally in plain English. Cowpin's semantic RAG answers questions citing your exact saved articles with source links.

"What did I save regarding Postgres connection pooling?"

Found 3 relevant bookmarks with citations

Multiplatform & Developer Tools

Native Desktop Clients &
Terminal CLI for Power Users

Whether you prefer a lightweight native desktop menu app, an official browser extension, or an automation-ready terminal CLI, Cowpin fits right into your workflow.

Universal Desktop

Cowpin for macOS

A native, lightning-fast WebKit desktop client built for macOS Sequoia & Sonoma. Runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel in a download under 1 MB — zero Electron memory bloat. Press ⌥⌘B in any browser to save the page you're reading, with tags, without switching windows.

Cowpin.app v1.3Universal .DMG

Native Swift + WebKit · 0.7 MB · macOS 12+ · notarized · updates itself

Download .DMG

Also available as direct Cowpin-macOS.zip Universal Binary

Windows 10 / 11Beta · unsigned

4 MB installer · updates itself · if Windows says "unknown publisher", choose More info → Run anyway

Download .exe

Linux (x86_64)Beta

AppImage runs on most distros and updates itself · .deb for Ubuntu/Debian (needs WebKitGTK 4.1)

AppImage .deb

Instant launch (sub-100ms)
Global shortcut capture
Native notifications
Full offline caching

Developer CLI

Official Terminal CLI

Manage your knowledge base straight from your shell. Pipe URLs from curl, fzf, or tmux, trigger background S3 archives, and automate workflows in bash and zsh.

Terminal CLI — run from a cowpin-web checkout until npm ships:

node cli/bin/cowpin.mjs add <url> --tags "research"

API token: Settings → API. Agents: MCP + Cursor (@cowpin/mcp-server on npm).

bash — cowpin

$ cowpin add "https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.04" --tags "ai, ml"

✓ Saved [bkm_82f1] · S3 archive captured · tags: ai, ml

$ cowpin search "postgres connection pooler" --limit 2

1. Supabase Connection Pooler (https://supabase.com/docs/...)
2. PgBouncer Architecture Deep Dive (https://pgbouncer.github.io/...)

$ cowpin sync --pinboard --watch

✓ Continuous 2-way sync active · 1,420 bookmarks mirrored

Pipe friendly: pbpaste | cowpin
JSON mode for jq & fzf
CI/CD & cron job headless auth
Zero configuration API token

Feature Comparison

How Cowpin compares

Built for bookmarkers who refuse to lose their links or get locked into abandoned software.

Capability	CowpinModern	Pinboard	Pocket	Raindrop
Full-Page S3 HTML Archiving (Anti-Link Rot)	Presigned S3 Object	Paid add-on / slow		Pro tier only
2-Way Pinboard Sync & CLI Compatibility	Bidirectional Mirror	N/A
Sub-50ms Full-Text & Tag Search	< 18ms latency	Legacy / slow	Pro only	Pro only
Distraction-Free Reader + Highlights	Obsidian / MD export		Basic	Basic
AI Semantic Search & Daily Focus	Private RAG
Private, Cookieless & Zero Ads	100% Private		Ad-supported
Open Netscape HTML & JSON 1-Click Export	Zero Lock-In		Partial

Frequently asked questions

Pinboard switchers, privacy, and how Cowpin fits your workflow.

14-day free trial · No card required

Stop losing bookmarks to link rot.
Start archiving today.

Bring your existing Pinboard export or browser bookmarks over in 10 seconds. Full tags, notes, privacy flags, and S3 full-page archiving included.

Start your free trial 1-Click Pinboard Import

No credit card required ·100% data portability·Netscape HTML & JSON export anytime·No ads, no third-party trackers

Your bookmarks, kept for good

The modern bookmark manager Pinboard should have been.

Three steps to your library

Start your free trial

Save from anywhere

Tag, search, focus

Everything Pinboard did — plus what it skipped.

Permanent Full-Page S3 HTML Archiving

Live Pinboard Sync & API

Apple Health for Bookmarks

Distraction-Free Reader & 1-Click Markdown Export

Save From Everywhere

Ask Your Library (AI)

Native Desktop Clients & Terminal CLI for Power Users

Cowpin for macOS

Official Terminal CLI

How Cowpin compares

Frequently asked questions

Can I import my Pinboard export?

Does Cowpin work with Pinboard apps and the API?

Are my private bookmarks ever public?

Do you track me or sell my data?

Am I locked in? Can I move back to Pinboard?

Can I keep Pinboard and use Cowpin on top of it?

How much does Cowpin cost?

Why hosted SaaS instead of self-host?

Can AI agents (Claude, Cursor, LLMs) use Cowpin as external memory?

How do autonomous AI agents pay for API and storage usage?

Is Cowpin accessible for screen readers and keyboard navigation?

Stop losing bookmarks to link rot. Start archiving today.

Changelog emails

The modern bookmark manager
Pinboard should have been.

Everything Pinboard did —
plus what it skipped.

Native Desktop Clients &
Terminal CLI for Power Users

Stop losing bookmarks to link rot.
Start archiving today.