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Readwise Setup Guide

Sync highlights and annotations from Readwise Reader to your Notion research workspace.

Readwise aggregates highlights from PDFs, Kindle, web articles, and other sources. Its native Notion integration syncs these highlights to your workspace automatically.

What Readwise Syncs

Source What Syncs Where in Notion
PDFs (academic papers) Highlights, annotations, notes Reading Lists DB or Research Papers pages
Kindle books Highlights, bookmarks Research Papers pages (for academic books)
Web articles Highlights, tags Research Papers pages
Readwise Reader All reading highlights + notes Configurable target database

Prerequisites

  • Readwise account (free trial available, then $8.99/mo for Reader)
  • Notion account with the research workspace set up

Step 1: Connect Readwise to Notion

  1. Go to readwise.io/export/notion
  2. Click "Connect" and authorize Notion access
  3. Select your workspace

Step 2: Configure Export Target

You have two options for where highlights land:

Option A: Highlights to Reading Lists DB

Best if you want highlights linked to specific essay projects:

  1. In Readwise export settings, select your Reading Lists database
  2. Map Readwise "Book/Article Title" -> Paper Title
  3. Map Readwise "Highlight" -> Key Quotes
  4. Map Readwise "Note" -> Reading Notes

Option B: Highlights to Research Papers DB

Best for general research capture:

  1. Select your Research Papers database as the export target
  2. Readwise creates a new page per source document
  3. Highlights appear in the page body

Step 3: Configure Sync Frequency

  • Automatic: Readwise syncs new highlights every few hours
  • Manual: Click "Sync Now" in Readwise export settings

Step 4: Tag Strategy

Use Readwise tags that match your Notion Domain Tags:

  • Tag papers in Readwise with clinical, neuroscience, psychology, etc.
  • These map to the Domain Tags multi-select in Research Papers DB
  • The Paper Intake Router agent can then auto-route tagged papers to relevant essays

Workflow

Reading Sources                    Readwise                    Notion
                                     |
PDF (academic paper) ------>  Readwise Reader  ------>  Research Papers DB
Kindle (textbook)    ------>    (highlights)   ------>    or Reading Lists DB
Web article          ------>                   ------>
                                     |
                              Tags + Notes map to
                              Domain Tags + Reading Notes

Tips

  • Readwise Reader is particularly good for academic PDFs — it extracts text cleanly and supports inline annotations
  • Use Readwise's "Export All" button for initial sync of existing highlights
  • Combine with Notero for full coverage: Notero syncs Zotero metadata, Readwise syncs reading highlights
  • Both integrations are one-directional (source -> Notion). Edits in Notion don't sync back.

Complementing Other Tools

Tool What It Adds Direction
Notion Web Clipper Quick paper capture from browser Browser -> Notion
Notero Full Zotero metadata and citation keys Zotero -> Notion
Readwise Reading highlights and annotations Reader -> Notion
Claude (Cowork) AI-powered paper search and synthesis Connectors -> Notion

Together, these four tools cover the complete research lifecycle: discover, capture, read, annotate, and synthesize.