DEVONthink (by DEVONtechnologies) is a Mac document management and research database application. It stores, indexes, and smart-searches your files — PDFs, web pages, notes, emails, and more. It's popular with academic researchers, lawyers, and writers who manage large document collections. DEVONthink's AI links related documents automatically and supports rich metadata, custom tags, and AppleScript automation.

Can I open EPUBs in DEVONthink?

DEVONthink 3 supports EPUB files natively — you can import, view, annotate, and search inside EPUBs within the DEVONthink interface. This means you can convert a PDF to EPUB, import the EPUB into your DEVONthink database alongside the original PDF, and read/annotate the EPUB in DEVONthink's built-in viewer without leaving the app.

What's the workflow for converting a DEVONthink PDF to EPUB?

Export the PDF from DEVONthink (right-click → Reveal in Finder, or drag out of the database), upload to toolkit.bot/pdf2epub, download the EPUB, and import it back into DEVONthink (drag into the same group, or File → Import). You can keep both the original PDF and the EPUB in the same group, linking them with a custom metadata field. The EPUB is then readable in DEVONthink's viewer or sendable to a Kindle/Kobo for e-reader reading.

How do I get annotations from a Kindle or Kobo back into DEVONthink?

Export highlights from Kindle via Readwise (readwise.io), which formats them as markdown or plain text. Import the highlight file into DEVONthink as a new note in the same group as the source document. Alternatively, Kobo exports highlights as CSV (accessible via USB); import the CSV into DEVONthink as a text note. You can link the highlight note to the original EPUB using DEVONthink's wiki-link or custom metadata features.

Does DEVONthink's AI linking work with EPUBs?

Yes. DEVONthink's See Also & Classify AI analyses the text content of EPUBs just as it does PDFs and web pages. An EPUB converted from a PDF will surface the same related documents as the original PDF would. This means converting PDFs to EPUB for comfortable reading doesn't lose any of DEVONthink's automatic connection-finding capability — you get better reading comfort at no cost to the knowledge graph.

DEVONthink Workflow: Convert PDFs to EPUB for E-Reader Reading and Import Back to Your Database (2026)

Updated June 2026 · Research

DEVONthink is the go-to research database for Mac-based academics, lawyers, and writers. Most of its content arrives as PDF. Converting those PDFs to EPUB — for comfortable e-reader reading with Kindle, Kobo, or DEVONthink's own EPUB viewer — then importing annotations back into your database creates a clean reading-to-research pipeline. Here's how to do it.

DEVONthink PDF-to-EPUB workflow

Step	Action	Tool
1. Locate PDF	Find the PDF in your DEVONthink database	DEVONthink 3
2. Export PDF	Right-click → Reveal in Finder (or drag to desktop)	DEVONthink 3 / Finder
3. Convert to EPUB	Upload to toolkit.bot, download EPUB	toolkit.bot
4. Import EPUB	Drag EPUB back into same DEVONthink group	DEVONthink 3
5. Read and annotate	Open in DEVONthink viewer, or send to Kindle/Kobo	DEVONthink / e-reader
6. Import highlights	Readwise or Kobo CSV → new note in same group	Readwise / DEVONthink

Why read EPUBs instead of PDFs in your DEVONthink workflow

DEVONthink's EPUB viewer — DEVONthink 3 reads EPUB natively with adjustable font size and night mode. Better than the PDF viewer for long text documents.
E-reader compatibility — send the EPUB to Kindle or Kobo for away-from-desk reading. Highlights export back via Readwise.
AI linking still works — DEVONthink's See Also & Classify analyses EPUB text the same as PDF text. No loss of knowledge graph connections.
Full-text search — DEVONthink indexes EPUB text for its internal search. Converting PDF to EPUB doesn't break indexing.
AppleScript automation — DEVONthink supports AppleScript for batch operations. You can script the export-convert-reimport cycle for large collections.

Frequently asked questions

What is DEVONthink?: DEVONthink (by DEVONtechnologies) is a Mac document management and research database application. It stores, indexes, and smart-searches your files — PDFs, web pages, notes, emails, and more. It's popular with academic researchers, lawyers, and writers who manage large document collections. DEVONthink's AI links related documents automatically and supports rich metadata, custom tags, and AppleScript automation.
Can I open EPUBs in DEVONthink?: DEVONthink 3 supports EPUB files natively — you can import, view, annotate, and search inside EPUBs within the DEVONthink interface. This means you can convert a PDF to EPUB, import the EPUB into your DEVONthink database alongside the original PDF, and read/annotate the EPUB in DEVONthink's built-in viewer without leaving the app.
What's the workflow for converting a DEVONthink PDF to EPUB?: Export the PDF from DEVONthink (right-click → Reveal in Finder, or drag out of the database), upload to toolkit.bot/pdf2epub, download the EPUB, and import it back into DEVONthink (drag into the same group, or File → Import). You can keep both the original PDF and the EPUB in the same group, linking them with a custom metadata field. The EPUB is then readable in DEVONthink's viewer or sendable to a Kindle/Kobo for e-reader reading.
How do I get annotations from a Kindle or Kobo back into DEVONthink?: Export highlights from Kindle via Readwise (readwise.io), which formats them as markdown or plain text. Import the highlight file into DEVONthink as a new note in the same group as the source document. Alternatively, Kobo exports highlights as CSV (accessible via USB); import the CSV into DEVONthink as a text note. You can link the highlight note to the original EPUB using DEVONthink's wiki-link or custom metadata features.
Does DEVONthink's AI linking work with EPUBs?: Yes. DEVONthink's See Also & Classify AI analyses the text content of EPUBs just as it does PDFs and web pages. An EPUB converted from a PDF will surface the same related documents as the original PDF would. This means converting PDFs to EPUB for comfortable reading doesn't lose any of DEVONthink's automatic connection-finding capability — you get better reading comfort at no cost to the knowledge graph.