How to import your Day One journal into Daykept

Years of entries are the whole point of a journal. Switching apps shouldn't mean starting from an empty page — or keeping an old app installed just to read what you wrote. Daykept can import your Day One journal directly, so your history comes with you.

This guide covers what comes across, what doesn't, and the exact steps.

What comes across

Two things to know before you start:

• Photos and audio stay behind. Only the text of each entry is imported. Keep your Day One export file as an archive, and add back the photos that matter most.
• Imported entries have no mood yet. Daykept starts every new entry with how you feel, but your old entries arrive without one. You can add a mood to any entry later, whenever you reread it.

Step 1: Export your journal from Day One

In Day One, export the journal you want to move as JSON. Day One gives you a .zip file. Unzip it — on iPhone, tap the file in the Files app; on Android, open it with your file manager.

Inside you'll find a .json file for your journal, often called Journal.json. That's the file Daykept needs. If you see more than one .json file — for example, one per journal — import them one at a time.

Save the file somewhere your phone can reach it, like Files, iCloud Drive or Google Drive.

Step 2: Import it into Daykept

1. Open Daykept and tap Settings in the bottom bar.
2. Tap Import / Export, then open the Import tab.
3. Tap Import from Day One, then Import to confirm.
4. Pick the .json file you saved in step 1.

When it's done, Daykept tells you how many entries were imported. Your existing Daykept entries are never overwritten.

It's safe to run again. If an import stops halfway, or you export again later, just repeat the steps. Entries you've already imported are skipped, unless the copy from Day One is newer.

Step 3: Make it feel like home

Your entries now sit on your timeline and your calendar, on the days you wrote them. A few things are worth doing in the first week:

• Sort into notebooks. Imported entries land in your main timeline. If you kept separate journals in Day One, recreate them as color-coded notebooks — see how to organize a journal with tags and notebooks.
• Check your tags. Day One tags become Daykept tags with the same names. Tidy up duplicates, then use them to spot patterns in your life.
• Let On This Day do its thing. Because your entries keep their original dates, On This Day can show you what you wrote on this date in past years — from your very first week with Daykept.

Your journal stays portable

Importing is only half of it. You can export everything from Daykept at any time, as a Daykept backup or as Markdown — free, even without Premium. No account is needed to start, and sync across devices is optional.

Your journal is yours. It should be easy to bring in, and just as easy to take with you.