A well-curated Pinterest board is a research document. Twenty, fifty, sometimes hundreds of pins organized around a specific idea — your next renovation, a brand look-and-feel, a lookbook, a vacation plan. Saving that collection offline matters when you're presenting to a client, working without internet, or moving your references into a design tool. This guide covers the two ways to export a whole board: the PinGrab Chrome Extension (fast, every pin in one click) and a pin-by-pin approach when you only need a subset. We'll also touch on order, naming, and what happens with private and secret boards.

Two workflows: extension vs. web app

PinGrab gives you two paths depending on scope:

  • Single pin → PinGrab web app. Paste one URL, get one file. Best when you want three or four pins, not the whole board.
  • Whole board → PinGrab Chrome Extension. One click on the extension icon, choose a format, done.

The extension exists because boards with 50+ pins are tedious to export one at a time. If you're clicking Download more than five times, switch to the extension.

Installing and using the extension

The extension works on Chrome, Edge, and Brave — any Chromium-based browser. Installation is two clicks from the Chrome Web Store, and it doesn't ask for Pinterest login credentials. It simply reads the pins already visible on the page you're viewing.

Once installed:

  1. Open any Pinterest board in your browser — pinterest.com/username/board-name.
  2. Click the PinGrab icon in your toolbar.
  3. Choose your format (see the next section).
  4. Click Export.

The extension scrolls through the board programmatically to load all pins (Pinterest lazy-loads 25 at a time), then packages them into your chosen format.

Export formats: ZIP, image pack, or PDF moodboard

  • Individual images. Each pin saves as a separate file in its original resolution. Best for designers who'll drag them into Figma, InDesign, or Photoshop.
  • ZIP archive. All images in a single compressed file. Fastest when you want to move a board's worth of content between machines or upload into a project folder.
  • PDF moodboard. A multi-page PDF, two-per-page or grid-style, ready to present or print. Good for client briefs, shoot references, or shared review.

For grid composition control — specific rows and columns, phone-wallpaper crops, or a poster layout — export as individual images and then build the grid in the PinGrab Vision Board Maker. It's free and doesn't require sign-up.

Boards vs. sections

If your board has sections (the sub-groupings Pinterest added a few years back), the extension respects them by default — each section becomes its own folder inside the ZIP. You can also export just a single section by opening the section's page first, then clicking the extension icon.

Private boards, secret boards, group boards

  • Secret or private boards — if you're signed in to Pinterest in the same browser session and the board is yours, the extension works as normal. Pinterest identifies you via cookies; PinGrab never touches your credentials.
  • Group boards — if you've been added as a collaborator, you have the same access as any member and the extension handles them the same way.
  • Boards you don't have access to — no tool can get past Pinterest's auth layer. If the board's private and you're not an invited member, it won't export.

Order, naming, and metadata

Pinterest displays pins in reverse chronological order by default (newest first) unless the board owner has rearranged them. The extension exports in whatever order the page currently shows, so reorder before exporting if a specific sequence matters.

Filenames default to Pinterest's internal hash — not human-readable. For archival work, rename as you import into your tool of choice. PinGrab's PDF export preserves the pin title and creator name on each page, which is the easiest way to retain context.

Common questions

  • "Can I export a board I follow but don't own?" Yes — as long as it's public or you're a group-board member.
  • "Will it download videos from the board?" The board exporter focuses on images. For a board that's mostly video pins, see the video guide and export individually, or filter to just videos before running the extension.
  • "How many pins can a single export handle?" We've tested with 500-pin boards without issue. Larger boards may take 30–60 seconds to scroll and package; watch the extension icon's progress state.

Related reading

For individual pins, see the image guide or video guide. To build a grid layout from the exported images, the moodboard guide walks through PinGrab's Vision Board Maker.