single-plugin/commands/notes-export.md

Export Apple Notes

Export notes to files for backup, sharing, or migration.

Instructions

1. Determine export scope:

   • Single note
   • Multiple notes by pattern
   • All notes

2. Choose export format:

   • Markdown (.md) - Recommended
   • Plain text (.txt)
   • Combined single file
   • Individual files per note

3. Set export location:

   • Default: ~/Desktop/notes_export/
   • Or user-specified directory

4. Execute export:

   • Create export directory
   • Export notes with proper naming
   • Preserve formatting

5. Verify and report:

   • Count exported notes
   • Report any errors
   • Show export location

Export Commands

Single Note Export

mkdir -p ~/Desktop/notes_export
notes show "Note Title" > ~/Desktop/notes_export/note-title.md

Export by Pattern

mkdir -p ~/Desktop/notes_export

notes list | grep -i "meeting" | while read -r title; do
  # Sanitize filename
  filename=$(echo "$title" | tr ' ' '-' | tr -cd '[:alnum:]-')
  notes show "$title" > ~/Desktop/notes_export/"$filename.md"
  echo "Exported: $title"
done

Export All Notes

mkdir -p ~/Desktop/notes_export
export_date=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)

notes list | while read -r title; do
  # Create safe filename
  filename=$(echo "$title" | tr ' /' '-' | tr -cd '[:alnum:]-')
  notes show "$title" > ~/Desktop/notes_export/"$filename.md"
done

echo "Export complete: ~/Desktop/notes_export"
ls -la ~/Desktop/notes_export | head -20

Combined Export (Single File)

output_file=~/Desktop/all_notes_$(date +%Y-%m-%d).md

echo "# Apple Notes Export - $(date +%Y-%m-%d)" > "$output_file"
echo "" >> "$output_file"

notes list | while read -r title; do
  echo "## $title" >> "$output_file"
  echo "" >> "$output_file"
  notes show "$title" >> "$output_file"
  echo "" >> "$output_file"
  echo "---" >> "$output_file"
  echo "" >> "$output_file"
done

echo "Exported to: $output_file"

Export with Index

mkdir -p ~/Desktop/notes_export
index_file=~/Desktop/notes_export/INDEX.md

echo "# Notes Export Index" > "$index_file"
echo "Exported: $(date)" >> "$index_file"
echo "" >> "$index_file"

notes list | while read -r title; do
  filename=$(echo "$title" | tr ' /' '-' | tr -cd '[:alnum:]-')
  notes show "$title" > ~/Desktop/notes_export/"$filename.md"
  echo "- [$title](./$filename.md)" >> "$index_file"
done

Important Notes

• Sanitize filenames to remove special characters
• Consider note content length for combined exports
• Backup existing export directories before overwriting
• Use UTF-8 encoding for proper character support
• Add export date to directory or filename for versioning