Unfortunately, Apple Notes is one of the few note-taking apps that does not have a built-in export feature. Because Apple Notes uses a proprietary format, it makes data complicated to migrate, and nearly impossible to use in conjunction with other tools.
Apple Notes supports content such as tables, images, drawings, scans, and PDFs. As of iOS 17 it also supports links between notes. This breadth of content makes the conversion process more challenging. Here’s the good news: all of these content types can now be extracted using Obsidian Importer.
So, how does it work? Apple Notes stores your data in a local SQLite database. This data is in an undocumented format, but it’s possible to decode how it is stored and convert it. Decoding the Protocol Buffers stored in the Apple Notes database was made possible by
the work of Jon Baumann from
Ciofeca Forensics and its
adaptation for Obsidian by
Mir Novov.
Whether you’re planning to migrate away from Apple Notes or just want to back up your data, the new Obsidian Importer gives you the freedom to easily convert your Apple Notes to portable, durable files.
