Migration: From Apple Notes

The trickiest migration in the list. Apple Notes has no native Markdown export, no public file format, and stores everything in a SQLite database under your home folder. Practical paths range from "good" (a paid third-party converter) to "tedious" (manual copy-paste with formatting fixes).

Recommended path: Exporter app

The cleanest tool we've found is Exporter by Foxhole Labs — a Mac app that reads Apple Notes' SQLite store directly and writes a folder of .md files plus extracted images.

1. Install Exporter from the Mac App Store (free with a paid pro tier; the free tier handles the basics).
2. Grant it Full Disk Access (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access). Required because Apple Notes' DB is in a protected location.
3. Pick the Markdown output format.
4. Pick your destination folder.
5. Check Include attachments.
6. Click Export.

You'll get one .md per note, with image attachments under an attachments/ subfolder. Folders in Apple Notes become folders in the export.

Alternative: AppleScript export

If you'd rather not install another app, an AppleScript can iterate every note and write a Markdown file per note. The trade-off: rich text → Markdown conversion is approximate, attachments aren't extracted automatically, and locked notes are skipped.

tell application "Notes"
  set destFolder to (path to documents folder as text) & "AppleNotesExport:"
  do shell script "mkdir -p " & quoted form of POSIX path of destFolder
  repeat with n in notes
    set noteName to name of n
    set safeName to do shell script "echo " & quoted form of noteName & " | tr '/' '-'"
    set noteBody to body of n
    set f to destFolder & safeName & ".md"
    do shell script "cat > " & quoted form of POSIX path of f & " <<'EOF'\n" & noteBody & "\nEOF"
  end repeat
end tell

Run with osascript export-notes.scpt after saving. Check the result in ~/Documents/AppleNotesExport/ before deleting anything in Apple Notes.

Manual fallback

For small note counts (under ~20), the simplest path is copy-paste:

1. Open the Apple note.
2. Select all (Cmd A) → copy.
3. In Binderus, create a new note (Cmd N) → paste.
4. Fix headings (Apple Notes uses larger font; Binderus uses #) and any image positions.

Post-import cleanup

Whichever path you take, you'll typically need to:

• Fix heading levels. Apple Notes' "Title" / "Heading" / "Subheading" map roughly to # / ## / ###. Some exporters guess wrong on the first heading.
• Resolve attachment paths. Image links in the export usually point at a relative attachments/ folder. Make sure the folder is in your vault, or move into _images/ as a one-time sed pass.
• Re-establish links. Apple Notes' "tag-like" hashtags export as plain text. Decide whether to keep them as Binderus tags (#project) or convert to wiki links ([[Project]]).
• Locked notes. Encrypted Apple Notes don't export. Unlock them in Apple Notes first if you want them in your migration.

What doesn't carry over

• Drawings made with Apple Pencil. Most exporters drop these. Open the original note in Apple Notes, screenshot the drawing, paste into Binderus.
• Audio recordings inline in a note. Same — exported as a stub link, not the audio file.
• "Smart Folders" (saved searches). Binderus doesn't have these yet. The closest substitute is a saved search via the search panel.
• Quick Notes (overlay capture). No equivalent yet — use a system-wide hotkey to focus Binderus instead.