Apple Notes Exporter

Overview

The Apple Notes Exporter is a powerful macOS tool that facilitates the export of Apple Notes into various formats including HTML, Plain Text, Markdown, PDF, and Word (DOCX) with images and formatting preserved. With over 150 stars on GitHub, it has become an essential utility for Mac users seeking to backup, migrate, or repurpose their Apple Notes data.

Key Achievement: This tool addresses a significant gap in Apple’s ecosystem by providing comprehensive export capabilities that Apple Notes itself lacks, making it invaluable for users transitioning to other note-taking systems or creating backups.

Features

Multiple Export Formats

  • Raw HTML: Direct extraction with base64-encoded images
  • Processed HTML: Clean HTML with local image attachments
  • Plain Text: Text-only content extraction
  • Markdown: Perfect for integration with tools like Obsidian
  • PDF: High-quality document export via Chrome engine
  • Word (DOCX): Full-featured documents with inline images

Advanced Capabilities

  • Incremental Updates: Lightning-fast updates that only process changed notes
  • Image Extraction: Automatic extraction and local referencing of embedded images
  • Folder Organization: Maintains Apple Notes folder structure
  • Automatic Cleanup: Handles renamed and deleted notes intelligently
  • Batch Processing: Export thousands of notes efficiently
  • Scheduled Exports: macOS launchd integration for automated backups

Technical Architecture

Core Components

  • AppleScript Integration: Direct communication with Apple Notes app
  • Python Processing Engine: HTML parsing and format conversion
  • zsh Wrapper Script: Command-line interface and environment management
  • Chrome PDF Engine: High-quality PDF generation
  • Pandoc Integration: Professional Word document creation

Data Processing Pipeline

  1. Extraction Phase: AppleScript retrieves note data with metadata
  2. Parsing Phase: BeautifulSoup4 processes HTML content structure
  3. Image Processing: Base64 images extracted and saved locally
  4. Format Conversion: Multiple output formats generated simultaneously
  5. Organization Phase: Files organized by account and folder structure

Installation

The tool provides a comprehensive setup process with dependency management:

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# Clone repository
mkdir -p ~/bin/notes-exporter
cd ~/bin/notes-exporter
git clone https://github.com/storizzi/notes-exporter.git .

# Install dependencies
brew install python pandoc
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Make executable
chmod +x exportnotes.zsh

Usage Examples

Basic Export

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# Incremental export with default settings
./exportnotes.zsh

# Full re-export of all notes
./exportnotes.zsh --update-all

Advanced Usage

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# Export to all formats
./exportnotes.zsh --all

# Custom directory with Markdown conversion
./exportnotes.zsh --root-dir ~/Documents/NotesBackup --convert-markdown true

# Conda environment management
./exportnotes.zsh --conda-env notesexport --remove-conda-env true

Scheduled Automation

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# Setup daily export at 9:00 AM
python setup_launchd.py --hour 9 --minute 0

# Monitor export logs
tail -f logs/stdout.log

Key Technical Solutions

Performance Optimization

  • Smart Incremental Updates: JSON-based tracking system eliminates redundant processing
  • Parallel Processing: Batch operations optimize system resource usage
  • Memory Management: Efficient handling of large note collections

macOS Integration

  • AppleScript Security: Proper handling of macOS privacy permissions
  • launchd Scheduling: Native macOS scheduling system integration
  • Accessibility Compliance: Full support for macOS accessibility features

Data Integrity

  • Metadata Preservation: Creation dates, modification dates, and folder structure maintained
  • Unicode Support: Proper handling of international characters and emoji
  • Image Quality: Lossless extraction and conversion of embedded images

Real-World Impact

Use Cases Supported

  • Note Migration: Seamless transition from Apple Notes to other systems
  • Academic Research: Export research notes to academic document formats
  • Business Documentation: Convert meeting notes to professional documents
  • Personal Archiving: Create comprehensive backups of personal notes
  • Content Publishing: Transform notes into blog posts or documentation

Community Adoption

  • 150+ GitHub Stars: Strong community validation and adoption
  • Active Development: Regular updates and feature enhancements
  • User Contributions: Community-driven improvements and bug fixes
  • Cross-Platform Interest: High demand for similar tools on other platforms

Technical Challenges Solved

Apple Notes Database Access

Apple Notes stores data in a proprietary SQLite database with limited access. This tool cleverly uses AppleScript to access notes through the official API, ensuring compatibility across macOS versions.

Format Conversion Pipeline

Converting between different document formats while preserving formatting, images, and metadata required careful engineering of the conversion pipeline using multiple specialized libraries.

macOS Permissions Model

Handling macOS’s strict privacy permissions for accessing user data required sophisticated permission management and user guidance systems.

Development Philosophy

The project emphasizes:

  • User Experience: Simple command-line interface with sensible defaults
  • Reliability: Robust error handling and data integrity checks
  • Flexibility: Extensive customization options via command-line parameters
  • Performance: Optimized for handling large note collections efficiently
  • Maintainability: Clean code structure and comprehensive documentation

Future Roadmap

Planned enhancements include:

  • Cloud Sync Integration: Direct export to cloud storage services
  • Enhanced Formatting: Better preservation of Apple Notes-specific formatting
  • Web Interface: Browser-based export management
  • Plugin Architecture: Extensible system for custom export formats

Open Source Impact

This project demonstrates the power of open source software in filling ecosystem gaps. By providing capabilities that Apple doesn’t offer natively, it has become an essential tool for power users and professionals who rely on Apple Notes but need export flexibility.

The project’s success has inspired similar tools for other Apple ecosystem products and highlighted the importance of data portability in modern software design.

Repository: github.com/storizzi/notes-exporter
Stars: 150+
License: MIT
Platform: macOS
Development: Active