Import & Export

NoteCove makes it easy to import your existing notes and move data between applications.

Import Markdown Files

Import markdown files or entire folder structures from other note-taking applications into NoteCove.

How to Import

Open NoteCove
Select File > Import Markdown… (or press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+I)
Choose to import a single file or an entire folder
Configure import options:
- Target folder: Where to place imported notes
- Structure: Preserve folder hierarchy or flatten all notes
- Container folder: Optionally wrap imports in a new folder
- Duplicates: Skip or rename existing notes with same titles
Click Import and wait for completion
Navigate to your imported notes

Supported Features

The import process handles a wide range of markdown content:

Text Formatting

Headings (H1-H6)
Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough
Inline code and code blocks with syntax highlighting
Blockquotes
Horizontal rules

Lists

Bullet lists (nested supported)
Numbered lists
Task lists with checkboxes

Tables

Standard markdown tables
Column alignment (left, center, right)
Header rows

Images

Local images are automatically copied to NoteCove storage
Relative image paths are resolved from the markdown file location
URL-encoded paths (e.g., Note%20Title) are automatically decoded
Alt text is preserved
External URLs (http/https) are skipped

Links and Wikilinks

Inter-note links (links to other .md files) are converted to NoteCove’s [[note-id]] format
Wikilinks ([[Note Title]]) are automatically converted to note references
Heading links ([[Note Title#Heading Text]]) link to specific sections
Unresolved links (missing notes) are preserved as placeholders
External web links are preserved

Tags

Hashtags (#tag) are automatically extracted and indexed
Tags can contain letters, numbers, and underscores
Tags are searchable and appear in the tags list

YAML Frontmatter

NoteCove supports YAML frontmatter for preserving note metadata:

---
pinned: true
created: 1700000000000
modified: 1700000001000
folder: /Projects/Work
---

# Note content here

pinned: Pin status (true/false)
created: Creation timestamp (Unix milliseconds)
modified: Last modified timestamp (Unix milliseconds)
folder: Folder path (e.g., /Projects/Work)

During import, this metadata is applied to the created note.

Import Modes

Preserve Structure Maintains your original folder hierarchy. If you import:

my-notes/
├── projects/
│   ├── project-a.md
│   └── project-b.md
└── daily/
    └── today.md

NoteCove creates matching folders and places notes in the same structure.

Flatten All notes are placed directly in the target folder, ignoring the original folder structure. Useful when you want all notes accessible in one place.

Container Folder Optionally wraps all imported content in a new folder named after the source folder. Keeps imports organized and separate from existing notes.

Handling Duplicates

When a note with the same title already exists in the target folder:

Skip: The existing note is kept, the import is skipped
Rename: The imported note gets a suffix like “(2)”, “(3)”, etc.

Tips

Large imports: NoteCove shows a progress bar and allows cancellation
Missing images: If a referenced image can’t be found, the import continues with a placeholder
Invalid markdown: NoteCove handles malformed markdown gracefully - it won’t crash

Export to Markdown

Export your notes to markdown files, preserving folder structure and images.

How to Export

Open NoteCove
Select File > Export… (or press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+E)
Choose what to export:
- Single note: Export the currently selected note
- Folder: Export all notes in a folder
- All notes: Export your entire library
Select a destination folder
Click Export and wait for completion

What Gets Exported

Notes

Full markdown content with all formatting
Headings, lists, code blocks, tables preserved
File names match note titles
YAML frontmatter with note metadata (pinned, created, modified, folder path)
Inter-note links exported as wikilinks ([[Note Title]])
Heading links preserved with heading text ([[Note Title#Section]])

Folder Structure

Folder hierarchy is recreated in the export destination
Empty folders are not exported
Folder paths included in YAML frontmatter

Images and Media

All embedded images and attachments are copied to an _attachments folder next to each note
Original filenames are preserved (stored in metadata for ordinal-based system)
Image references are updated to relative paths (e.g., _attachments/screenshot.png)
Multiple attachments per note are exported with their original names
Filename collisions are handled with numeric suffixes (e.g., image.png, image (2).png)
Original quality preserved
Works with both notes and tasks

Metadata Preservation

Each exported note includes YAML frontmatter:

---
pinned: true
created: 1700000000000
modified: 1700000001000
folder: /Projects/Work
---

# Note content here

This allows round-trip import/export while preserving all note metadata.

Export Tips

Backup: Use export to create markdown backups of your notes
Sharing: Export individual notes to share as markdown files
Migration: Export all notes to migrate to another application

Migrating from Other Apps

From Obsidian

Locate your Obsidian vault folder
Use File > Import Markdown… and select the vault folder
Enable Preserve Structure to maintain your folder hierarchy
Inter-note [[wiki links]] are converted automatically
Heading links ([[Note#Heading]]) are preserved with full heading text
Hashtags are automatically indexed for searching

From Bear

Export notes from Bear as Markdown files (File > Export Notes)
Import the exported folder into NoteCove
Tags in Bear’s format may need manual cleanup

From Apple Notes

Use a third-party tool to export Apple Notes to Markdown
Import the exported files into NoteCove

From Notion

Export your Notion workspace as Markdown
Import the exported folder into NoteCove
Some Notion-specific features may not be preserved

Print

Print your notes with full formatting and comments.

How to Print

Open the note you want to print
Press Cmd+P (macOS) or Ctrl+P (Windows/Linux)
A print preview window opens showing your formatted note
Optionally toggle “Include resolved comments”
Click Print to open the system print dialog

What Gets Printed

Full Content

All text formatting (bold, italic, code, etc.)
Headings, lists, blockquotes, and tables
Code blocks with syntax highlighting
Images (sized to fit page)
Link chips and date chips
Hashtags with colored styling