ExportNotes

A simple AppleScript to export all your notes from the macOS Notes app into individual text files. This can be useful for backup purposes or to migrate your notes to other applications like Obsidian.

Features

• Exports all notes from all accounts and folders in the Notes app.
• Saves each note as a separate .txt file.
• Cleans note titles to create valid filenames.
• Handles special characters and encodings.

Requirements

• macOS with the Notes app installed.
• Script Editor application (built-in on macOS).

Installation

1. Download the Script: Save the ExportNotes.applescript file to your computer.

2. Open the Script:

   • Navigate to where you saved the script.
   • Double-click the ExportNotes.applescript file to open it in Script Editor.

Usage

1. Run the Script:

   • In Script Editor, click the Run button (looks like a "Play" icon).

2. Grant Permissions:

   • The first time you run the script, you may be prompted to grant permissions.
   • Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Automation.
   • Ensure that Script Editor (or the app you're using) is allowed to control Notes.

3. Select Export Folder:

   • A dialog will appear asking you to select the folder where you want the notes to be saved.
   • Choose or create a folder and click Choose.

4. Wait for Completion:

   • The script will process all your notes and save them as .txt files in the selected folder.
   • A dialog will appear if there are any errors.

Troubleshooting

• Permissions Error:

  • If you encounter a permissions error, ensure that Script Editor is allowed to access Notes and the selected folder.
  • You might need to add Script Editor under Full Disk Access in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy.

• Special Characters in Titles:

  • The script cleans note titles to remove characters that are illegal in filenames.
  • Illegal characters are replaced with an underscore (_).

• Duplicate Note Titles:

  • If you have multiple notes with the same title, later notes may overwrite earlier ones.
  • Consider modifying the script to append a unique identifier (like a timestamp) to filenames.

Customization

• Change File Format:

  • To save notes as Markdown (.md) files, change the file extension in the script:

    set filePath to (exportFolder as text) & cleanTitle & ".md"

• Adjust Encoding:

  • The script writes files using UTF-8 encoding to support special characters.

Contributing

Feel free to submit issues or pull requests if you have suggestions or improvements.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Disclaimer

This script is provided as-is without any warranty. Use it at your own risk. Always ensure you have backups of your notes before running scripts that modify or export data.