How to Export Notes as Markdown Files from Apple Notes

Apple Notes keeps your thoughts safe ans snug. What, though, if you want to take them someplace else — another platform, editor or decade? You don’t have to copy and paste or start from scratch. Find out here how to export from Apple Notes to Markdown files ⤓, a lean plain text markup format that travels light and is made to last.

First, the Meat Lean

Some foods demand rare forks, unique utensils or special materials — others you can eat with your bare hands, but only in the right place, in a very specific stance.

Take the Philly cheesesteak: best eaten outdoors, over something that welcomes grease, all while bending forward so the inescapable runoff hits its target. Some call that the “Philadelphia lean.”

Now, here’s another kind of lean well worth leaning into: a tidy text markup language that avoids the bloat. Notes even exports to it without spilling a drop (just about):

How to Export Notes as Markdown Files from Apple Notes

Apple Notes for Mac

Markdown done?

⇆ Buy La De Du a tea

Tips help fuel these email and tech how-tos.

Add a Keyboard Shortcut for Exporting to Markdown to Notes for Mac

To set up a keyboard shortcut for saving Markdown files in Apple Notes for Mac:

1. Open System Settings.
2. Go to the Keyboard category.
3. Select Keyboard Shortcuts….
4. Open the App Shortcuts category.
5. Click ＋.
6. Select Notes under Application.
7. Type Markdown under Menu title.
8. Click in the Keyboard shortcut field.
9. Press the key combination you want to use for exporting to Markdown.
   Example: You can use Command Control M, for example.
10. Click Done.

Apple Notes for iPhone and iPad

To export a note to a Markdown file using Apple Notes for iPhone and iPad:

1. Open the note you want to save as a plain text file with Markdown markup.
   Just one: On iOS and iPadOS, you can export individual notes only.
2. Select the Share button.
3. Choose Export as Markdown from the options.
   No “Export as Markdown”: If you do not see that choice initially, select View More first.
   
4. Choose Save to Files.
   Airdrop etc.: You can also use all other sharing options, of course, and copy the resulting folder (for pasting on a Mac, for instance), send it to any app or use Airdrop, for example.
5. Go to the folder where you want to save the resulting Markdown document (and supporting files).
6. Tap Save.

How to Export Notes as Markdown Files in Apple Notes: FAQ

In what structure will the notes be exported?

Notes always crates a new folder for each export to Markdown files. The folder is either named like the note or, if you export multiple notes, “Archive”. The individual notes are exported to files with the first line (truncated to around 75 characters) and the .MD extension.

What happens with attachments (PDF documents, images,…)?

Files included with a note (such as PDF files, images, voice recordings) are saved to an Attachments folder and referenced as links in the exported Markdown file.

What Notes formatting will not be saved to .MD files?

Some formatting you can use in Apple Notes does not translate to the Markdown format and will not be saved when you export to the format:

• Highlighting with color
• Text alignment (center, right or justified)
• Typeface choice
• Text size
• Text color

Can I import Markdown files into Notes?

Yes.

Apple Notes can import text and formatting from Markdown (.MD) files.

(Tested with Apple Notes 4 on macOS Tahoe 26 and Apple Notes for iOS 26; first published March 2026)