Create local backup of notes in Notes.app on macOS

up vote
6
down vote

favorite

I'm using a company-issued MacBook where we cannot use iCloud to backup notes. But I would like to have a way to create backups of the notes, since they are not included in the company backup software. Is there a way to do this by hand?

I tried copying the folder:

$HOME/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes

but when I copied that one to a new Mac, the notes didn't show up when running Notes.app.

edited Nov 20 at 10:07

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

asked Nov 20 at 9:41

Harpe

434

add a comment |

up vote
6
down vote

favorite

I tried copying the folder:

$HOME/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes

but when I copied that one to a new Mac, the notes didn't show up when running Notes.app.

edited Nov 20 at 10:07

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

asked Nov 20 at 9:41

Harpe

434

add a comment |

up vote
6
down vote

favorite

I tried copying the folder:

$HOME/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes

but when I copied that one to a new Mac, the notes didn't show up when running Notes.app.

edited Nov 20 at 10:07

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

asked Nov 20 at 9:41

Harpe

434

I tried copying the folder:

$HOME/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes

but when I copied that one to a new Mac, the notes didn't show up when running Notes.app.

backup notes.app

edited Nov 20 at 10:07

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

asked Nov 20 at 9:41

Harpe

434

edited Nov 20 at 10:07

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

asked Nov 20 at 9:41

Harpe

434

edited Nov 20 at 10:07

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

edited Nov 20 at 10:07

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

edited Nov 20 at 10:07

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

asked Nov 20 at 9:41

Harpe

434

asked Nov 20 at 9:41

Harpe

434

asked Nov 20 at 9:41

Harpe

434

add a comment |

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

up vote
6
down vote

accepted

You may have copied the wrong directory, depending on your operating system.

Newer operating systems (I believe El Capitan and above, but certainly Sierra and above) use this folder:
~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.notes/

Without iCloud there should be no issue with disappearing notes, which you would have to work around, if you were signed into iCloud Notes.

edited Nov 20 at 16:32

answered Nov 20 at 12:58

Redarm

1,6591717

Thank you, i copied this folder and the other one and all my notes including attachments were restored on the other MacBook.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 13:07

add a comment |

up vote
0
down vote

Apple's official recommendation to backup notes is to save them in a text/document file or export as PDF. From the Apple support article, Archive or make copies of the information you store in iCloud - Notes and Voice Memos

Notes and Voice Memos

Make a copy of a note on your Mac or at iCloud.com:

Open the Notes app and select the note that you want.

Copy and paste the text into a document on your computer, such as a Pages or TextEdit document.

Save the document to your computer.

You can also export a note. Just select the note, click File > Export as PDF, and choose a location.

The approach is a bit clumsy and doesn't let you backup all the various notes in one go.

answered Nov 20 at 10:10

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

Thanks for the answer, but the problem with this approach is that you cannot restore the backups easily. I'm looking for a way to backup and restore notes, in case the original notes get lost.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:20

Alternatively, if there is another note taking app that allows easier local backups with restore, and where I can easily import my current notes including nested folders of notes, that would also be very helpful.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:21

@Harpe You can find a plethora of note taking apps which do not backup to iCloud. Try doing a Web search.
– Nimesh Neema
Nov 20 at 10:22

Thanks I did, but I was hoping for a recommendation, especially wrt to importing existing notes. I'll add a comment if I find a good one.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:38

There is a 3rd party app named Note2txt which exports all your notes to a text file. Each note generates a separate file. i backup my notes by using this and exporting files to a folder with the date in the name. like notes_11202018
– jmh
Nov 20 at 14:31

|
show 1 more comment

Your Answer

StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "118"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);

else
createEditor();

);

function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);

);

draft saved

draft discarded

StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fapple.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f343221%2fcreate-local-backup-of-notes-in-notes-app-on-macos%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest

Name

Required, but never shown

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

up vote
6
down vote

accepted

You may have copied the wrong directory, depending on your operating system.

Newer operating systems (I believe El Capitan and above, but certainly Sierra and above) use this folder:
~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.notes/

Without iCloud there should be no issue with disappearing notes, which you would have to work around, if you were signed into iCloud Notes.

edited Nov 20 at 16:32

answered Nov 20 at 12:58

Redarm

1,6591717

Thank you, i copied this folder and the other one and all my notes including attachments were restored on the other MacBook.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 13:07

add a comment |

up vote
6
down vote

accepted

You may have copied the wrong directory, depending on your operating system.

Newer operating systems (I believe El Capitan and above, but certainly Sierra and above) use this folder:
~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.notes/

Without iCloud there should be no issue with disappearing notes, which you would have to work around, if you were signed into iCloud Notes.

edited Nov 20 at 16:32

answered Nov 20 at 12:58

Redarm

1,6591717

Thank you, i copied this folder and the other one and all my notes including attachments were restored on the other MacBook.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 13:07

add a comment |

up vote
6
down vote

accepted

You may have copied the wrong directory, depending on your operating system.

Newer operating systems (I believe El Capitan and above, but certainly Sierra and above) use this folder:
~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.notes/

Without iCloud there should be no issue with disappearing notes, which you would have to work around, if you were signed into iCloud Notes.

edited Nov 20 at 16:32

answered Nov 20 at 12:58

Redarm

1,6591717

You may have copied the wrong directory, depending on your operating system.

Newer operating systems (I believe El Capitan and above, but certainly Sierra and above) use this folder:
~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.notes/

Without iCloud there should be no issue with disappearing notes, which you would have to work around, if you were signed into iCloud Notes.

edited Nov 20 at 16:32

answered Nov 20 at 12:58

Redarm

1,6591717

edited Nov 20 at 16:32

answered Nov 20 at 12:58

Redarm

1,6591717

answered Nov 20 at 12:58

Redarm

1,6591717

answered Nov 20 at 12:58

Redarm

1,6591717

Thank you, i copied this folder and the other one and all my notes including attachments were restored on the other MacBook.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 13:07

add a comment |

Thank you, i copied this folder and the other one and all my notes including attachments were restored on the other MacBook.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 13:07

Thank you, i copied this folder and the other one and all my notes including attachments were restored on the other MacBook.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 13:07

add a comment |

up vote
0
down vote

Notes and Voice Memos

Make a copy of a note on your Mac or at iCloud.com:

Open the Notes app and select the note that you want.

Copy and paste the text into a document on your computer, such as a Pages or TextEdit document.

Save the document to your computer.

You can also export a note. Just select the note, click File > Export as PDF, and choose a location.

The approach is a bit clumsy and doesn't let you backup all the various notes in one go.

answered Nov 20 at 10:10

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

Thanks for the answer, but the problem with this approach is that you cannot restore the backups easily. I'm looking for a way to backup and restore notes, in case the original notes get lost.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:20

Alternatively, if there is another note taking app that allows easier local backups with restore, and where I can easily import my current notes including nested folders of notes, that would also be very helpful.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:21

@Harpe You can find a plethora of note taking apps which do not backup to iCloud. Try doing a Web search.
– Nimesh Neema
Nov 20 at 10:22

Thanks I did, but I was hoping for a recommendation, especially wrt to importing existing notes. I'll add a comment if I find a good one.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:38

There is a 3rd party app named Note2txt which exports all your notes to a text file. Each note generates a separate file. i backup my notes by using this and exporting files to a folder with the date in the name. like notes_11202018
– jmh
Nov 20 at 14:31

|
show 1 more comment

up vote
0
down vote

Notes and Voice Memos

Make a copy of a note on your Mac or at iCloud.com:

Open the Notes app and select the note that you want.

Copy and paste the text into a document on your computer, such as a Pages or TextEdit document.

Save the document to your computer.

You can also export a note. Just select the note, click File > Export as PDF, and choose a location.

The approach is a bit clumsy and doesn't let you backup all the various notes in one go.

answered Nov 20 at 10:10

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

Thanks for the answer, but the problem with this approach is that you cannot restore the backups easily. I'm looking for a way to backup and restore notes, in case the original notes get lost.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:20

Alternatively, if there is another note taking app that allows easier local backups with restore, and where I can easily import my current notes including nested folders of notes, that would also be very helpful.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:21

@Harpe You can find a plethora of note taking apps which do not backup to iCloud. Try doing a Web search.
– Nimesh Neema
Nov 20 at 10:22

Thanks I did, but I was hoping for a recommendation, especially wrt to importing existing notes. I'll add a comment if I find a good one.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:38

There is a 3rd party app named Note2txt which exports all your notes to a text file. Each note generates a separate file. i backup my notes by using this and exporting files to a folder with the date in the name. like notes_11202018
– jmh
Nov 20 at 14:31

|
show 1 more comment

up vote
0
down vote

Notes and Voice Memos

Make a copy of a note on your Mac or at iCloud.com:

Open the Notes app and select the note that you want.

Copy and paste the text into a document on your computer, such as a Pages or TextEdit document.

Save the document to your computer.

You can also export a note. Just select the note, click File > Export as PDF, and choose a location.

The approach is a bit clumsy and doesn't let you backup all the various notes in one go.

answered Nov 20 at 10:10

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

Notes and Voice Memos

Make a copy of a note on your Mac or at iCloud.com:

Open the Notes app and select the note that you want.

Copy and paste the text into a document on your computer, such as a Pages or TextEdit document.

Save the document to your computer.

You can also export a note. Just select the note, click File > Export as PDF, and choose a location.

The approach is a bit clumsy and doesn't let you backup all the various notes in one go.

answered Nov 20 at 10:10

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

answered Nov 20 at 10:10

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

answered Nov 20 at 10:10

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

answered Nov 20 at 10:10

Nimesh Neema

12.5k43366

Thanks for the answer, but the problem with this approach is that you cannot restore the backups easily. I'm looking for a way to backup and restore notes, in case the original notes get lost.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:20

Alternatively, if there is another note taking app that allows easier local backups with restore, and where I can easily import my current notes including nested folders of notes, that would also be very helpful.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:21

@Harpe You can find a plethora of note taking apps which do not backup to iCloud. Try doing a Web search.
– Nimesh Neema
Nov 20 at 10:22

Thanks I did, but I was hoping for a recommendation, especially wrt to importing existing notes. I'll add a comment if I find a good one.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:38

There is a 3rd party app named Note2txt which exports all your notes to a text file. Each note generates a separate file. i backup my notes by using this and exporting files to a folder with the date in the name. like notes_11202018
– jmh
Nov 20 at 14:31

|
show 1 more comment

Thanks for the answer, but the problem with this approach is that you cannot restore the backups easily. I'm looking for a way to backup and restore notes, in case the original notes get lost.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:20

Alternatively, if there is another note taking app that allows easier local backups with restore, and where I can easily import my current notes including nested folders of notes, that would also be very helpful.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:21

@Harpe You can find a plethora of note taking apps which do not backup to iCloud. Try doing a Web search.
– Nimesh Neema
Nov 20 at 10:22

Thanks I did, but I was hoping for a recommendation, especially wrt to importing existing notes. I'll add a comment if I find a good one.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:38

There is a 3rd party app named Note2txt which exports all your notes to a text file. Each note generates a separate file. i backup my notes by using this and exporting files to a folder with the date in the name. like notes_11202018
– jmh
Nov 20 at 14:31

Thanks for the answer, but the problem with this approach is that you cannot restore the backups easily. I'm looking for a way to backup and restore notes, in case the original notes get lost.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:20

Alternatively, if there is another note taking app that allows easier local backups with restore, and where I can easily import my current notes including nested folders of notes, that would also be very helpful.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:21

@Harpe You can find a plethora of note taking apps which do not backup to iCloud. Try doing a Web search.
– Nimesh Neema
Nov 20 at 10:22

Thanks I did, but I was hoping for a recommendation, especially wrt to importing existing notes. I'll add a comment if I find a good one.
– Harpe
Nov 20 at 10:38

There is a 3rd party app named Note2txt which exports all your notes to a text file. Each note generates a separate file. i backup my notes by using this and exporting files to a folder with the date in the name. like notes_11202018
– jmh
Nov 20 at 14:31

|
show 1 more comment

draft saved

draft discarded

draft saved

draft discarded

Post as a guest

Name

Required, but never shown

Name

Required, but never shown

Name

Required, but never shown

搜尋此網誌

mjhjmtu