How to export all Apple Notes to Markdown, PDF or text

By Caner Kaya, Kayabyte · Last updated 17 October 2026

Maybe you’re moving to Obsidian or another app, you want a copy of your notes outside iCloud, or you’ve just lost some notes and don’t want it to happen again. Apple Notes has no single “export everything” button on most versions, but there are several free ways to get your notes out. Here they are, from simplest to most complete.

1. Export one note at a time from the Notes app

On a Mac:

1. Open the note.
2. Choose File, Export as PDF and save it.
3. On macOS 26 and later, the File menu also offers export as Markdown; look under File, Export.

On iPhone or iPad, open the note, tap the share or More button, and choose Print (then share the preview as PDF), Send a Copy, or on iOS 26 and later, the Markdown export if your version shows it.

This is fine for a few notes, but slow for hundreds.

2. Request a copy of your iCloud notes from Apple

Apple can send you a copy of the data in your Apple Account, including iCloud Notes.

1. Go to privacy.apple.com and sign in.
2. Choose Request a copy of your data.
3. Select iCloud Notes (and anything else you want), then continue.
4. Apple prepares the download, which can take several days, and emails you when it’s ready.

You get your notes as files, with attachments. It only covers notes in iCloud, not On My iPhone, On My Mac or mail accounts, and it shows notes as they are now: deleted notes aren’t included.

3. Use a free export app

Several Mac apps export all your notes at once to Markdown, HTML or text with folders kept, using permissions you grant. Search the Mac App Store for “notes export”. Many are free. Check what each keeps: attachments, folder structure, creation dates, and tables.

4. Use Shortcuts

The Shortcuts app on the Mac can find notes and save them as files. A shortcut that uses Find Notes (for all notes) and Save File for each one exports their text. It works best for text-only notes; attachments and formatting are mostly lost.

5. Print to PDF in batches

On a Mac you can select several notes in the list and choose File, Print, then PDF, Save as PDF. Depending on your macOS version, this makes one PDF for all selected notes. It keeps text and images, but not as separate files.

What gets lost in an export

• Locked notes must be unlocked first, or they’re skipped.
• Tables, sketches and handwriting often come out as plain text, images or not at all.
• Dates: many exports set the file date to the day of export. If dates matter, check that the tool writes the original date into the file or file name.
• Tags and links between notes are kept by some tools and lost by others.

Exporting notes you’ve lost

All the methods above only work on notes that are in Notes today. If you’re exporting because notes went missing, the missing ones must come from a backup.

NoteRescue, the Mac app we make, reads your Time Machine backups and iPhone backups, compares them with today’s Notes, and exports the notes you choose as Markdown, HTML, PDF or plain text, one file per note, with attachments in a folder and the original date in each file. It also works for notes that are still in Notes, as long as a backup has them. The scan is free.

To make sure you can always go back, keep Time Machine turned on: see Recover deleted Apple Notes after 30 days for why it matters.