# Back up Apple Notes

A mirror that follows every edit, and dated copies that never change.

## Steps

1. Connect Apple Notes, choose an export folder like `~/Documents/notes` and press "sync now". This folder is the live mirror.
2. Turn on Settings > "launch at login", so the mirror keeps up after a restart.
3. For snapshots, install the command line: on the Command Line card press "copy install command" and paste it once in Terminal.
4. On the same card, press "add folder…" under "export destinations" and pick a backup folder, like `~/Backups`. A grant covers every folder below it.
5. Add a nightly snapshot with `crontab -e`. `exporter help cron` prints the line with the full path of the command on your Mac; use that, and write `%` as `\%`:

```sh
0 3 * * * exporter export --dest ~/Backups/notes-$(date +\%F)
```

## What you get

```text
~/Documents/notes/            the mirror, always current
~/Backups/notes-2026-09-10/   a snapshot
~/Backups/notes-2026-09-11/   the next night's
```

Each snapshot is a full export, one `.md` per note laid out like the card's tab, with its attachments and a record of the run in its own `.exporter/`. `export` runs fine while the app is open.

## Pitfalls

- The mirror is not an archive: a note you delete in Apple Notes is removed from it on the next sync. The dated snapshots keep it.
- Exporter cannot restore. It never writes into Apple Notes, so getting a note back means opening its file and copying the text into a new note.
- Locked notes are never exported, and on the free allowance a backup holds your first 100 notes. `exporter status` shows how many free notes are used.

Every flag of `export` is in [the command line reference](https://exporter.dev/docs/cli#export), and the files themselves in [the Apple Notes docs](https://exporter.dev/docs/notes).

## Related

- [Apple Notes](https://exporter.dev/docs/notes): Folders, fields, HTML and fixes
- [CLI](https://exporter.dev/docs/cli): Every command, flag and exit code
- [Apple Notes to Obsidian](https://exporter.dev/guides/notes/apple-notes-to-obsidian): A vault that follows Apple Notes

---

human version: https://exporter.dev/guides/notes/back-up-apple-notes
every page: https://exporter.dev/llms.txt