Taking your notes with you: from Evernote, OneNote and Apple Notes to Joplin

Evernote, OneNote and Apple Notes keep your notes trapped in their own format. Joplin 3.1.3 (desktop) and 3.1.3 (CLI) set them free, but each source requires a different route — and with Apple Notes, you have to build a workaround yourself.

Requirements

• Joplin desktop or CLI, version 3.1.3 or newer
• Access to your old note app, including export rights
• For OneNote: a Microsoft account with OneDrive
• For Apple Notes: a Mac with macOS 12 or newer
• Disk space for the export files; count on twice the size of your note archive

Evernote to Joplin: ENEX is the key

Evernote exports to ENEX (Evernote XML), a format that Joplin reads completely. The file contains text, metadata such as creation and modification dates, author, geolocation, tags and attachments. That metadata is preserved during import — your timeline survives the move.

Step 1: Export from Evernote

Open Evernote, select the notebook or notes you want to take along, and choose File > Export. Choose the ENEX format. Evernote Desktop 10.x writes one .enex file per export.

Step 2: Import into Joplin

Open Joplin desktop and go to File > Import > ENEX. Select the file. Joplin creates a new notebook with all imported notes — your existing structure remains untouched.

Via the CLI it goes faster if you work on a headless server:

joplin import /path/to/file.enex

The CLI version asks for synchronization after import if you have set it up. Do that only after you have checked the import.

OneNote to Joplin: via ZIP and OneDrive

OneNote is more cumbersome. Joplin does not import local .one files; it expects a ZIP archive of a notebook stored in OneDrive. That means an intermediate step via Microsoft's cloud, whether you like it or not.

Step 3: Export via OneNote Web

Open OneNote in the browser, go to Show all notebooks and choose the notebook you want to export. Download the folder via OneDrive as a ZIP file. OneNote Web 2024 exports the full notebook structure with sections and pages.

Step 4: Import the ZIP into Joplin

In Joplin, go to File > Import > ZIP - OneNote Notebook and select the downloaded file. Joplin parses the archive and preserves the layout of sections and pages as best as possible.

If you only have local OneNote files, first sync them with OneDrive via the OneNote desktop app on Windows or macOS. Only then can you do the web export. It is a one-time workaround, but without a Microsoft account you will not get through it.

Apple Notes to Joplin: no direct route, but a workaround

Joplin has no import function for Apple Notes. Apple does not offer an export format that Joplin reads directly, and the Notes database is not open to third parties. So you have to extract what is in it via a script.

Step 5: Export Apple Notes with a script

On macOS, you can use Automator or Shortcuts to build a workflow that pulls your notes from the Notes database and writes them out as Markdown or HTML files. Various AppleScripts circulate that do this; the quality varies. A good script saves each note as a separate file in a folder, with attachments alongside it.

You have to give the script permission to access the Notes database. You do that in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation. Without that permission, the script stops at the first note.

Step 6: Import the Markdown files

If you have a folder full of Markdown files, import them into Joplin via File > Import > Markdown. The folder structure is largely preserved, depending on how you set up the import. Attachments that sit alongside the Markdown files are recognized if the internal links are formatted correctly.

This requires technical skill. If you are not familiar with scripts and macOS automation, this is the point where you will spend an afternoon. The other two routes are considerably simpler.

What happens to attachments?

With Evernote and OneNote, attachments are taken along automatically. Joplin stores them in the attachment folder of your profile and links them to the correct note. Photos, PDFs and screenshots survive the switch without manual work.

With Apple Notes, it depends on your script. A good script saves images as separate files next to the Markdown or HTML note. A bad script leaves them behind in the database. So test first with a few notes before you run your entire archive through.

Setting up synchronization

Once your notes are in Joplin, you want them on all your devices. Joplin syncs via Nextcloud, WebDAV, Dropbox or a local folder. For Linux users who run their own infrastructure, Nextcloud is the obvious choice.

Step 7: Configure synchronization

In Joplin, go to Tools > Options > Synchronization, choose WebDAV as the method and fill in your Nextcloud details:

https://yourdomain.nl/remote.php/dav/files/username/Joplin/

Enable the synchronization folder if it does not exist yet, or let Joplin create it. The first sync can take a while if you have many notes — Joplin encrypts and uploads everything.

A local folder on a USB drive or shared network folder also works. That is less automatic, but you stay entirely within your own network.

What is not carried over?

Not everything survives the transition. Advanced OneNote formatting such as free-form note areas and handwritten text is lost during ZIP import. Embedded objects like Excel tables or audio recordings in Evernote may not be rendered perfectly.

Notes with password protection or encrypted sections come in as plain text. Joplin itself has a feature for encrypted notes, but you have to activate it manually after the import. Do that before you cancel your old account, not after.

Verification

After the import, check whether your notes are complete:

joplin ls /path/to/imported/notebook

Count the number of notes in Joplin and compare it with the number in your old app. Spot-check: open a few old notes and verify that dates, tags, and attachments are correct. Evernote metadata should be intact; with OneNote and Apple Notes, it can vary.

Common problems

Import fails with large ENEX files. Evernote exports notebooks above a certain size in multiple files. Export per notebook instead of everything at once.

OneNote ZIP is not recognized. The ZIP must contain the notebook structure as created by OneNote Web. A manually created ZIP of a local folder will not work.

Apple Notes script stops without a message. Check the privacy settings in macOS. Without automation permission, the script stops at the first note that is protected.

The transition to Joplin is a matter of an hour for Evernote and OneNote users. For Apple Notes users, it is an afternoon of work, and even then the result depends on the quality of your script. But once your notes are in Joplin, they are free — and that is exactly why you take this detour.