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Leaving Notion guide

How to Move From Notion to Obsidian

Use Obsidian's Importer plugin with a Notion API token or an HTML export. Clean a Markdown export here only as the fallback.

Direct answer

Use Obsidian's Importer plugin; it does the cleanup for you. It strips the page IDs and rebuilds the links between pages. Pick the API route when your databases matter, because it turns them into Obsidian Bases. Pick the HTML zip route to bring a whole workspace over in one go. Use Clean export (.zip) here with [[wiki links]] only when you already have a Markdown & CSV export, the Importer fails or freezes on a big export, or you want plain Markdown files without the plugin.

Open the Notion export cleaner

When to use this

  • You are leaving Notion and want your notes in an Obsidian vault.
  • You need to choose between the API route and the HTML zip route.
  • The Importer failed on a big export, or you already have a Markdown & CSV export.

Steps

  1. Pick a route. API route if your databases matter. HTML zip route for a whole workspace in one go. Our cleaner only as the fallback in the last step.
  2. API route, in Notion: open the Notion Connections dashboard (app.notion.com/developers/connections) and click New connection. Name it, for example Personal. Set authentication to Access token and Installable in to your workspace, then click Create connection.
  3. API route, still in Notion: on the Configuration tab, click Show and copy the token. It starts with ntn_. Save it in a password manager. On the Content access tab, add the pages and databases you want to import.
  4. API route, in Obsidian: install the Importer plugin from Community plugins and open it. Set File format to Notion (API). Click Link... under API token to add the token as a secret. Click Load to pick databases and pages, review the options, and click Import twice.
  5. HTML zip route, in Notion: go to Settings, then General under Workspace, then Export all workspace content. Set Export format to HTML, pick Include everything, and turn on Create folders for subpages. The zip arrives by email or in the browser.
  6. HTML zip route, in Obsidian: open the Importer, set File format to Notion (.zip), and choose the zip. Import all of your Notion at once so internal links line up. Pick a destination folder if you want one, turn on Save parent pages in subfolders, and click Import twice.
  7. If the import fails with "Import failed {id}.zip/{id}-Part-1.zip undefined", unzip the Notion file and import the nested Export-{id}-Part-1.zip files instead. If Obsidian seems to freeze, disable community plugins and try again.
  8. Fallback: export as Markdown & CSV with Include subpages on. Open the Notion to Markdown tool, switch to Clean export (.zip), turn on Obsidian [[wiki links]], drop the zip in, and unzip the result into your vault.

Example

Before
Meeting notes 5c1d9e2f7a3b4c8d9e0f1a2b3c4d5e6f.md

Follow up in [Roadmap](Roadmap%208a1b2c3d4e5f60718293a4b5c6d7e8f9.md)
After
Meeting notes.md

Follow up in [[Roadmap]]

Common mistakes

  • The API route imports only the primary view of each database. Linked data sources are not imported.
  • A large workspace can take a long time on the API route, because Notion's API has rate limits.
  • Some formula functions can't convert. The People functions name() and email() and the Text functions style() and unstyle() are unavailable.
  • Comments are dropped. An open Importer issue reports that it does not carry them over.
  • Don't feed the Importer a Markdown export. Obsidian says to use HTML as the export format in Notion, not Markdown.

Tools for this job

FAQ

Do I need to clean up a Notion export before importing into Obsidian?
No, if you use the Importer. It strips the IDs and rebuilds the links itself. Yes, if you open a raw Markdown & CSV export as a vault. Every file and folder name carries a 32-character ID, and renaming files by hand breaks the links between pages. Clean export (.zip) renames the files and rewrites the links together.
Does Obsidian have an official Notion importer?
Yes. The Importer plugin handles Notion. It connects with a Notion API token or reads an HTML export zip. The plugin is MIT licensed, while the Obsidian app itself is closed source.
Why does Obsidian say not to use Notion's Markdown export?
Obsidian's help page says to use HTML as the export format in Notion, not Markdown, because the Markdown export omits important data. The cleaner here fixes names, links, and tables, but it can't recover data the export left out.
Where do my Notion databases end up in Obsidian?
Each database becomes a folder named after the database, with a .base file of the same name inside. The API route converts databases and formulas to Bases, with only the primary view of each database.
When should I use the cleaner instead of the Importer?
When you already have a Markdown & CSV export and don't want to export again, when the Importer fails or freezes on a big export, or when you want plain Markdown files without installing the plugin.
Is Obsidian free?
The app is free. As of September 2026, Sync costs $4 a month billed annually or $5 billed monthly, and a commercial license is optional.

Sources

Checked September 2026.

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