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Leaving Notion guide

Remove the Random Characters From Notion Export File Names

Why every file in a Notion export ends in a 32-character ID, and how to strip the IDs without breaking the links between pages.

Direct answer

The random characters are Notion page IDs. Each file and folder in a Markdown & CSV export gets a 32-character hex ID after its title, and the links between pages point at those exact names. Rename the files by hand and every link breaks. Upload the export zip to the Notion to Markdown tool in Clean export (.zip) mode instead. It strips the IDs and rewrites the links to match the new names in one pass.

Open the Notion export cleaner

When to use this

  • Your export is full of names like Roadmap 8a1b2c3d4e5f60718293a4b5c6d7e8f9.md.
  • You want to keep the pages as plain files in a folder, a repo, or a notes app.
  • You tried renaming files and the links between pages stopped working.

Steps

  1. In Notion, open the ••• menu at the top right of the page and pick Export. For the whole workspace, go to Settings, then General under Workspace, then Export all workspace content.
  2. Choose Markdown & CSV as the format and turn on Include subpages.
  3. Download the zip. Do not unzip it and rename files yet.
  4. Open the Notion to Markdown tool, switch to Clean export (.zip), and drop the zip in.
  5. Download the cleaned zip and open a few pages to check that the links between them work.

Example

Before
Projects 3f2a9c1e8b7d4a6f9e0c1b2a3d4e5f60/
  Roadmap 8a1b2c3d4e5f60718293a4b5c6d7e8f9.md

See [Roadmap](Projects%203f2a9c1e8b7d4a6f9e0c1b2a3d4e5f60/Roadmap%208a1b2c3d4e5f60718293a4b5c6d7e8f9.md)
After
Projects/
  Roadmap.md

See [Roadmap](Projects/Roadmap.md)

Common mistakes

  • Renaming files in Finder or File Explorer breaks every link that points at the old name. The links and the names have to change together.
  • Link targets in the export are percent-encoded, so a space shows up as %20. A find-and-replace on the plain page title misses them.
  • Two pages with the same title in one folder need different names once the IDs are gone. Check those pages after cleaning.

Tools for this job

FAQ

What are the random characters in Notion export file names?
They are Notion page IDs, 32 hex characters long. Notion adds one to every exported file and folder name, and the links inside the pages point at those ID'd paths.
Can I turn the IDs off in Notion's export settings?
Notion's export help page does not describe a setting for it. The dialog lets you pick the format, whether to include subpages, and whether to create folders for subpages.
Will links between pages still work after cleaning?
Links between pages that are both in the export are rewritten to the new names. Links to pages that were not in the export, such as other people's private pages, still point nowhere, because Notion leaves pages you can't access out of the export.
Are my files uploaded anywhere?
No. The cleaner runs in your browser and builds the new zip there. Your files are never uploaded.
Does this work with the HTML export?
Use the Markdown & CSV export. The Clean export (.zip) mode is built for that format.

Sources

Checked September 2026.

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