Move from Notion to Obsidian

The chain

1. 01

   Choose a route

   Use the API route if your databases matter. Use the HTML zip route to bring a whole workspace over in one go. Keep the cleaner as the fallback. Use it when you already have a Markdown & CSV export, the Importer fails or freezes, or you want plain Markdown files without the plugin.

   You get: One route picked, so you only export once.

   Notion to Obsidian: which route to use
2. 02

   API route

   In Notion, open the Connections dashboard (app.notion.com/developers/connections), click New connection, name it, set authentication to Access token and Installable in to your workspace, and click Create connection. On the Configuration tab, click Show and copy the token (it starts with ntn_), and save it in a password manager. On the Content access tab, add the pages and databases to import. In Obsidian, install the Importer from Community plugins, set File format to Notion (API), click Link... under API token, click Load to pick pages, and click Import twice.

   You get: Pages in your vault, with databases and formulas converted to Bases.

   API route steps and limits
3. 03

   HTML zip route

   In Notion, go to Settings, then General under Workspace, then Export all workspace content. Pick HTML, Include everything, and turn on Create folders for subpages. In Obsidian's Importer, set File format to Notion (.zip), choose the zip, turn on Save parent pages in subfolders, and click Import twice. Import all of your Notion at once so internal links line up.

   You get: The whole workspace in your vault from one export.

   HTML zip route steps
4. 04

   If the import fails

   If you see "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 during the import, disable community plugins and try again.

   You get: A large export that imports instead of stalling.

   Fix a Notion export that won't finish or import
5. 05

   Fallback: clean a Markdown export

   Export as Markdown & CSV with Include subpages on. Open the Notion to Markdown tool, switch to Clean export (.zip), turn on Obsidian [[wiki links]], and drop the zip in. Unzip the result into your vault folder.

   You get: Plain Markdown files with page-title names and [[wiki links]] that resolve in Obsidian.

   Open Notion to Markdown (Export Cleaner)Remove the IDs from Notion file names
6. 06

   Check the vault

   Open a few pages and click the links between them. Check that images and attachments landed in the folder you expect. Open one database folder and its .base file. Expect comments to be missing, since the Importer does not carry them over.

   You get: A vault you have spot-checked before you cancel Notion.

The prompt for the thinking step

I just moved my Notion workspace into an Obsidian vault. Here is the vault's folder tree:

<tree>
[PASTE THE FOLDER TREE HERE]
</tree>

I used this route: [API route / HTML zip route / cleaned Markdown export].

Return a short checklist of the pages and folders I should open by hand, with one line each on what to check.

Rules:
1. Pick at most 10 items. Favor pages with many subpages, database folders with a .base file, and folders full of attachments.
2. Flag file names that still end in a 32-character hex ID. Those links may be broken.
3. Flag attachments that sit in the vault root instead of next to their pages.
4. Remind me that comments are not imported, so I should copy any I need from Notion first.
5. Do not invent files that are not in the tree.

Questions people ask

More tools for “Move your content out of Notion”

Export the workspace, clean the zip, and land the pages in the app you are moving to.