What comes across
Upload the .zip Notion exports in the "Markdown & CSV" format. Every non-empty .md file becomes a page and every .csv a table, at any depth.
| In the export | In the Markdown |
|---|---|
Project plan 0f1e…e1f0.md |
A page titled "Project plan", id taken off |
The page's own # Project plan |
One title heading, not two |
| A folder of subpages | A folder of the same name, parent page first |
A database, Tasks 9f8e…b1a0.csv |
A table under "Tasks", first row as the header |
| A picture in the page's folder | Embedded in the page |
Headings, lists, to-dos, quotes, code, emphasis, links to websites and HTML such as an <aside> block stay as Notion wrote them. In a database table, a line break in a cell becomes <br>.
By default the export becomes A folder of pages, one document per page in the export's folders. One document, below the drop area, gives a single file instead: a Contents list, then every page under its heading, between horizontal rules, databases last.
A picture is found by its relative path, then by its file name anywhere in the archive, and written into the page as a data: address.
What is left behind
- Where links between pages point. Notion links pages by their exported file names, which no document here has. A link keeps its words and drops its address, in both modes; so does a link to a database's
.csv. - The ids, from titles and folder names. When everything sits inside Notion's
Export-…folder, the import's folder takes your .zip's name. - Other files. PDFs and other attachments are not read, and a .zip inside the .zip is not opened.
- Pictures over the allowance, which keep their old address instead of being embedded.
An example
A Notion export holds a page called Project plan and, in its folder, a picture, a Tasks database and a subpage called Meeting notes with a short list. The page's Markdown reads:
# Project plan
Launch is planned for **March**. Notes from the kick-off are in [Meeting notes](Project%20plan%200f1e2d3c4b5a69788796a5b4c3d2e1f0/Meeting%20notes%20a1b2c3d4e5f60718293a4b5c6d7e8f90.md); wording follows the [style guide](https://example.com/style).
With One document chosen, the export becomes this (the picture's base64 shortened):
# Contents
- Project plan
- Meeting notes
- Tasks
---
# Project plan
Launch is planned for **March**. Notes from the kick-off are in Meeting notes; wording follows the [style guide](https://example.com/style).
---
# Meeting notes
- Scope agreed
- [ ] Book the room
---
# Tasks
| Name | Status | Owner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Draft brief | Done | Ana |
| Review, round 2 | In progress | Tom |As A folder of pages, the import holds a folder Project plan with three documents, in this order: Project plan, Meeting notes, Tasks.
Limits
- 250 MB per .zip, read in your browser. Signed out, nothing is uploaded; signed in, nothing reaches your account until you save it.
- Pictures share an allowance: 2 MB encoded in one document, about 4 MB less the text per page of a folder, 1 MB (about 750 KB on disk) each. A PNG, JPEG, WebP or BMP over 120 KB is first redrawn, at most 1,600 pixels on its long side, and kept if that makes it smaller.
- 4 MB per saved document. A larger page is named and left out when the folder is saved; a larger single document can still be downloaded.
- Order by path: alphabetical, with "Page 2" before "Page 10".
Questions
How do I convert Notion to Markdown?
Export the page or workspace from Notion with "Markdown & CSV" as the format and upload the .zip here. Pages arrive under their titles, databases as tables.
What are the 32-character codes in the exported file names?
Each is a page's id in Notion, added to its file and folder names and used in every link to it. The conversion removes them; how to open an export .zip explains why renaming files by hand breaks links.
Should I turn on "Include subpages" when exporting?
Yes, if you want the pages under the one you export: only what is in the .zip is converted. With "Create folders for subpages" on too, a page with subpages becomes a folder, the page first.
Do links between pages still work?
No: their words stay and their addresses go. For separate files that still link to each other, converting a Notion export covers the rewrite that takes.
Is this the same as notion-to-md?
No. notion-to-md is a Node package that reads pages through Notion's API with an integration token; this page reads the exported .zip and never connects to your workspace.
Can I move a Notion export into Obsidian?
Partly. With A folder of pages, choose Download .zip, then For Obsidian: the same folders, one .md file per page, heading links in Obsidian's spelling. Links between pages arrive as plain words.