---
title: "Where are Apple Notes stored on Mac? Finding and exporting them · Locus"
description: "Apple Notes lives in a database at ~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.notes — not in files you can read. Where your notes actually are, how to keep them local, and how to get them out."
url: https://locusnotes.app/where-are-apple-notes-stored
---

# Where are Apple Notes stored on your Mac?

The short answer: in a database, not in files. Here’s exactly where it lives, what’s actually inside it, how to keep notes purely local, and how to get your writing out in a form you can keep.

## The actual location

On any recent version of macOS, everything Apple Notes knows lives under `~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.notes/` — chiefly a SQLite database called `NoteStore.sqlite`, with attachments in folders beside it. You can look at it in Finder (Go → Go to Folder, paste the path), but don’t expect to read anything: the text of each note is stored as compressed binary data inside the database, and locked notes are encrypted on top of that. Your notes are in there — they’re just not _yours to open_ with anything except Apple Notes.

This surprises people, so it’s worth saying plainly: even notes that sync to iCloud keep a full local copy in that same database — that’s why Notes works on a plane. The question isn’t whether your notes are on your Mac; it’s whether they’re _only_ on your Mac, and whether you can do anything with them outside one app.

## Keeping notes purely local

Notes has a hidden local-only mode: in Notes → Settings, enable the **“On My Mac” account**. Notes created there never touch iCloud. Existing iCloud notes can be dragged into an On My Mac folder to pull them local — do that folder by folder and you’ve effectively opted out of the cloud while keeping the app. The trade: no sync to your phone, and your notes are still in the unreadable database, now with fewer copies.

Whatever app your notes live in, turn on FileVault (System Settings → Privacy & Security). It encrypts the whole disk — including that Notes database — and it’s the layer doing the real work if your Mac is ever lost.

## Getting notes out

Apple’s built-in exit is narrow: File → Export as PDF, one note at a time, formatting flattened. For a real migration, the free Mac App Store utility **Exporter** reads the Notes database and writes plain Markdown files — imperfect with heavy attachments, but it gets your words into a format every editor on earth can open. Locked notes can’t be exported by anything until you unlock them.

If the exercise of extracting your own writing from a database feels backwards, that instinct is the whole idea behind [local-first notes](https://locusnotes.app/local-first-notes) — apps that keep your notes on your own machine and hand them back whenever you ask. Locus keeps its workspace in a local database too, but the whole thing exports to Markdown in one step, and our [Apple Notes comparison](https://locusnotes.app/apple-notes-alternative) is honest about what Notes still does better — quick capture, iPhone sync — alongside what Locus buys you: version history you can restore one page at a time, Markdown export, and no account anywhere.

## Questions people ask

**Can Apple Notes be saved locally?**

Yes. In Notes settings, enable the "On My Mac" account — notes you create there never sync to iCloud and exist only on your machine. Notes already in iCloud stay in iCloud until you move them; drag them into an On My Mac folder to bring them fully local. The storage format is the same database either way — local just means no copy on Apple’s servers.

**Are notes on a Mac automatically saved?**

Yes — there is no save button and no unsaved state; edits are written to the local database as you type, and (for iCloud notes) synced when a connection exists. The flip side of automatic saving is automatic overwriting: an edit replaces the old text with no version history, which is worth knowing before you reorganize something important.

**What happened to all my notes on my Mac?**

Usually one of three things, in order of likelihood: you’re signed into a different Apple ID than the notes live in; iCloud sync for Notes got toggled off, hiding the iCloud account’s notes; or the notes were deleted and are waiting in Recently Deleted, which keeps them for about 30 days. Check the account list in Notes’ sidebar first — ‘missing’ notes are usually just an account view problem.

**Does Time Machine back up Apple Notes?**

It backs up the database file, which is better than nothing but clumsier than it sounds: you can’t restore one note, only the whole store, and restoring it over a newer database can lose recent edits. If your backup plan is ‘Time Machine has it,’ test that assumption before you need it.

**Can you use the Apple Notes app offline?**

Yes — Apple Notes works offline with whatever iCloud has already delivered to the Mac, and edits sync when the connection returns. The subtlety is that iCloud remains the source of truth: a brand-new device shows nothing until it syncs, and ‘On My Mac’ notes (the local-only mode) are the exception you must enable, not the default.

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