Where are Notes Stored on Mac 2023? Ways to Find Local & iCloud Notes

Are you looking for a Notes location in Mac? We’ll show you how to access the locally Stored Notes as well as the Notes Stored in the iCloud on any Mac, MacBook. Basically, the local Notes that you’ve created in the Mac and cached Notes located in the iCloud are stored in the Finder, inside the Group Containers. Depending on users, Notes might have Media files, Texts, Drawings, and various Graphics; all of these data are stored in different files. The simplest way to access the Notes is by opening the Notes App and navigating through different notes in the system.

However, accessing the raw Notes files can be useful in different ways like recovering the Notes, taking backup of notes, transferring notes to other Mac, and more. We’ve listed both locations for Notes stored on iCloud and Local storage, know where are notes stored on M1 Mac?

Where Are All Notes Stored in Mac?

Notes Stored in Mac

Follow the steps to know where Notes are stored on Mac Monterey and other versions.

1. Open Finder in your Mac.
2. Click on the Go in the top menu bar.
3. Select Go To Folder…Enter the following path into the search bar,
4. ~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.notes/
5. Once the path opens, you’ll see a winodws pan with various Notes Files stored locally on the Mac along with the Notes of iCloud, which are caches on Mac storage.
6. The Notes on Mac are stored in different files, like “NoteStore.sqlite” named file stores all the text data, while the media that you’ve added in the Notes are located in the “Media,” “FallbackImages,” and “Previews” files. 

Where are the iCloud Notes Stored in Mac?

Mac stores iCloud Notes in a different location, if you don’t find them in the above location, then try out this.

1. Launch Finder.
2. In the top menu bar, click on Go.
3. Select Go To Folder…
4. Enter the following path,
5. ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes/Data/CloudKit/
6. ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes/Data/Library/Notes/

It’s an important thing to remember that the password-protected Notes will still need the password to access even in SQL file format. Moreover, the data stored in the NoteStore.sqlite needs an SQL query to extract that can be run in the command line or any other third-party SQL Lite application.

Enable iCloud Note on Mac Notes App

Mac users can Sync Notes automatically with the iCloud account, If you enabled iCloud Notes from Mac System Preferences then the Mac Notes app will see all iCloud notes [Locked and unlocked notes]. Follow the below steps for enabling Mac Notes from the iCloud account.

• On MacOS Ventura

1. Go to the Apple Logo from the top menu > System Settings.
2. Select your Profile name > iCloud.
3. Enable “Notes” Checkbox and Start syncing iCloud Notes to mac and Other devices.
4. Wait for a Few Seconds or minutes, If still not showing then Force close the notes app or Try to restart your Mac.
5. Open the notes app on Mac, See iCloud Notes under the iCloud section.

• On MacOS Monterey & Earlier

1. Click on the Apple logo From the top mac menu > System Preferences.
2. Click on Apple ID > Select iCloud from the sidebar.
3. Enable Checkbox “Notes” > and Sync with Mac Notes app on Mac.
4. That’s it. Open Notes app on Mac and see Notes under iCoud on Sidebar.

it might take some time to Download icloud notes to Mac and Appear on Mac Notes app.

View and Edit Apple Notes on Windows PC or laptop Via Browser

Access iPhone/Mac Notes to Windows PC is possible Via Browser. the iCloud account is accessible on any Browser so, this trick is really helpful when your Notes app on Mac or iPhone won’t open or Crashing. All Notes are updated from Mac and iPhone Notes app because syncing is Enabled in Backgroud to your iCloud account. Follow the steps for how to get apple notes on windows

1. Go to the icloud.com and login with your apple id and password.
2. Now, see the Notes > Here’s all Notes of your Apple Device. Access Locked and unlocked Notes just like same in Mac and iPhone.
3. That’s it.

How to Export Notes on Mac

Compare to earlier, the Notes App for Mac has been much more improved and easy to access interface on Mac. You can add texts, images, etc., in the Notes App. However, with all these advantages, Notes App is still lagging; one of the most common features that should be available as default is exporting Notes into Text, HTML, or any other format.

Currently, Notes can only be exported into PDF format from the Mac Notes App. Though, you can tweak the PDF format into any form by using online tools.

1. Launch the Notes App.
2. Choose the Note that you wish to export as a PDF.
3. Select the File option in the top menu bar.
4. Select Export as PDF.
5. Choose the Preferred Location where you want to save exported Notes PDF.

How to Backup Mac Notes

When it comes to Mac, plenty of backup alternatives are available; the most popular is the Time Machine and iCloud, Apple’s default backup solution. With Time Machine and iCloud, users across the world are managing and organizing the Mac Data in one place.

Let’s see how to backup Mac Notes in two ways:

Using Time Machine:

1. Connect an external hard drive to the Mac.
2. Make sure there’s enough space in the hard drive, or you format the Hard Drive.
3. Launch the Time Machine App on your Mac. [Apple Logo from top Mac Menu > System Preferences > Time Machine]
4. Now Mac will let you choose the destination location where you want to backup Notes, choose the external hard drive.
5. Next, turn on the Time Machine. Let the Mac backup all of your data to the external hard drive, including the Notes.
6. When the backup is completed, Mac will notify you.

Using iCloud Drive:

1. Connect Mac to stable Wi-Fi.
2. Click on the Apple menu from top. Select System Preferences.
3. Locate Apple ID and click on iCloud from left side of window.
4. Select Checkbox for Notes, If ask: Verify With Apple ID and Password, sign in to your iCloud.
5. Now we can move Mac notes to iCloud Notes. Expand “On My Mac” Section, See Locally Saved Notes on Mac, Right Click on Note > Move To > iCloud > Choose iCloud Drive folder and Move.
   • Now, Your Mac Note is Removed from lock storage and Save in iCloud note that’s accessible on all Other apple devices that are signed in with the same Apple ID. There you will find the Back Up Now button; click on it to initiate a backup.

How to Backup Mac Notes to External Hard Drive

By using Apple’s own backup tools, Time Machine and iCloud, you can backup the Mac. To be precise, if you want to backup Mac notes to an external drive, you’ll need to use the Time Machine. Refer to the above section to learn how to backup Mac notes to an external drive.

How to Backup Notes on Mac to OneDrive

Backing up the Mac Notes to OneDrive is pretty awkward when compared to Time Machine or iCloud. Here you’ll have to use Terminal to sync the documents and files with OneDrive. It’s a one-time setup; once you’ve successfully done it, the files and documents will automatically sync between OneDrive and Mac.

1. Launch Terminal; press command+space and search Terminal.
2. Copy and paste the following command:

ln -s /Users/username/Desktop /Users/username/”OneDrive – Company”/MBP

• Replace the username string with your Mac username.
• Once the Symbolic Link is generated, you’ll start finding the files in the OneDrive.

How to Backup Notes on Mac to Google Drive

Mac Notes can be synced with multiple applications, including Gmail. Particularly, there is no way to back up the Mac Notes to Google Drive, though you can sync the Mac Notes to the Google Account. You’ll find a separate NOTES folder in the same list where Inbox Drafts options are located.

1. Go to the Notes App in your Mac.
2. Click Notes in the top menu bar.
3. Click the Accounts option.
4. Select Google.
5. Enter the Google Account ID and Password.
6. From the list of applications, choose Notes. and Done.
7. Now, Gmail Notes are Accesible from left side of the notes app, We can move Mac Notes or iCloud Notes to Gmail Notes. Right Click on Note > Move To > Gmail > Select Folder to Move.
8. That’s it.

Mac Notes Backup Location

It’s good to keep track of all the files and documents that matter the most. Mac Notes Location is different for Local Notes and iCloud Notes, but both can be accessed from your Mac itself within a minute. Do remember the Notes Location because it can be helpful when you want to move the Notes to another PC, recover the Notes, etc.

• Mac Notes are locally stored on: ~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.notes/
• iCloud Notes Location: ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes/

Backup Apple Notes without iCloud

Time Machine is an ultimate alternative to backup Apple Notes without iCloud. With the help of Time Machine, you can backup the Mac Notes to an external hard drive without any hiccup and move it to another PC. We’ve already covered detailed steps on how to backup Apple Notes using Time Machine in the above section.

That’s all tricks is really helpful to use notes and Trouble with won’t access or lost your Device, Want to Recover all Notes on another device.