iCloud Notes Exporter: How to Export and Back Up iCloud Notes on Mac
Your notes live in iCloud, but Apple gives you no way to export them in bulk. Here is how to get all of them out, in the format you want.
Quick Answer
To export your iCloud notes, turn on Notes syncing in iCloud so your library appears in the Notes app on your Mac, then use Apple Notes Exporter Pro to export the iCloud account in bulk to PDF, Markdown, or HTML with attachments and folder structure preserved. iCloud.com itself has no export button, so exporting happens on the Mac where your notes are synced.
When people search for an iCloud notes exporter, they usually mean one thing: they have a pile of notes in their iCloud account and they want to get them out, as files they can keep, print, search, or move somewhere else. That sounds like it should be simple. It is not, because Apple never built an export feature for iCloud notes.
Go to iCloud.com, open Notes, and look for a way to download or export. There is not one. You can read your notes and edit them, but you cannot export them, and even copy and paste is restricted for anything with formatting. The web app is for viewing, not for getting your data out.
The good news is that your iCloud notes are not trapped. Because they sync to the Notes app on your Mac, you can export them from there. The native Notes app only exports one note at a time as a PDF, which is fine for a single note and painful for a hundred. A dedicated iCloud notes exporter like Apple Notes Exporter Pro reads the same synced notes and exports the whole library at once, in the format you choose, without uploading anything.
What a good iCloud notes exporter should handle
How to export your iCloud notes, step by step
1. Make sure your iCloud notes are syncing to your Mac
An iCloud notes exporter works with the copy of your notes that lives in the Notes app on your Mac, not the iCloud.com website. Open System Settings, click your name at the top, choose iCloud, then turn on Notes. Give it a minute and open the Notes app. Your iCloud notes appear under the iCloud account in the sidebar. Once they are visible there, they are ready to export.
2. Decide what you actually want out of the export
Pick a format that matches your goal. Choose PDF if you want a fixed, printable, shareable record. Choose Markdown if you plan to move the notes into Obsidian, Notion, or a knowledge base. Choose HTML if you want browsable files with images inline. A good exporter lets you pick one format for everything or export to several at once.
3. Open Apple Notes Exporter Pro and select your iCloud account
Launch Apple Notes Exporter Pro. It reads the notes already synced to your Mac, so your entire iCloud library shows up, folder by folder. Select the iCloud account, or drill down and tick only the folders you care about. There is nothing to log in to and nothing uploaded anywhere. The app reads your local, synced notes.
4. Turn on attachments and folder structure
Before you run the export, enable "Include attachments" so images, scanned documents, PDFs, and drawings come out alongside their notes. Enable "Preserve folder structure" so the exported files mirror the folders you use in Notes. This is the difference between a clean archive you can navigate and a pile of loose files.
5. Choose a destination and run the export
Point the export at a folder you can find easily, such as a new "iCloud Notes Backup" folder on your Desktop or an external drive. Start the export. Apple Notes Exporter Pro processes your notes in bulk, so hundreds or thousands of notes come out in a single pass rather than one at a time.
6. Verify the exported files
Open the destination folder and spot-check a few notes. Confirm that text, headings, lists, and checkboxes look right, that images sit next to the notes they belong to, and that your folder names carried over. Pay special attention to note types that Apple formats in its own way, such as tables and hand drawings, since those are the most likely to need a second look.
7. Set up a repeat backup (optional)
A one-time export is a snapshot. If your notes matter, schedule it. Apple Notes Exporter Pro can run scheduled auto-exports on a daily, weekly, or monthly cadence, so you always have a recent, readable copy of your iCloud notes outside of Apple, without remembering to do it by hand.
Common Questions
What is an iCloud notes exporter?
An iCloud notes exporter is a tool that saves the notes stored in your iCloud account as standalone files on your computer, such as PDF, Markdown, or HTML. Because iCloud notes sync to the Notes app on your Mac, the most reliable exporters read that local, synced copy and export it in bulk. Apple Notes Exporter Pro is one example, built specifically to export and back up iCloud notes on macOS.
Can I export notes directly from iCloud.com?
No. The Notes section of iCloud.com has no export or download button. You can only read and edit notes there, and even copy and paste is limited for formatted content. To export your iCloud notes, use the Notes app on a Mac, where those same notes are synced, together with a bulk exporter like Apple Notes Exporter Pro.
How do I export all my iCloud notes at once?
Turn on Notes syncing in iCloud so your full library appears in the Mac Notes app, then open Apple Notes Exporter Pro, select your iCloud account, enable attachments and folder structure, choose a format, and run the export. It processes every note in one pass. The native Notes app can only export one note at a time as a PDF, which is why a bulk exporter is the practical way to get everything.
How do I export iCloud notes to PDF?
For a single note, open it in the Mac Notes app and choose File, then Export as PDF. For many notes at once, use Apple Notes Exporter Pro, select PDF as the format, choose your iCloud folders, and export. You get one clean PDF per note, organized to match your Notes folders, instead of exporting them one by one.
Does exporting my iCloud notes delete them?
No. Exporting is a copy operation. Apple Notes Exporter Pro reads your synced notes and writes out separate files, and it never changes or removes anything in the Notes app or in iCloud. Your original iCloud notes stay exactly where they are.
Are my notes uploaded anywhere when I use an iCloud notes exporter?
With Apple Notes Exporter Pro, no. It runs on your Mac and reads the notes already synced there, then writes the exported files to a folder you choose. Nothing is sent to a third-party server. That local-only approach matters, because notes often contain personal and sensitive information.
What happens to images and attachments in exported iCloud notes?
When you enable the attachments option, images, scanned documents, PDFs, and other files are exported into folders alongside the notes they belong to. In HTML and Markdown exports, inline images stay linked so they display in place. Without that option, you would get the text of your notes but lose the attached files, so it is worth turning on.
Can I back up my iCloud notes automatically?
Yes. Apple Notes Exporter Pro supports scheduled auto-exports, so you can have it save a fresh copy of your iCloud notes on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule. This gives you a rolling, readable backup outside of Apple in a format you control, which is useful if you ever lose access to your account or want an offline archive.
Will my iCloud notes formatting survive the export?
Most everyday formatting survives cleanly: headings, bold, italic, bullet and numbered lists, and checklists. PDF export preserves the visual layout most faithfully. Markdown and HTML keep structure and inline images well. The items most likely to need review are Apple-specific elements like complex tables and hand-drawn sketches, so check those note types after exporting.
Export Your iCloud Notes in One Pass
Apple Notes Exporter Pro reads the iCloud notes already synced to your Mac and exports them in bulk to PDF, Markdown, HTML, and more, with attachments, folder structure, and scheduled backups. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.