Looking for a full notes spec

unique · 2021-03-22T17:04:37.666Z

Hi all,

I'm currently evaluating using Joplin. I really like how open it is regarding plugins and the file format. However I would like my data to be stored in a very future-proof format so that I can, in the worst case, access it without having Joplin available and convert them into the format of a different application that I can use in its place. What I would need for that is an exact specification of the Markdown files that Joplin stores - with information like

Which fields can there be at the bottom of the .md file
Which format does the information have to be in each field
How exactly are attachments stored

The goal of that is that I'll be able to create a parser for Joplin markdown files in any programming language to be able to convert them into something else, while being fully compliant with all Joplin files and supporting all the features. E.g. in 25 years, when NodeJS has collapsed and I can't get Electron running in any form, I want to be able to transform these notes into a format that I can use at that point.

Thank you!

JackGruber · 2021-03-22T17:19:58.572Z

For all fields use the JEX export format. In this files all fields are stored in a machine reable format.
In the md file you miss many informations like, timestamps, tags, folders, ...

For many fields you can find in the data API a description.
https://joplinapp.org/api/references/rest_api/

tessus · 2021-03-22T19:39:25.428Z

!!! This category is not for questions or requests !!!

If you wrote an app, script, tool, this is the place to

promote it
document it
make it available to others

unique · 2021-03-22T20:04:19.062Z

tessus:

!!! This category is not for questions or requests !!!

Oh, sorry. I thought this would fit here because technically what I'm trying to do is to make an app.

unique · 2021-03-22T20:05:52.414Z

Perfect, this is just what I was looking for. Thanks a bunch!

How do I open JEX files? My computer's file manager tells me that it is an archive of sorts, but it can't open it. The markdown files (as in, the normal Joplin data directory, without exporting anything) seem to contain everything - tags, subnotebooks etc.

roman_r_m · 2021-03-22T20:11:04.287Z

unique:

How do I open JEX files?

JEX is a tar archive with a different extension.

tessus · 2021-03-22T20:17:17.691Z

When the app is ready and available, the #apps category is the correct place to post about it. It's basically an apps catalog, thus qustions don't really fit in there.

I moved it to the #development category.