Notes and project management

How to move from Notion to Obsidian: API import or HTML export

SwitchTo HQ · Updated 18 October 2026 · Notes and project management · How we write

Moving from Notion to Obsidian is a change of model as well as of app. Notion stores your pages in its cloud. Obsidian works with a folder of plain Markdown files on your own device, called a vault. Obsidian's official Importer plugin does the conversion and offers two methods. This guide follows Obsidian's Import from Notion help page.

The two import methods

Method	What it keeps	What it needs
Notion account (API), recommended by Obsidian	Pages, plus databases and formulas converted to Obsidian Bases	A Notion integration access token and an internet connection
File import (.zip)	Pages and structure from Notion's HTML export, but not databases as Bases	An HTML export from Notion. No token or internet connection needed

If you rely on Notion databases, such as task lists, reading lists or CRMs, the API method is the one that keeps them usable. If your workspace is mostly pages of notes, the zip method is simpler.

Both methods show a preview before importing, and you can adjust the template used to generate each note's properties. Obsidian's help covers this under Importer templates.

Method 1: Import from your Notion account

Create a Notion access token

Open the Notion Connections dashboard (linked from Obsidian's guide) and choose New connection.
Name the connection (for example "Obsidian import"), choose Access token as the authentication method, and pick the workspace under Installable in.
Click Create connection.
On the Configuration tab, select Show, then Copy, for the access token.
On the Content access tab, add the pages and databases you want to import.

The token gives read access to your Notion content, so treat it like a password. Store it in a password manager, and remove the connection in Notion once your import is finished.

Run the import in Obsidian

In Obsidian, open Settings, then Community plugins, and install and enable Importer, Obsidian's official plugin.
Open Importer from the command palette or the ribbon icon.
Set File format to Notion (API).
Under API token, choose Link... and add a new secret with your Notion token.
Click Load and choose the databases and pages to import.
Review the options, select Import to see a preview, then Import again to start.

Obsidian notes that large workspaces can take a long time because of Notion's API rate limits.

Known limitations of the API method

Obsidian describes the API importer as new and lists these limitations:

Only the primary view of each database is imported.
Linked data sources aren't imported. When sharing a database with your connection, make sure it contains the original data source.
Some formula functions can't be converted: the People functions name() and email(), and the Text functions style() and unstyle().

The importer also makes some structural changes. Pages without child pages are saved as a single .md file. Each database becomes a folder containing a .base file.

Method 2: Import a Notion HTML export

Export from Notion

Obsidian recommends the HTML export format, not Notion's Markdown export, which it says leaves out important data. You need admin access to the workspace to export everything.

In Notion, open Settings, then under Workspace choose General.
Select Export all workspace content.
Set the format to HTML, choose Include everything and turn on Create folders for subpages.
Download the .zip file. Notion delivers it in the browser or by email.

Import the zip

Install and enable the Importer plugin, as above.
Set File format to Notion (.zip) and choose your file.
Optionally choose a folder in your vault for the import.
Turn on Save parent pages in subfolders to keep your Notion hierarchy.
Select Import, review the preview, then Import again.

Obsidian recommends importing your whole Notion workspace at once so internal links between pages can be matched up correctly. For workspaces of several gigabytes, Notion's export may contain nested zip files. If the import fails with an error mentioning a Part-1.zip, unzip the outer file and import the inner parts.

If Obsidian appears to freeze during an import, Obsidian suggests turning off other community plugins and trying again.

Checking the result

Open your most important pages and check headings, lists, tables, images and embedded files.
Click a sample of internal links to make sure they resolve to notes in the vault.
If you used the API method, open a few Bases to check that properties and formulas came through.
Look for content that relied on Notion-only features, such as synced blocks, comments or embedded web apps, and decide how to handle it in plain Markdown.

Things Obsidian handles differently

Sync and backup are up to you. Your vault is a folder on your device. Use Obsidian's paid Sync service, a file-sync service you already use, or a Git repository. Back up the folder either way.
Sharing works differently. Notion's page sharing and real-time collaboration don't have a direct equivalent. If you share notes with other people, plan how you will do that before you leave Notion.
Keep the Notion export. Store the HTML export zip as an archive, even if you used the API method.

Checklist

Use the API method if you need databases, or the HTML zip if you don't.
Create a Notion connection, share the right pages with it, and keep the token secret.
Never use Notion's Markdown export for this. Use HTML.
Import the whole workspace at once so links are matched up.
Check pages, links and Bases, then set up sync and backups for your vault.
Remove the Notion connection when you are done.