Grape can import your Apple Notes library so you are not starting from an empty app. This runs on the Mac desktop app, because Apple Notes lives on your Mac.
How it works
Open Settings, go to the Data tab and choose Apple Notes from the Import menu. Grape shows a preview of how many folders, notes and media files it found, and recreates them with the folder structure intact once you continue.
Full Disk Access
macOS protects the Apple Notes database, so the first import asks you to give Grape Full Disk Access in System Settings. Grape shows a button that takes you to the right place. Grant it, then run the import again.
What to check afterwards
- Formatting carries over for the common things: headings, lists, bold and italics, and links.
- Attachments come across where the source format allows it. Very old notes with unusual attachment types are worth spot checking.
- Folders are recreated as Grape folders, so you can reorganize afterwards by dragging.
A tip for large libraries
If you have thousands of notes, import them and then let indexing catch up in the background before you rely on AI search. Once indexing has finished, everything you brought across is searchable by meaning as well as by title.