# Export Evernote to Markdown


Here is a quick solution to migrate away from Evernote.

## Export to DB

I use [vzhd1701/evernote-backup](https://github.com/vzhd1701/evernote-backup) . The key commands are:

```
$ evernote-backup init-db
$ evernote-backup sync
$ evernote-backup export output_dir/
$ evernote-backup export --single-notes output_dir_single/
```

You get a bunch of `.enex` files in `output_dir_single` after this.

Btw, the author of this project also compiled a decent list of adjancent projects just in case the current tool does not work / outdates. Highly recommend to take a look.

## Convert to markdown

I use [wormi4ok/evernote2md](https://github.com/wormi4ok/evernote2md) to convert `*.enex` into markdown notes. We can use `xargs` to operate on all the output files. Example commdn is below:

```
%\ls -1 output_dir_single | xargs -INOTEBOOK evernote2md 'output_dir_single/NOTEBOOK' 'md/NOTEBOOK'
```

This tool was last updated in 2021 and worked in late 2022 as I tested then.

## Result

- There are 11029 notes in total. Since I only actively used it from 2014 to 2017, that means 11029 / 4 / 365 = **7 new notes per day**. 
- Most notes are just web clips that I don't revisit. This collection is **2.3G**. When I looked back, most are just technology news / troubleshooting tips that were outdated for years.
- Next big collection is freehand, i.e. my random notes, which is **1G**. There are still some useful information, some precious memories, and mostly noise. The initial intention to have a "freehand" collection is to drop down quick notes/ thoughts so that I could organize later. It turned out that I never had the luxury time to organize them properly. I think the mostly destination of this collection is a searchable index, e.g. Google Drive, so that I can passively use the content.
- Web clips are convenient to generate but hard to re-use. I almost never re used those notes. A lot of the pages clipped are not very legible due to complex HTML/ CSS in original website.
- When I look back, the most visited items turn out to be my own documents like passport/ ID... Many people have a mobile phone album for this purpose now and I kind of bought in the practice now. Back to that time, I worked mainly on desktop and used Evernote to ensure the files are at hand when I needed them.

More background regarding the last point:

- I rejected using iPhone until 2017 because I don't like the idea that "someone has already designed it all for you" -- Result: I changed a few Android phones and my data was not properly migrated, so I relied on desktop for important working files.
- I did not like the idea that cell phone could be a working platform (so as a serious programmer I used desktops) -- Result: Due to intensive business travels later on, I ended up wasting much would-be-productive time.

The more we are good at old crafts the more difficult for us to migrate. However, 

> Stillness is what creates love. 
> Movement is what creates life.
> To be still and still moving -- this is everything. 
> 
> -- Do Hyun Choe