Are your notes actually yours?
You own your notes when the working copy still makes sense outside the app. Can normal tools read, search, back up, version, and edit the notes today?
Last updated by Thomas Sivilay.
The short version.
If your notes are plain Markdown files in a folder, you can inspect them directly. If other tools need an export first, that export becomes part of your workflow.
Run these checks.
What each check tells you.
Start with the folder.
A folder is easy to reason about. One project, one journal, one archive. It is also the thing most local tools already understand.
Check the working copy, not the export.
A polished export is helpful, but it is still a snapshot. The stronger test is whether your current notes are already in a format other tools can read.
Files give other tools something to open.
Claude and Cursor do not need a special notes database when the notes are Markdown files. They need folder access.
A terminal test.
Put one exported folder on your Desktop and run a search across it. If the results are readable Markdown files, the migration path is healthier.
A git test.
Put a test vault under git, edit one note, and inspect the diff. Clean diffs mean your notes can move with you.
Want to know if your notes are trapped?
Run the one-minute scorecard. It shows where your current app depends on exports, databases, or app-specific behavior.
Read the Mac Markdown guide