Eli Garfinkel

Q: Where does Notes store its data?

Hello,

 

I accidentally deleted a note from the new Notes app.  I am trying to recover it with Carbonite, but I don't know where Notes stores its data.  The people at Carbonite don't know, either.  They told me to ask here.  Does any of you know where Notes stores its data?

 

Thanks,

 

Eli

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2008), OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Aug 14, 2012 10:05 AM

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Q: Where does Notes store its data?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by William Lloyd,Solvedanswer

    William Lloyd William Lloyd Aug 14, 2012 10:10 AM in response to Eli Garfinkel
    Level 7 (21,148 points)
    Aug 14, 2012 10:10 AM in response to Eli Garfinkel

    Notes stores its data in a Core Data database.  Specifically all the files under:

     

    ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes/Data/Library/Notes

     

    There are 2 or 3 files in there called NotesV1.storedataXXX

     

    Where XXX means "more stuff in the file name" :-)

     

    Note this is a database so there is no way to restore a single note at a time.  You could restore the whole database, but if you're synching with iCloud, there is the chance that even if you restore it, that it will sync and then get deleted again.

  • by Eli Garfinkel,

    Eli Garfinkel Eli Garfinkel Aug 14, 2012 10:16 AM in response to William Lloyd
    Level 1 (55 points)
    Aug 14, 2012 10:16 AM in response to William Lloyd

    Thank you!  Alas, you are correct on both counts. Carbonite restored the files, but time missing file is still missing.

  • by ddhagen,

    ddhagen ddhagen Nov 30, 2012 1:38 AM in response to Eli Garfinkel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 30, 2012 1:38 AM in response to Eli Garfinkel

    This answer might be a bit late but might be useful to some.

     

    I found the notes database here; ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes/Data/Library/Notes and then copied the NotesV1.storedata file and edited the filetype to .html, and then opened it in safari. There you can find all your old notes that dissapeared.

  • by idenizen,

    idenizen idenizen Jun 6, 2013 10:23 AM in response to ddhagen
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 6, 2013 10:23 AM in response to ddhagen

    When I went to my Jungledisk backup I could not find this file . . . no containers directory.

     

    Any ideas?

  • by Aquagrrl,

    Aquagrrl Aquagrrl Jun 18, 2013 10:20 PM in response to William Lloyd
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 18, 2013 10:20 PM in response to William Lloyd

    I corrupted notes by pasting a Korean webpage into a note. I don't know if it was the korean or the html it pasted. Anyway, I've opened the db (thanks to this thread) but I don't know what I can safely delete . . . any suggestions?

  • by Hal27,

    Hal27 Hal27 May 5, 2015 5:00 PM in response to ddhagen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 5, 2015 5:00 PM in response to ddhagen

    THANK YOU! That is brilliant and very helpful.

  • by dianeoforegon,

    dianeoforegon dianeoforegon May 5, 2015 5:28 PM in response to idenizen
    Level 5 (5,372 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 5, 2015 5:28 PM in response to idenizen

    You are probably looking in the wrong Library folder.

     

    Macintosh HD Root folders

      Applications

      Library

      System

      Users > Library <----this is the one you want

     

    Show User's Library

     

    The User's Library folder is hidden by default. To unhide: Select the Finder in the Dock. Under Go in the Menu bar > hold down the Option key and you’ll see the Library.

     

     

    Finding the User Library Folder

    http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/resources/0167/site/chap11.html#FindingtheUserLi braryFolder

  • by lamstones,Helpful

    lamstones lamstones May 17, 2015 11:11 PM in response to dianeoforegon
    Level 1 (5 points)
    May 17, 2015 11:11 PM in response to dianeoforegon

    After frustrating 2 hours, and numerous "chances" to buy very expensive recovery software, this thread helped me solve my problem first time, free! Thank you!!

     

    Just to add from my own experience, when you cut from the store data file inside a browser, the easier I found to have it as a usable format was to paste it into a power point slide using "paste special" as "unformated text". Thereafter, it is very easy to copy into a word file (for an easy to find backup), and into a new Note.