notes — Apple Notes CLI

A powerful command-line interface for Apple Notes on macOS.

Install

curl -L https://github.com/VF-AdminOver/notes-cli/releases/latest/download/notes -o ~/bin/notes
chmod +x ~/bin/notes

Or clone:

git clone https://github.com/VF-AdminOver/notes-cli.git
cd notes-cli
cp notes.sh ~/bin/notes
chmod +x ~/bin/notes

Quick Start

notes list                    # List all notes
notes search "keyword"        # Search by title
notes show "Note Title"       # View note content
notes folders                 # List folders
notes create "New Note" "Body text"  # Create a note
notes export "Note Title"     # Export to .md

Commands

Core

Command	Description
list [folder]	List notes (optionally in a folder)
folders	List all folders
create-folder <name>	Create a new folder
search <term>	Search notes by title
show <title>	Show note content (HTML → plain text)
create <title> [body] [folder]	Create a new note
delete <title>	Delete a note
move <title> <folder>	Move note to folder
count	Count total notes

File I/O

Command	Description
export <title> [file]	Export note to .md
import <file.md> [folder]	Import markdown as note
to-pdf <title>	Export note to PDF

Organization

Command	Description
pin <title>	Pin a note
unpin <title>	Unpin a note
dup <title>	Duplicate a note
batch-move <pattern> <folder>	Move notes matching pattern
batch-delete <pattern>	Delete notes matching pattern
lock	Planned (safety reasons)

Search & Discovery

Command	Description
recent [days]	Notes modified in last N days
tags	List all #tags
by-tag <#tag>	Notes containing a tag
history <title>	Show note creation/modification dates
diff <note1> <note2>	Compare two notes

How It Works

• Uses macOS AppleScript to interface with the Notes app
• All operations are read/write through native APIs
• No data leaves your machine
• iCloud sync works normally (notes sync through Apple's servers)

Requirements

• macOS 13+ (Ventura or later)
• Apple Notes app with iCloud

License

MIT