# Importing your notes

> Bringing a vault in from Obsidian or Google Keep, dragging in single files, or simply copying Markdown into the folder.

Source: https://papyra.app/docs/importing/

## The simplest import

Copy `.md` files into `/data/users/<you>/notes/`. Papyra notices them and they
appear. No import step, no processing — they were already in the right format.

This is the right move for an Obsidian vault you have direct filesystem access
to, and it preserves everything, because nothing is being converted.

## Obsidian

**Settings → Data & Storage → Import → Obsidian**. Upload your vault and Papyra
brings the notes across, keeping frontmatter and `[[wiki links]]`, which mean the
same thing in both apps.

Each note keeps its filename as its title and its last-modified time. If the note
has a `modified:`/`updated:` or `created:` frontmatter date, Papyra uses that
instead, because zip timestamps carry no time zone. Bookmarked (or starred) notes
come in pinned. Attachments land in `media/`. The `.obsidian/` config folder and
`.trash/` are skipped.

Import runs as a background job with a progress bar. You can leave Settings and
come back, and the bar will still be there. Only one import runs at a time.

## Google Keep

Export from [Google Takeout](https://takeout.google.com), selecting Keep. Then
**Settings → Data & Storage → Import → Google Keep** with the archive.

Papyra maps what has an equivalent. Title and body carry over. Checklists become
to-dos. Labels become tags. Pinned and archived state carry over. Colours map to
the nearest Papyra swatch. The last-edited time becomes the note's last-modified
time. Web links and images carry over too. Takeout does not include Keep's drag
order, so notes are arranged newest-created first, as Keep shows them by default.
Notes in Keep's trash and reminders are not imported.

## Importing the same archive again

Re-importing never duplicates a note. Papyra recognises each note it imported
before and handles it one of two ways:

- **Identical** (same content, colour, pins, labels and last-modified): left
  alone.
- **Changed since** (in the source, or edited here): overwritten with the
  imported version and all of its metadata. The version it replaces stays in the
  note's History. If you locked a note or moved it to Trash in Papyra, it keeps
  that state.

When the import finishes, Papyra shows how many notes were new, updated, already
identical or skipped.

## Drag a file in

Drop a text file onto the note grid and it is imported as a note, immediately.
Good for one-offs.

## After a large import

One thing is worth doing once the dust settles, in **Settings → Data &
Storage**:

- **Rebuild the search index** if search does not immediately find imported
  notes.

## What to check afterwards

Skim a handful of imported notes for:

- **Attachments.** Images referenced by relative paths need those files present
  in `media/`; a copied-in vault should bring them along, an archive import may
  not.
- **Frontmatter you rely on.** Keys Papyra does not own are preserved untouched,
  but it is worth confirming with one note that yours came through.
- **Links.** `[[wiki links]]` resolve by note id, which is the filename. A note
  renamed during import will have links pointing at the old name.

## Going the other way

Everything imported stays a plain file, so leaving is the same operation in
reverse: copy the folder, or use **Settings → Backup → Export** for a zip. See
[Backups](/docs/backups/).