md2bear

Convert markdown notes to TextBundle format for Bear import.

Works with exports from Notesnook, Obsidian, Joplin, and other markdown-based note apps.

Features

• Converts .md files to .textbundle (Bear's native import format)
• Finds and copies images/attachments into bundles (supports attachments/, _resources/, assets/, media/, etc.)
• Converts folder structure to Bear hashtags (e.g. Dev/Docker/ → #Dev/Docker)
• Preserves existing frontmatter tags as Bear hashtags
• Strips YAML frontmatter from output (Bear doesn't render it)
• Preserves original creation/modification dates (ISO 8601, Notesnook, bare dates)
• Handles wiki-links (![[file]], ![[file|size]], [[note|alias]]) and standard markdown links
• Converts .md links to wiki-links ([[title]])
• Handles duplicate note names across different folders
• Replaces spaces in tags with underscores for Bear compatibility

HTML cleanup (Notesnook-specific)

• Converts HTML <a href> links to markdown links
• Strips <div> wrappers (with data-block-id, style, etc.)
• Replaces   /   with regular spaces
• Removes angle brackets from URLs: ](<https://...>) → ](https://...)
• Neutralizes #-anchor links that Bear would misinterpret as tags

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• uv (recommended) or pip

uv sync

Usage

uv run python md2bear.py /path/to/notes

Output will be created at /path/to/notes-textbundle/.

Options

uv run python md2bear.py /path/to/notes                                   # basic conversion
uv run python md2bear.py /path/to/notes -o /path/to/out                   # custom output directory
uv run python md2bear.py /path/to/notes --no-tags                         # skip tag generation
uv run python md2bear.py /path/to/notes --flat-tags                       # flat tags (#Dev #Docker) instead of nested (#Dev/Docker)
uv run python md2bear.py /path/to/notes --skip-folders "Inbox" "Archive"  # custom folders to skip

Import into Bear

1. Run the script
2. Import using one of two methods:
   • File → Import → Import From → Markdown Folder — select the output folder. Bear will import all notes but auto-create a #folder tag (right-click it in sidebar → Delete Tag after import)
   • File → Import Notes — select all .textbundle files inside the output folder

Expected input structure

The script auto-detects common attachment directories (attachments/, _resources/, resources/, assets/, media/, images/, files/) and excludes them from note conversion.

notes/                          # Notesnook / generic
├── attachments/
│   └── photo.jpg
├── Dev/
│   └── Docker-notes.md
└── My-note.md

vault/                          # Obsidian
├── assets/
│   └── screenshot.png
├── Projects/
│   └── Ideas.md
└── Daily/
    └── 2024-01-01.md

export/                         # Joplin
├── _resources/
│   └── abc123.jpg
├── Notebook1/
│   └── Note.md
└── Note2.md

Output structure

notes-textbundle/
├── Docker-notes.textbundle/
│   ├── text.md        # cleaned markdown with #Dev #Docker tags
│   ├── info.json
│   └── assets/
│       └── image.png
├── Tips.textbundle/
│   ├── text.md        # with #Dev #Python tags
│   ├── info.json
│   └── assets/
└── ...

Tested with

• Notesnook markdown export
• Obsidian vault export
• Generic markdown notes with YAML frontmatter

License

MIT