Data format

QVNote stores all notes as plain files and folders in the data directory. The format is JSON-based and human-readable — you can browse it with any file manager, back it up with any tool, and process it with your own scripts.

<data folder>/
  config.json                        # application configuration
  Inbox.qvnotebook/                  # default notebook (always present)
  Trash.qvnotebook/                  # recycle bin (always present)
  <UUID>.qvnotebook/                 # a notebook
    meta.json                        # notebook metadata: name, uuid, tags, color
    <UUID>.qvnote/                   # a note
      meta.json                      # note metadata: title, tags, created_at, updated_at,
                                     # url_src (source link), type, content_state
      content.json                   # note content (HTML for rich-text notes)
      resources/                     # attachments: images and files used by the note

Notebooks and notes

Each notebook is a folder named <UUID>.qvnotebook. Its meta.json contains the notebook name, its unique identifier, tags, and color.

Each note is a folder named <UUID>.qvnote inside its notebook:

• meta.json — note title, tags, creation/modification dates, the link to the original article (url_src) for notes saved from the internet, and the note type (text or code).
• content.json — the note content itself.
• resources/ — images and files attached to the note, including images downloaded automatically from external sites.

Service files

Alongside the notebooks, the data directory contains service files managed by the program itself:

• qvnote.db — internal database with service data (tags, favorites)
• search.bleve/ — full-text search index; safe to delete, it will be rebuilt automatically
• webp-cache/ — derived WebP image cache; safe to clear from the settings page

Backup

To back up or move your notes, just copy the whole data folder. To restore — put it back and, if needed, point the program to it with the --datadir parameter (see Configuration).