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What moves from Evernote and what doesn't

An Evernote export keeps your notes but not how they were organized. Here is what survives, what is lost, and how to bring more of it along.

By LuniNote · Last checked

The short answer

  • An .enex export keeps each note: text and formatting, checklists, tables, attachments, dates, tag names, and the text Evernote read from your scans.
  • It doesn’t keep how your notes were organized. Stacks, tag nesting, saved searches and shortcuts are not in the file, and notebook names survive only as file names.
  • The way you move decides how much comes back. LuniNote’s extension reads your account directly, so stacks, nested tags and saved searches arrive too.

Last checked: 23 October 2026. We make LuniNote. Facts about Evernote’s export come from Evernote’s own format definition and help pages; facts about other apps from their own docs. All are listed under Sources.

Your notes and your account are different things

Evernote keeps two kinds of things. Your notes hold text, attachments, dates and tags. Your account holds how they are arranged: which notebook a note is in, which stack a notebook is in, which tag sits inside which, and your saved searches and shortcuts.

An .enex file is an export of notes. Evernote publishes its format definition, and it has a place for every part of a note, but none for the arrangement. That is why every app that imports .enex files starts with the same gaps.

What survives, part by part

Part of your account In an .enex file LuniNote extension LuniNote .enex import
Text, formatting, tables, checklists Yes Yes Yes
Attachments and images Yes, inside the file Yes, each checked against Evernote’s copy Yes, each checked against the file
Created and updated dates Yes Yes Yes
Author, source address, location, reminder date Yes Yes Yes
Text Evernote read from scans Yes, with each image Yes, and LuniNote reads the files again Yes, and LuniNote reads the files again
Tag names Yes, if ticked when exporting Yes Yes
Tag nesting No Yes No, all tags on one level
Notebooks No, only the file name Yes One notebook per file
Stacks No Yes From Stack@@@Notebook.enex file names
Links between notes They point at Evernote Re-linked across the whole move Re-linked within one import; the rest are listed
Saved searches No Yes No
Encrypted text Yes, still locked Kept, still locked Kept, still locked
Notes in the Trash Not confirmed If you choose to Not confirmed
Shortcuts No Yes, in the same order No

An export leaves shortcuts out. LuniNote’s extension reads them from your account and pins them in the same order. After an .enex import, LuniNote offers to pin your most-used notebooks, tags and searches in one step.

How other apps handle the gaps

The .enex file is the same for every app. What differs is how each importer fills in what the file leaves out.

App Stacks Tag nesting Scan text from Evernote Links between notes
LuniNote, with the extension Yes Yes Kept Re-linked
LuniNote, from .enex files From file names No Kept Re-linked within one import
Joplin No; notebooks can sit inside notebooks No; Joplin’s tags can’t be nested Not kept; Joplin can read the images again Matched by note title
Obsidian From file names If you rename child tags to Parent/Child before exporting Not stated in its docs Not stated in its docs
UpNote Not stated in its docs Not stated in its docs Not stated in its docs They keep opening Evernote

For each app in full, see Evernote alternatives, LuniNote vs Joplin and LuniNote vs Obsidian.

Before you export, save what won’t come along

  1. Write down your shortcuts and saved searches. A screenshot of each list is enough.
  2. Photograph your tag tree, with every tag opened. Most apps will show the tags on one level.
  3. Note which stack each notebook is in, then name each exported file Stack@@@Notebook.enex.
  4. Restore anything you want from the Trash.
  5. Decrypt text you want to read elsewhere. Encrypted text stays locked in the export. You need your passphrase, which Evernote doesn’t store.
  6. Count the notes in each notebook, so you can compare after the import.

The export guide walks through every step on Mac and Windows.

Or skip the files

LuniNote’s browser extension moves a whole account without any .enex files. Notebooks, stacks, nested tags and saved searches arrive as they were. It only reads from Evernote and never changes anything there. When it’s done, the report shows every notebook with what Evernote listed and what arrived, and checks every attachment against Evernote’s own fingerprint.

See Import from Evernote for the steps.

Questions

What doesn’t transfer when I leave Evernote?

In an .enex export: stacks, tag nesting, saved searches and shortcuts. Notebook names survive only as file names. LuniNote’s extension brings stacks, nested tags, saved searches and shortcuts straight from your account.

Do my tags and their hierarchy survive an export?

Tag names do, if the tags option is ticked when you export. The nesting doesn’t, because an .enex file has no place for a tag’s parent. LuniNote’s extension brings the nesting. Obsidian can rebuild it if you rename child tags to Parent/Child before exporting.

Are stacks exported?

No. An .enex file holds notes, not notebooks or stacks. Name each file Stack@@@Notebook.enex, and LuniNote and Obsidian rebuild the stack from the name. LuniNote’s extension brings stacks without any renaming.

Does the text Evernote read from my scans come along?

It is in the .enex file, stored with each image. Whether it arrives depends on the app. LuniNote keeps it and makes it searchable. Joplin’s docs say it is not kept, though Joplin can read the images again.

They stay in the text as links that point at Evernote. Each app has to work out which note they meant. LuniNote’s extension re-links them across the whole move. Its .enex import re-links notes imported together and lists the rest. Joplin matches by note title.

What happens to notes in the Trash?

We could not confirm whether Evernote’s export includes them, so restore anything you want to keep first. LuniNote’s extension can bring the Trash too: it’s a choice before the move, off unless you pick it.

What happens to my notes if I cancel Evernote?

Evernote says cancelling a paid plan doesn’t delete your notes. The account goes back to the Free plan at the end of the billing period. Over the Free limits you can still view, edit and export, but you can’t add new notes or notebooks.

Sources

All read on 23 October 2026.

Evernote

Other apps

LuniNote: Import from Evernote and Features.

Moving to LuniNote?

See what arrives with the extension and with .enex files, and what the report shows.

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