Apple Notes Markdown: What Works and What Doesn't (iOS 26 and 27)

Apple Notes Markdown support arrived in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe 26 as import and export, not as a way to type Markdown inside a note. iOS 27, due 14 September 2026, adds paste-to-rich-text and Copy as Markdown. This guide lays out the version timeline, the exact menu paths, and which elements survive each direction.

Which Versions of Apple Notes Support Markdown?

Before 2025, Notes had no Markdown features at all. Typing # Heading produced a literal hash, and getting a note out as .md meant a third-party exporter or an Apple Shortcut. That's still the situation on iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, so check your OS version before blaming the app.

Version	What Notes can do with Markdown
iOS 18 / macOS 15 and earlier	Nothing built in
iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26	Import .md files as rich text; export a note as .md
iOS 27 (released 14 September 2026 per Apple)	Adds paste Markdown as rich text and Copy as Markdown, per MacRumors and 9to5Mac beta coverage

Apple's import documentation states the core promise plainly: in macOS Tahoe 26, iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and later, Notes converts Markdown syntax to rich text that keeps its formatting. Notes stays a rich-text editor. The Markdown is a file format at the edges, and once the note is open you're back to Apple's own styles.

Can Apple Notes Handle Markdown Typed Directly?

No, on iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe 26. Typing **bold** or - item inside a note leaves the characters on screen. Notes formats text through its own controls: the Aa formatting menu, the toolbar, or keyboard shortcuts on Mac. Apple's shortcut list covers the structural styles Markdown users reach for:

Style	Mac shortcut	Markdown equivalent
Title	Shift-Command-T	# Title
Heading	Shift-Command-H	## Heading
Subheading	Shift-Command-J	### Subheading
Monostyled	Shift-Command-M	Code block
Bulleted list	Shift-Command-7	- item
Numbered list	Shift-Command-9	1. item
Checklist	Shift-Command-L	- [ ] task
Block quote	Command-'	> quote
Table	Option-Command-T	Pipe table

There's no way to change this on iOS 26. If you want to draft in Markdown and end up with a formatted note, write in a Markdown editor first. Then either save a .md and import it, or copy the rendered rich text and paste. Both routes are in the sections below.

Our opinion: this is the right call for a notes app used by hundreds of millions of people who've never seen an asterisk used for emphasis. It's inconvenient for the rest of us, which is why the import and paste paths matter.

When a dedicated Mac Markdown notes app fits better

If Markdown is how you think, Notes will always feel like a translation layer. Apps such as Obsidian, Bear, and iA Writer are built around Markdown: they format as you type, Obsidian and iA Writer keep plain .md files on disk, and all three sync through iCloud or their own services. Our best Markdown editors roundup compares them. Notion sits in a similar position to Notes (rich text in, Markdown at the edges); the Notion Markdown guide covers its version of the same trade-offs.

Notes wins on three things: it's already on every Apple device, it handles scans, drawings, and audio, and it's free. The iOS 26 export means you're no longer locked in, which was the strongest argument against it.

How Do I Export Apple Notes as Markdown?

On a Mac running macOS Tahoe 26, select the note, then choose File, Export as, Markdown, and pick a save location. This path is documented in Apple's Notes User Guide for Mac. On iPhone or iPad, open the note and tap the More button (the circle with three dots). Tap Export as Markdown, then choose where to send or save the file from the share sheet.

Published tests of the Tahoe release (AppleInsider, Apple World Today) report two behaviours Apple's own page doesn't spell out:

• You can select several notes in the Mac sidebar and export them in one go. Each becomes its own .md file inside a folder, but your Notes folder hierarchy isn't recreated.
• Attachments are written to a separate folder next to the Markdown files, with the .md linking to them, rather than being embedded.

We haven't been able to confirm every element ourselves on every OS, so treat the matrix below as Apple's stated support plus what those tests observed. Headings, bold, italic, bulleted and numbered lists, and links come through as standard Markdown. Checklists, tables, and monostyled blocks are the ones to inspect after export, since the reports we've seen are less consistent on them.

Note element	Exported .md (reported)
Title, Heading, Subheading	#, ##, ###
Bold, italic	**bold**, *italic*
Bulleted, numbered lists	- and 1. items
Links	[text](url)
Checklist	Check the file; reports vary on - [ ] output
Table	Check the file; advanced elements may not map cleanly
Images, scans, PDFs	Saved to a companion folder

If you're moving notes into Obsidian or another folder-based app, our Obsidian Markdown cheat sheet shows what that app expects. The Markdown checkbox guide explains the task-list syntax to look for in exported checklists.

Importing a Markdown File into Apple Notes

On Mac: File, Import Markdown, select one or more .md files, click Import. On iPhone or iPad there's no Import menu; open the .md in the Files app, tap Share, choose Notes, and tap Import. Apple's page directs you to the Files-app sharing steps for exactly this reason.

What you get is a rich-text note with Apple's styles applied: # becomes Title, ## becomes Heading, - lists become bulleted lists, and links stay clickable. What doesn't come in, according to the published Tahoe tests: images referenced from the Markdown, other attachments, and links between notes. The reports also warn that tables, footnotes, and diagrams may not render as you'd hope.

The import path is the best answer to "how to paste Markdown into Apple Notes" on iOS 26. Write the note in a Markdown editor, save it as .md, and import. It's two more taps than pasting, but the formatting arrives intact. If you'd rather not touch a file, the next section has the clipboard route.

Try the sample note before you import it

Paste your draft into the editor below, check the preview, and then either download it as .md for import or copy the rendered output as rich text. Pasting rich text into Notes works on every version, including iOS 18, because Notes has always accepted formatted text from the clipboard. The sample uses only the elements reported to survive import.

Everything in that sample maps to a native Notes style. Tables and code blocks are deliberately absent; add them after import using Option-Command-T or Shift-Command-M if you need them.

What Changes in iOS 27?

Apple announced iOS 27 at WWDC on 8 June 2026 and, per its 9 September announcement, ships it on 14 September 2026. Coverage of the betas from MacRumors and 9to5Mac describes two Notes additions that close most of the remaining gap:

• Paste Markdown as rich text. Copy Meeting moved to **Thursday** from anywhere, paste it into a note, and the day lands bold. No import step.
• Copy as Markdown. Select formatted text, tap the arrow in the edit menu, and choose Copy as Markdown. The clipboard then holds **bold**, ## headings, and list markers ready for any other app.

We'll update this section once we've run the release build. Until then, treat those two as reported rather than tested. Typing Markdown syntax directly in a note still isn't mentioned in any of that coverage, so expect the rich-text-only editing model to stay.

Common Apple Notes Markdown Problems

Markdown not working in Notes. Almost always a version issue. Import and export need iOS 26, iPadOS 26, or macOS Tahoe 26. Paste-to-rich-text needs iOS 27. Typing syntax never works on any version.

Exported file has missing images. Look for the companion folder saved alongside the .md; the note links to files there rather than embedding them. Keep the folder and file together when you move them.

Imported note lost its table. Tables are on the reported list of elements that don't map cleanly. Rebuild the table in Notes with Option-Command-T, or keep tabular notes in a Markdown app. Syntax for the source side is in our Markdown cheat sheet.

Apple Notes Markdown FAQ

Apple Notes Markdown is best understood as a door, not a room. Files come in and go out as .md on iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe 26, iOS 27 opens the clipboard the same way, and the editor itself stays rich text. Draft in the editor, import or paste, and keep the companion attachment folder with any export. That gets you nearly everything a Markdown workflow needs without giving up the app that's already on your devices.