IMPORT/EXPORT

Notebook Archive (.nbz) · Contact Import · Note Export

Notebook Archive

nb-web treats the notebook as the unit of archive and transfer. The NbWeb-archive plugin handles creating, importing, and distributing notebooks as .nbz files.

The .nbz format

A .nbz file is a standard ZIP archive with a notebook directory at its root and a metadata manifest at the top level.

notebook-name/
  note1.md
  note2.md
  .index
  .git/           ← optional, only when "Include git history" is checked
.nb_archive       ← JSON metadata manifest

.nb_archive manifest fields:

Field	Description
`name`	Original notebook name
`note_count`	Number of notes at archive time
`archived_at`	ISO 8601 timestamp
`nb_version`	nb version string
`includes_git`	Boolean — whether `.git` is included
`description`	Optional user-provided description
`imported_from`	Original name (added on import, if renamed)
`imported_at`	ISO 8601 timestamp (added on import)

Archiving a notebook

Open any notebook’s settings panel and find the Archive section.

Optionally check Include git history to bundle the full .git directory — useful for preserving commit history across machines or before removing a notebook.
Optionally add a description.
Click ↓ Create archive — the .nbz downloads immediately.

Files larger than 50 MB are skipped and listed in the status message. The filename is notebook-YYYY-MM-DD.nbz.

Importing a notebook

Open the Plugins page and select NbWeb-archive. The import form is at the bottom of the page.

Drop a .nbz file onto the drop zone or click to pick one.
nb-web reads the manifest and shows a preview: name, note count, archive date, git history flag, description.
Edit the Import as name if needed. A conflict warning appears if the name is already in use.
Click Import.

On import, nb-web:

Extracts the archive into ~/.nb/<name>/
Renames the root directory to match the chosen name
Stamps .nb_archive with imported_from and imported_at
Runs nb index reconcile so notes appear immediately
Initialises a fresh git repo if the archive did not include git history

Removing a notebook

Use the Danger Zone at the bottom of the notebook settings panel. Type the notebook name to confirm. nb-web calls nb delete-notebook --local, which removes the local directory without touching any remote.

If the notebook has unpushed commits the Danger Zone shows a warning — archive first if those commits matter.

Distributing notebooks

.nbz files are self-contained and portable. Planned: a docs.nbz bundled with nb-web so new users can import the reference documentation as a local, searchable notebook.

Contact Import

Contact data can be imported from .vcf (vCard) files via the NbWeb-contacts plugin. The 📇 toolbar button opens a contact browser that reads from the VCF source configured in nb-settings.json:

{ "vcf_source": "~/Downloads/contacts.vcf" }

Browse and search the VCF, then use Create Contact Note to import individual contacts into the contacts notebook as structured Markdown notes.

See NbWeb-contacts for the full contact note format and field reference.

Note Export

Individual notes are plain Markdown files in ~/.nb/<notebook>/ — they can be copied, synced, or opened directly in any editor at any time.

Planned: per-note download and multi-note export from the nb-web UI.

Explorer

nb-web docs test site