Google Keep to Obsidian: How to Import Your Notes (2026)

Export your Keep notes with Google Takeout as a .zip file, then open that .zip with Obsidian's free, official Importer plugin. Every note becomes a Markdown file, with labels as tags, checklists as checkboxes, and images, drawings and voice recordings copied into your vault. Reminders and checklist indentation don't come over.

This guide covers the export, the import and what to check after. We make SystemSculpt, an AI plugin for Obsidian, so the last part shows how to add AI to the notes you bring over.

Checked on November 3, 2026, with Importer 3.1.16 and Obsidian's and Google's own help pages, linked at the end.

Before you start

1. Sign in to the Google account that holds your Keep notes. With a work or school account, Google says some data might not be available to download.
2. Install Obsidian and create a vault, or open the one you'll keep these notes in. A new, empty vault makes the first import easy to check.
3. In Obsidian, open Settings, then Community plugins, and turn them on if they're off.
4. Select Browse, search for Importer, then Install and Enable. Importer is made by the Obsidian team and is free.

You don't need to unzip the export. Importer reads the .zip directly.

Optional: archived and deleted notes

Importer skips archived and deleted notes unless you ask for them. Two switches in Importer bring them in:

• Import archived notes. Archived notes come in tagged Keep/Archived.
• Import deleted notes. Deleted notes come in tagged Keep/Deleted. They're only in your export if you deleted them recently.

Both are off by default. Decide before you import, so you don't have to run it twice.

Export from Google Keep

1. Go to takeout.google.com.
2. Select Deselect all, so you export only Keep.
3. Scroll to Keep and tick its box.
4. Select Next step at the bottom of the page.
5. Under delivery, choose Send download link via email.
6. Under file type, choose .zip. Importer can't read .tgz.
7. Pick a file size. If your notes are larger than it, Takeout splits them into several .zip files.
8. Select Create export.
9. When Google's email arrives, select Download archive.

Google says an export can take from a few minutes to a few days, and most people get the link the same day. The archive expires in about 7 days, and you can download it 5 times.

Import into Obsidian

1. Open Importer from the left ribbon or the command palette (Importer: Import notes).
2. Choose Google Keep (.zip, .json).
3. Under Notes & attachments, select Choose files and pick your Takeout .zip. If Takeout split it into several files, pick them all.
4. Select Continue.
5. Optionally change the Output folder. It's Google Keep by default.
6. Turn on Import archived notes or Import deleted notes if you want them.
7. Select Continue. Importer shows the note template it will use and previews a few of your notes.
8. Select Start import and wait for it to finish.

Each Keep note becomes one Markdown file in the output folder. Importer reads the note files and attachments in the .zip, and skips the HTML copies and the labels list Takeout also includes.

What carries over and what doesn't

We read Importer 3.1.16's Keep converter and ran sample notes in Takeout's format through it. Here is what comes out.

Comes through:

• Note text, including headings, bold, italic and underline.
• Labels, as tags under Keep/Label, for example Keep/Label/travel. Spaces in a label become hyphens.
• Checklists, as Markdown checkboxes, ticked where you'd ticked them.
• Colors, as tags like Keep/Color/Yellow.
• Pinned notes, tagged Keep/Pinned.
• Images, drawings and voice recordings, copied into your vault and shown in the note. Notes with any of these are tagged Keep/Attachment.
• Links you saved to a note, listed under an Annotations heading at the end.
• Note titles, as file names. Takeout names untitled notes by date and time, and Importer keeps that name.
• Created and edited dates, as the file's own dates on your disk.

Changes or doesn't come through:

• Checklist indentation. Keep's export has no indentation, so sub-items come in as top-level items.
• Reminders. Importer doesn't bring them over.
• Collaborators. Who a note was shared with isn't written into the note. Importer offers it as the {{sharees}} template variable if you want it.
• Created and edited dates as properties. They're on the file, not written in the note, so syncing or copying the vault can reset them. Add them with an Importer template, using {{ctime}} and {{mtime}}, if they matter to you.
• Archived and deleted notes, unless you turned on their switches.

After the import, open a few of your busiest notes next to the originals in Keep. Don't delete anything in Keep until you're happy with the result.

Add AI to your imported notes

Once your notes are Markdown files, any AI tool that reads files can work on them. If you already use Claude Code or Codex, install the free SystemSculpt plugin from Obsidian's community plugins. It runs your signed-in Claude Code or Codex in a chat pane in your vault on desktop, and can ask for your approval before each edit. You can ask it to tidy imported notes, add links between related notes or summarize a notebook. Chats are saved as Markdown notes in your vault. It needs no SystemSculpt account or plan.

For mobile chat, audio transcription and related-note search, eligible new accounts can claim 500 one-time starter credits with no card. Paid plans are $9 a month or $90 a year. Compare plans.

Questions

Can Obsidian import Google Keep notes directly? Not from your Google account. Export your notes with Google Takeout first, then open the .zip with Obsidian's Importer plugin.

Do I need to unzip the Google Takeout file? No. Pick the .zip in Importer. It reads the notes and attachments inside and skips the HTML copies.

Is the Obsidian Importer plugin free? Yes. It's an official plugin made by the Obsidian team, free in Obsidian's community plugins.

Does Importer keep my Google Keep labels? Yes, as Obsidian tags under Keep/Label, for example Keep/Label/travel.

Are archived and deleted Keep notes imported? Only if you turn on Import archived notes or Import deleted notes. Deleted notes are only in your export if you deleted them recently.

Sources

• Import from Google Keep, Obsidian Help
• Importer, Obsidian Help
• Obsidian Importer 3.1.16, GitHub
• Export your data from Google Keep, Google Keep Help
• How to download your Google data, Google Account Help