OneNote to Obsidian: How to Import Your Notebooks (2026)

Use Obsidian's free, official Importer plugin. It reads OneNote two ways: sign in to your Microsoft account and pick the notebooks you own in OneDrive, or pick .onepkg and .one files exported from OneNote for Windows. Each section becomes a folder and each page becomes a Markdown note. Freeform page layouts don't survive: content flows top to bottom, and handwriting comes in as a drawing.

This guide covers both routes, step by step, 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 Microsoft's own help pages, linked at the end.

Which route to use

Most people on a Mac, or with everything in OneDrive, should use the Microsoft account route. Use the file route for notebooks kept only on a Windows PC, for notebooks your account can't reach, or if you'd rather not sign in.

Before you start

1. 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.
2. In Obsidian, open Settings, then Community plugins, and turn them on if they're off.
3. Select Browse, search for Importer, then Install and Enable. Importer is made by the Obsidian team and is free.
4. In OneNote, remove the password from any protected section you want to bring over. Importer can't see or read password-protected sections.

Route 1: Import from your Microsoft account

1. Open Importer from the left ribbon or the command palette (Importer: Import notes).
2. Choose Microsoft OneNote.
3. Select Sign in. Your browser opens Microsoft's sign-in page; sign in with the account that holds your notebooks.
4. Select Accept to let Obsidian read your OneNote notebooks.
5. Select Open Link so the browser sends you back to Obsidian.
6. Importer now lists your notebooks and sections. Check the sections you want.
7. Select Continue until Importer shows the note template it will use and previews a few of your pages.
8. Select Start import and wait. Large notebooks take a while because Microsoft limits how fast pages can be read.

Notebooks that other people shared with you won't appear. A work or school account may show a Use work or school access button after you sign in; it asks for the wider permission those accounts need, and your organization may have to approve it.

If a page comes in empty, Obsidian's help suggests a fix: in OneNote on the web, export that notebook, unzip it, upload it again with OneNote's import page, then run Importer again.

Route 2: Import OneNote files

Export first. Only OneNote for Windows, the desktop app that comes with Microsoft 365, can export these files. OneNote for Mac and the older OneNote for Windows 10 app can't.

1. In OneNote for Windows, open the notebook and go to File, then Export.
2. Under Export current, choose Notebook.
3. Under Select format, choose OneNote Package (*.onepkg), then Export.
4. Repeat for each notebook.

You can skip the export for notebooks stored on the PC: their sections are already .one files in Documents\OneNote Notebooks. Backups of synced notebooks are in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\OneNote\16.0\Backup.

Then import:

1. Open Importer and choose Microsoft OneNote (.one, .onepkg).
2. Choose your files. You can pick several, so all your notebooks can come in at once.
3. Under Sections to import, uncheck anything you don't want.
4. Optionally set an Output folder, where attachments go, and what happens to Existing notes if you import the same notebook again.
5. Select Continue until the preview shows, check it, and select Start import.

This route never connects to Microsoft. The files are read on your computer.

What carries over and what doesn't

Comes through:

• Notebooks and sections, as folders. Each page is a Markdown note; a subpage goes in a folder named after the page above it.
• Text formatting, lists, tables, links and images. Attachments are saved as files in your vault and linked from the note.
• To-do tags, as Markdown checkboxes, ticked if you'd ticked them.
• Other OneNote tags, such as Important or Question, as Obsidian tags or callouts.
• Links between OneNote pages, as links between the imported notes.
• Equations, as LaTeX math that Obsidian displays.
• Handwriting and drawings, as SVG images in the note.

Doesn't come through, or changes:

• Layout. A OneNote page is a canvas where you can place text anywhere. An Obsidian note is one column, so side-by-side boxes end up one after another. Check pages that depended on where things sat.
• Handwriting as text. Ink is kept as a picture, not converted to typed words, so it isn't searchable in Obsidian.
• Password-protected sections. Skipped until you remove the password.
• Rights-protected files. Importer can't open them.
• Pages in the notebook's recycle bin. Not imported.
• Notebooks shared with you (Microsoft account route). Not listed; export them as files instead, if you can.

After the import, open a few of your busiest pages next to the original in OneNote. Fix anything that matters, and keep OneNote until you're happy.

Add AI to your imported notes

Once your notebooks 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 pages, 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.

Still deciding between the two apps? Read Obsidian vs OneNote.

Questions

Can I import OneNote into Obsidian on a Mac? Yes, with the Microsoft account route, for notebooks synced to OneDrive. The file route needs files exported from OneNote for Windows, because OneNote for Mac can't export .onepkg files.

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 handwriting? Yes, as SVG drawings in the note. It doesn't turn handwriting into typed text.

Why are some of my OneNote sections missing? Importer can't see password-protected sections, and the Microsoft account route lists only notebooks you own. Remove the password, or export the notebook as a file and use the file route.

Will importing change my OneNote notebooks? No. Importer only reads them. Your notebooks stay in OneNote as they were.

Sources

• Import from Microsoft OneNote, Obsidian Help
• Importer, Obsidian Help
• Obsidian Importer 3.1.16, GitHub
• What's the difference between the OneNote versions?, Microsoft Support