Export and import

The Linux CLI and Glob for Web read and write Glob Portable v1. It is a readable, unencrypted .glob JSON file with your nodes, notes, tasks and their organisation.

Check glob import --help in an installed CLI before following this guide. The portable build says imports create fresh IDs and keep existing data. Older builds can report the same 0.6.9 version while still using an ID-preserving upsert that replaces existing records. If the help describes an upsert, use a current portable build before importing.

Export#

glob export --to "$HOME/glob-copy"
glob export --to "$HOME/glob-copy.glob" --json

A directory receives glob-export.glob and a supplemental Node/, Note/, Task/ Markdown tree. A .glob or .json destination writes one portable JSON file. Use a new file or an empty directory; export refuses an existing file or a nonempty directory.

The portable file includes stored records and body entries, task completion and repeat counts, schedules and time zones, tags, colours, positions, hierarchy, summary blocks and variants, saved lookups and brainstorms, links, project membership, pins, bookmarks and list organisation. Archived and deleted records still stored on this device retain their state. It refuses records it cannot read instead of silently leaving them out.

The extra Markdown tree is a readable view of the active panels. It omits archived/deleted records and does not contain every portable field. When importing a directory, glob-export.glob takes precedence over that Markdown.

Export, Portable v1 import and panel-tree import require the package-backed Linux store. The macOS CLI retains import of the older flat Markdown directories as separate copies into its isolated store. See availability.

Import#

glob import "$HOME/glob-copy.glob"
glob import "$HOME/glob-copy" --json

Import validates the complete file before writing imported content. It creates separate copies with fresh IDs and adds their projects and lists. Your existing records are kept. Importing the same file twice creates two sets of copies.

Unknown versions, invalid fields and content the importer cannot retain produce an error naming the version and the problem. A validation error writes no imported content. A disk or storage failure can leave some new copies; existing data remains intact. Check the result before importing again.

The JSON result includes records, links, skipped and policy. Export's result includes records, directory and format; records counts portable records rather than Markdown files.

Older Markdown exports#

The importer also reads the old flat note/title--id.md layout and the formerly refused Node/Note/Task tree. Front matter supplies IDs and fields; _index.md and folder paths recover project/list containment and hierarchy where present. Task done, completed, due, due_end and time_zone fields are read.

Legacy imports also create new copies. Repeated appearances of a record in different panels are combined. Conflicting copies are refused. Compatible older packages/ data takes precedence over its Markdown projection.

Old Markdown did not store every position, colour, summary or task flag, so absent fields cannot be recovered. Its Markdown body remains text. To move that older directory to Web, import it in the CLI and export a new portable .glob file.

Exchange with Web and Mac#

In Web, use the project panel's Import & export view to import the file. Settings → Data → Export downloads the same format. See Web import and export.

The paused Mac app uses a separate project version 1 .glob format. Web still imports those files; it preserves the available project, note, position, bookmark and link data, with old summary markers retained as compatibility data. Mac project files omit task schedules and flags, tags, colours, hierarchy controls and separate summary blocks. The Mac cannot open Portable v1. The new export does not pretend to be a Mac project file.

What is excluded#

Portable v1 excludes encryption and recovery keys, account credentials, sharing access, sync journals and edit history, chat sessions, temporal journals, separate DataJar definitions, attachment binaries and device view preferences. It transfers current stored content and organisation; it is not a full account or history backup.

Keep the file private. Web constructs exports in the browser from data already decrypted there. Import adds documents to the existing encrypted sync path; it grants no shared access. Resolve sync errors first if this device may be missing work. Inspect an imported project and a few known tasks before relying on the copy.