Upgrading from an older Znote

Znote 4.2 rewrote note storage: the internal SQLite database was replaced by plain markdown files in a vault. Here is what happens when you upgrade, and what changed.

Automatic migration

At first launch of the new version, your existing notes are migrated automatically:

• Notes become .md files in ~/Documents/Znote (if that folder already exists and is not empty, Znote-2, Znote-3… is used).
• Your virtual folder tree becomes real directories.
• Locked (encrypted) notes are copied verbatim.
• Trash moves to .znote/trash/, uploads are copied and file:// links rewritten.
• "Real folders" become linked folders; open tabs and the last note carry over.
• Audio recordings move to attachments/ and their links are rewritten as ![[file.webm|label]] embeds.

Nothing is deleted

Your legacy data is left in place in the app folder as a backup — the migration copies, it never destroys.

Breaking changes

Removed	Notes
Tags	Per-note tags, the tag palette and tag filters are gone. Existing tags are not migrated.
SQLite storage	Notes are markdown files; the legacy database is kept only as a backup.
First-line naming	The first # Heading no longer renames the note — the filename is the title, edited via the inline title or the tree Rename.
Project mode setting	Notes are always created in the selected folder; the tree, list and search are always available.
Split / read layout modes	The editor mode menu now has two options: Live edit and Source (Cmd/Ctrl+L toggles between them).
"Export folder" menu entry	Removed.
"Attached files" view & floating audio player	Superseded by the attachments model. Legacy play:// audio links migrate on click.
Desktop-audio ("Speakers") recording	Recording is microphone-only.

Good to know after upgrading

• The duplicate # Title heading that used to sit at the top of each note is stripped when it matches the note name — the new inline title replaces it.
• Search is now in-memory over the vault files — no database to maintain.
• Typing performance on large vaults improved dramatically (an 800-note vault went from ~225 ms to ~5 ms per keystroke).
• Your vault is watched: edits made by other apps (git, iCloud, Obsidian) appear automatically. Closing Znote no longer touches file modification times when nothing changed, so sync tools stay quiet.