Export a Milanote board to Markdown with AI

1. Open the board in Milanote and click Export at the top right of the board.
2. Pick a format from the Milanote Export menu: PDF Standard, PDF Large, PNG, Word, Markdown or Plain text; the file downloads once the export has processed.
3. Open each sub-board and export it the same way, because the Milanote help center describes export for one board at a time and says nothing about including nested boards.
4. For the images and files on a board, choose Generate ZIP in the same Export menu; on a board with many large files Milanote emails you when the ZIP is ready.
5. Rename and move every download into the right folder by hand, and repeat the whole round whenever the board changes.

Export my Novel outline board and each of its chapter sub-boards as Markdown into ./outline, one file per board.

1. 01

   Map the tree before exporting

   The agent finds the board with list_boards, then reads it with get_board to collect the sub-board cards inside. It asks whether you want only the top board or every level below it, and how deep to go.

2. 02

   Handle the Home board

   If you name your Home board, the agent does not try, since Milanote refuses that export. It exports the boards that sit on Home instead and tells you which ones it covered.

3. 03

   Pick the format by destination

   Markdown for a repo or a static site, Word for a client or an editor, Plain text for search or an AI prompt. For a large board it warns that PDF and PNG are squeezed onto a single page and suggests Word instead.

4. 04

   One file per board, stable names

   Each export_board call becomes its own file named after the board, with sub-boards in folders that follow the nesting. A second run overwrites the same paths, so a git diff shows what changed on the board since last time.

5. 05

   Flag the files separately

   Generate ZIP is a separate action in Milanote's Export menu for a board's images and files. The agent lists the boards that hold images or files and points you to Generate ZIP for those originals.

Exported 7 boards from Novel outline as Markdown into ./outline.
outline/novel-outline.md (top board, 41 cards).
outline/act-one/ch-01-the-letter.md to ch-04-the-ferry.md.
outline/research.md, which holds 12 images: use Generate ZIP in Milanote for those.
Skipped: none. Home was not requested.

• Milanote does not allow exporting a Home board; its help center suggests copying the items into a new board and exporting that.
• Milanote PDF and PNG exports are limited to a single page, so a large board comes out small, while a Word export stacks the content over several pages.
• Milanote's Generate ZIP downloads all images and files from a board, and for boards with many large files Milanote emails you when the ZIP is ready.
• Milanote's help center says an empty export is usually caused by an ad blocker or a similar browser extension.

Every tool here only reads, so it can run on a schedule from n8n, Make, Zapier or cron without waiting for your OK.

Sources: Milanote Help: Exporting your work · Milanote Help: Nesting boards · Milanote Help: What happens if I cancel or downgrade

curl https://cotlet.dev/api/v1/milanote/export_board \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"board_id":"b_2Xn9Dc","format":"markdown"}'

{
  "board_id": "b_2Xn9Dc",
  "format": "markdown",
  "content": "# Novel outline\n\n## Act one\n\n- Maya finds the letter\n- The ferry leaves without her\n"
}

MCP: add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 with the same key; the tool is milanote_export_board. Example data.

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