Importing from Logseq, Obsidian, or an EtherPK export

Import brings an existing folder of notes in as a brand-new knowledge graph. The source folder is only ever read - your original graph or vault stays exactly as it was.

An import always creates a new graph. It cannot add files to an existing local or synced graph, and it does not convert the source graph in place. Moving a local graph to synced storage therefore leaves the local graph untouched and creates a separate synced graph.

Supported sources:

How to import

  1. On the Graphs page, click Import.
  2. Choose the source folder. The picker reads the folder once; nothing is written to it.
  3. Check the detected format (you can override it), give the graph a name, and choose where it lives:
    • Local folder - plain markdown files in a new, empty folder you choose. Needs a Chromium-based desktop browser. If the folder you pick isn't empty, the import refuses - it never adopts or overwrites an existing folder.
    • Synced graph - end-to-end encrypted on your sync server, available on all your devices. Set up sync first - see Synced Graphs And Your Recovery Code. You are not asked to choose a destination folder because EtherPK creates a new graph on the Sync Server.
  4. Click Import. The import window closes and a progress activity takes over.

Before importing to a synced graph

The Synced graph choice is available only after this device has connected to a Sync Server and the Server has confirmed your account. Use Graphs -> Sync settings to connect to Managed Sync or a Custom server first.

If this account already has encryption keys and they are locked on this device, the import asks for them before it starts: approve from a device that is already unlocked, or enter your Recovery Code. Nothing is created on the sync server until the keys are in hand, and cancelling the prompt simply cancels the import. You do not need an existing synced graph to unlock - Sync settings → Unlock keys does the same job from a device that has none.

If this is your account's first synced graph, EtherPK creates your encryption keys before the import starts and shows you the Recovery Code there and then. Save it and confirm, and the import begins; nothing is uploaded until you have. That ordering is deliberate: your notes are encrypted with a Graph Key that lives in the key bundle, and until the bundle is stored, anything already uploaded could not be opened again. The Sync Server still cannot recover the code or your graph for you.

You can also mint them ahead of time with Sync settings → Create encryption keys. The import then just adds the new graph's key to the bundle you already have.

While the import runs

Import runs in the background. You can close the import window, visit another part of EtherPK and carry on working whilst the activity reports progress. Only one import can run in a browser tab at a time.

For a synced destination, EtherPK converts the source, encrypts and uploads its assets, prepares the documents, then waits for the Sync Server to confirm the encrypted changes. The graph is not added to this device's main graph list until the import has safely reached its final registration step.

When the activity finishes:

Imported synced assets have the same membership checks and end-to-end encryption as assets added in the editor. See Images And Files In Your Notes for the full access and security details.

What gets converted

Documents, assets, journals, and links all come across. A few things are worth knowing:

The Import Report

Every conversion that couldn't be lossless is listed on an Import Report page generated inside the new graph, with links to the affected documents. It's an ordinary page - read it, follow up anything that matters to you, then delete it if you like.