How to export a mind map to markdown

What the Markdown export contains

The Markdown export is the structure of your map written as a nested bullet list. The root node becomes the first bullet, every child becomes a bullet indented by two spaces, and each level of depth adds one more indent. Nothing else travels: no colors, no positions, no icons and no cross link tubes.

That is a deliberate trade, and it is the right trade for a text-first workflow. A Markdown list is something you can read, edit and paste into almost any tool, while a picture is something you can only look at. The exported file is named canvasola-mindmap.md and holds one list, in reading order from the root down.

Node labels travel as you typed them, including punctuation and capitalization. A node label can hold up to 8,000 characters and a map can hold up to 2,000 nodes, so a large map still exports in one piece. Rich notes, node images and drawings stay in the app.

• Root node first, then one bullet per child, two spaces per level
• Colors, positions, icons and link tubes stay in the app
• The file is named canvasola-mindmap.md
• Rich notes, node images and drawings do not travel

Export the map as Markdown

Open the File menu and choose Export Mindmap Markdown. The file downloads as canvasola-mindmap.md, and it is plain text, so you can open it in any editor, read it in a browser, or copy from it without saving anything to disk first.

Export the map while it is in the state you want to keep. The list follows the node hierarchy, and a branch you have collapsed in the editor is still part of that hierarchy, so it is still in the file. If a branch is not meant for the document, move it in a copy before you export.

If you want the drawing as well, export the SVG in the same pass. The two files together cover both audiences: the Markdown for anyone who will work on the words, and the SVG for anyone who needs to see the shape of the thinking.

1. Open the File menu. Choose Export Mindmap Markdown from the File dropdown in the top bar.
2. Open the file. Open canvasola-mindmap.md in a text editor or in your browser to read the list as it stands.
3. Copy what you need. Select the list and copy it, then paste it into the note, ticket or repository file where it belongs.

Paste it into your notes app

Open the file, select the list, and paste it into the note. Because the export uses standard Markdown bullet syntax, most notes apps render it as an indented list that can be collapsed and reorganized, and the structure you built in the map survives the move.

The paste is where the round trip usually breaks. If an app flattens the indentation, the hierarchy turns into a flat list of siblings and the map is gone even though the words remain. Check the indent levels after you paste, and if they have collapsed, the file is still intact and you can fix the destination instead.

Two habits make this reliable. Keep the .md file rather than only the pasted copy, so you can paste again when a note gets restructured. And keep the project file, so the visual map is still there when you want the picture version of the same thinking.

• Most notes apps read the bullet list as nested levels
• An app that flattens indentation loses the hierarchy
• Keep the .md file so you can paste again later

How layer tags appear

A map can hold up to 8 layers, and when you export a map that uses more than the first one, the Markdown carries a tag on the affected lines. The tag is written at the end of the label in square brackets, in the form [layer:N], where N is the plane the node sits on. Nodes on the first layer carry no tag, so a single-layer map exports as a clean list.

The tag is what makes a multi-layer map survive the round trip. When you import that Markdown back, Canvasola reads each [layer:N] tag and puts the node on the same layer, so the layered structure returns with the hierarchy. A tool that has never heard of layers shows the tag as plain text at the end of the label, which is harmless but visible, and you can delete it if the file is not going to be re-imported.

• Only nodes above the first layer get a tag
• The tag sits at the end of the label, in the form [layer:2]
• Other apps show the tag as ordinary text
• Re-importing the file puts each node back on its layer

Note: The tag is written on export, not stored in the node label, so the label you see in the app stays clean. A label that already ends in square brackets is not affected, because the tag is only recognized at the very end of a line.

Import Markdown back into Canvasola

Choose File, then Import Markdown…, and pick the .md file. Canvasola reads the headings and the bullet list, rebuilds the tree, and drops you into the new map with the view fitted. The imported map behaves like any other: Tab adds a child, C cycles the node color, and the export options work on it as they did before.

The parser is forgiving in the ways that matter. Headings from one to six hashes become levels, bullets nest by their indentation, a bullet directly under a heading becomes that heading's first child, and emphasis markers are stripped from the label. A file that mixes a short heading list with bullets underneath imports cleanly.

Importing replaces the map that was open, so save your work first. The project backup guide explains how to keep a .canv copy of the current project before you import over it, and the complete Canvasola guide shows where the import sits in the File menu.

• Headings and bullet lines are both recognized
• Indentation decides what is a child and what is a sibling
• The import replaces the map that was already open

Markdown versus the plain-text outline

The plain-text outline export gives you the same tree in a plainer form: one label per line, with indentation showing the depth and no bullet characters. It is the format to use when you are moving into a tool that expects indentation rather than Markdown, or when you want to read the structure in any plain text editor.

The difference matters most when you are importing. The outline import reads plain lines and their indentation, and it will even strip a bullet character from the start of a line, so it copes with untidy input. The Markdown import only recognizes heading and bullet lines, so a file of bare sentences arrives empty.

If you want the shortest path from a document to a map, the document import guide covers turning a Word file or a set of notes into an outline first, and the OPML guide covers the XML route for the tools that expect it.

• Markdown keeps bullet characters, the outline keeps only indentation
• The outline import is the more forgiving of the two
• Both carry the same node labels and hierarchy
• Only the Markdown route carries the layer tags

Note: The layer tag travels with the Markdown file and with the OPML file. The plain-text outline is the one export that leaves the layered structure behind, so use it for simple trees only.

A checklist you can reuse

• The export was taken from the map as you want it kept
• The file canvasola-mindmap.md was opened and read once
• The pasted list kept its indent levels in the destination app
• The .md file was kept next to the pasted copy
• Any [layer:N] tags were understood or removed on purpose
• The project file was saved before importing over an open map

Common mistakes to avoid

• Pasting into an app that flattens lists. When the destination strips the indentation, the hierarchy is gone even though the words remain. Check the levels after pasting and pick an app that keeps nested lists.
• Deleting the file after pasting. The pasted copy cannot be re-imported if the note gets restructured. Keep canvasola-mindmap.md so the list can be pasted again.
• Importing over unsaved work. An import replaces the map that was open. Save the project file first, or the map you were working on is gone from the screen.
• Leaving layer tags in a shared note. A [layer:2] tag at the end of a label looks like a typo to anyone reading the note. Remove it unless the note is going to be imported back.
• Expecting the colors and notes to travel. The Markdown export carries the hierarchy and the labels only. Anything visual stays in the app, so keep the SVG or the project file as well.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly does the Markdown export contain?

A nested bullet list: the root node first, then every child indented by two spaces per level, with your node labels as written. Colors, positions, node icons, cross link tubes, rich notes and node images are not part of the text file, so they stay in the app while the structure travels.

Can a Markdown file be imported back into a mind map?

Yes. Choose File, then Import Markdown…, and Canvasola rebuilds the tree from the headings and bullet lines in the file. The result is an ordinary map, so you can add nodes, recolor them and export it again, and the import is also how a layered map gets its tags back.

Will Notion, Obsidian and GitHub all read the file?

They all read standard Markdown bullet syntax, which is what the export writes, so the list renders as an indented list in each of them. What varies is how carefully an app preserves the indentation on paste, so check the levels afterwards and keep the original .md file for a second attempt.

Why does my exported file have no colors in it?

Markdown is a text format and carries no color, spacing or position information, so the export is the structure and the words only. If the visual version matters to someone, export the SVG as well, and keep the .canv project file if the map itself has to stay editable.

This guide is part of the export and import collection. For the wider product tour, read the complete Canvasola guide, and keep the keyboard shortcut cheat sheet open while you work.