Notion Sync
Bi-directional sync between markdown files and Notion pages, plus database management utilities for research tracking and project management.
Upgrading
From v2.0: Replace --token "ntn_..." with --token-file, --token-stdin, or NOTION_API_KEY env var. Bare --token is no longer accepted (credentials should never appear in process listings).
From v1.x: See v2.0 changelog for migration details.
Requirements
- Node.js v18 or later
- A Notion integration token (starts with
ntn_orsecret_)
Setup
-
Create a new integration (or use an existing one)
-
Copy the "Internal Integration Token"
-
Pass the token using one of these methods (priority order used by scripts):
Option A — Token file (recommended):
echo "ntn_your_token" > ~/.notion-token && chmod 600 ~/.notion-token node scripts/search-notion.js "query" --token-file ~/.notion-tokenOption B — Stdin pipe:
echo "$NOTION_API_KEY" | node scripts/search-notion.js "query" --token-stdinOption C — Environment variable:
export NOTION_API_KEY="ntn_your_token" node scripts/search-notion.js "query"Auto default: If
~/.notion-tokenexists, scripts use it automatically even without--token-file. -
Share your Notion pages/databases with the integration:
- Open the page/database in Notion
- Click "Share" → "Invite"
- Select your integration
JSON Output Mode
All scripts support a global --json flag.
- Suppresses progress logs written to stderr
- Keeps stdout machine-readable for automation
- Errors are emitted as JSON:
{ "error": "..." }
Example:
node scripts/query-database.js <db-id> --limit 5 --json
Path Safety Mode
Scripts that read/write local files are restricted to the current working directory by default.
- Prevents accidental reads/writes outside the intended workspace
- Applies to:
md-to-notion.js,add-to-database.js,notion-to-md.js,watch-notion.js - Override intentionally with
--allow-unsafe-paths
Examples:
# Default (safe): path must be inside current workspace
node scripts/md-to-notion.js docs/draft.md <parent-id> "Draft"
# Intentional override (outside workspace)
node scripts/notion-to-md.js <page-id> ~/Downloads/export.md --allow-unsafe-paths
Core Operations
1. Search Pages and Databases
Search across your Notion workspace by title or content.
node scripts/search-notion.js "<query>" [--filter page|database] [--limit 10] [--json]
Examples:
# Search for newsletter-related pages
node scripts/search-notion.js "newsletter"
# Find only databases
node scripts/search-notion.js "research" --filter database
# Limit results
node scripts/search-notion.js "AI" --limit 5
Output:
[
{
"id": "page-id-here",
"object": "page",
"title": "Newsletter Draft",
"url": "https://notion.so/...",
"lastEdited": "2026-02-01T09:00:00.000Z"
}
]
2. Query Databases with Filters
Query database contents with advanced filters and sorting.
node scripts/query-database.js <database-id> [--filter <json>] [--sort <json>] [--limit 10] [--json]
Examples:
# Get all items
node scripts/query-database.js xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
# Filter by Status = "Complete"
node scripts/query-database.js <db-id> \
--filter '{"property": "Status", "select": {"equals": "Complete"}}'
# Filter by Tags containing "AI"
node scripts/query-database.js <db-id> \
--filter '{"property": "Tags", "multi_select": {"contains": "AI"}}'
# Sort by Date descending
node scripts/query-database.js <db-id> \
--sort '[{"property": "Date", "direction": "descending"}]'
# Combine filter + sort
node scripts/query-database.js <db-id> \
--filter '{"property": "Status", "select": {"equals": "Complete"}}' \
--sort '[{"property": "Date", "direction": "descending"}]'
Common filter patterns:
- Select equals:
{"property": "Status", "select": {"equals": "Done"}} - Multi-select contains:
{"property": "Tags", "multi_select": {"contains": "AI"}} - Date after:
{"property": "Date", "date": {"after": "2024-01-01"}} - Checkbox is true:
{"property": "Published", "checkbox": {"equals": true}} - Number greater than:
{"property": "Count", "number": {"greater_than": 100}}
3. Update Page Properties
Update properties for database pages (status, tags, dates, etc.).
node scripts/update-page-properties.js <page-id> <property-name> <value> [--type <type>] [--json]
Supported types: select, multi_select, checkbox, number, url, email, date, rich_text
Examples:
# Set status
node scripts/update-page-properties.js <page-id> Status "Complete" --type select
# Add multiple tags
node scripts/update-page-properties.js <page-id> Tags "AI,Leadership,Research" --type multi_select
# Set checkbox
node scripts/update-page-properties.js <page-id> Published true --type checkbox
# Set date
node scripts/update-page-properties.js <page-id> "Publish Date" "2024-02-01" --type date
# Set URL
node scripts/update-page-properties.js <page-id> "Source URL" "https://example.com" --type url
# Set number
node scripts/update-page-properties.js <page-id> "Word Count" 1200 --type number
4. Batch Update
Batch update a single property across multiple pages in one command.
Mode 1 — Query + Update:
node scripts/batch-update.js <database-id> <property-name> <value> --filter '<json>' [--type select] [--dry-run] [--limit 100]
Example:
node scripts/batch-update.js <db-id> Status Review \
--filter '{"property":"Status","select":{"equals":"Draft"}}' \
--type select
Mode 2 — Page IDs from stdin:
echo "page-id-1\npage-id-2\npage-id-3" | \
node scripts/batch-update.js --stdin <property-name> <value> [--type select] [--dry-run]
Features:
--dry-run: prints pages that would be updated (with current property value) without writing--limit <n>: max pages to process (default100)- Pagination in query mode (
has_more/next_cursor) up to limit - Rate-limit friendly updates (300ms between page updates)
- Progress and summary on stderr, JSON result array on stdout
5. Markdown → Notion Sync
Push markdown content to Notion with full formatting support.
node scripts/md-to-notion.js \
"<markdown-file-path>" \
"<notion-parent-page-id>" \
"<page-title>" [--json] [--allow-unsafe-paths]
Example:
node scripts/md-to-notion.js \
"projects/newsletter-draft.md" \
"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx" \
"Newsletter Draft - Feb 2026"
Supported formatting:
- Headings (H1-H3)
- Bold/italic text
- Links
- Bullet lists
- Code blocks with syntax highlighting
- Horizontal dividers
- Paragraphs
Features:
- Batched uploads (100 blocks per request)
- Automatic rate limiting (350ms between batches)
- Rich text is automatically chunked to Notion's 2000-character limit (including bold/italic/link spans)
- Returns Notion page URL and ID
Output:
Parsed 294 blocks from markdown
✓ Created page: https://www.notion.so/[title-and-id]
✓ Appended 100 blocks (100-200)
✓ Appended 94 blocks (200-294)
✅ Successfully created Notion page!
6. Notion → Markdown Sync
Pull Notion page content and convert to markdown.
node scripts/notion-to-md.js <page-id> [output-file] [--json] [--allow-unsafe-paths]
Example:
node scripts/notion-to-md.js \
"abc123-example-page-id-456def" \
"newsletter-updated.md"
Features:
- Converts Notion blocks to markdown
- Preserves formatting (headings, lists, code, quotes)
- Optional file output (writes to file or stdout)
7. Change Detection & Monitoring
Monitor Notion pages for edits and compare with local markdown files.
node scripts/watch-notion.js "<page-id>" "<local-markdown-path>" [--state-file <path>] [--json] [--allow-unsafe-paths]
Example:
node scripts/watch-notion.js \
"abc123-example-page-id-456def" \
"projects/newsletter-draft.md"
State tracking: By default maintains state in memory/notion-watch-state.json (relative to current working directory). You can override with --state-file <path> (supports ~ expansion):
node scripts/watch-notion.js "<page-id>" "<local-path>" --state-file ~/.cache/notion-watch-state.json
Default state schema:
{
"pages": {
"<page-id>": {
"lastEditedTime": "2026-01-30T08:57:00.000Z",
"lastChecked": "2026-01-31T19:41:54.000Z",
"title": "Your Page Title"
}
}
}
Output:
{
"pageId": "<page-id>",
"title": "Your Page Title",
"lastEditedTime": "2026-01-30T08:57:00.000Z",
"hasChanges": false,
"localPath": "/path/to/your-draft.md",
"actions": ["✓ No changes since last check"]
}
Automated monitoring: Schedule periodic checks using cron, CI pipelines, or any task scheduler:
# Example: cron job every 2 hours during work hours
0 9-21/2 * * * cd /path/to/workspace && node scripts/watch-notion.js "<page-id>" "<local-path>"
The script outputs JSON — pipe it to any notification system when hasChanges is true.
8. Database Management
Add Markdown Content to Database
Add a markdown file as a new page in any Notion database.
node scripts/add-to-database.js <database-id> "<page-title>" <markdown-file-path> [--json] [--allow-unsafe-paths]
Examples:
# Add research output
node scripts/add-to-database.js \
xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx \
"Research Report - Feb 2026" \
projects/research-insights.md
# Add project notes
node scripts/add-to-database.js \
<project-db-id> \
"Sprint Retrospective" \
docs/retro-2026-02.md
# Add meeting notes
node scripts/add-to-database.js \
<notes-db-id> \
"Weekly Team Sync" \
notes/sync-2026-02-06.md
Features:
- Creates database page with title property
- Converts markdown to Notion blocks (headings, paragraphs, dividers)
- Handles large files with batched uploads
- Returns page URL for immediate access
Note: Additional properties (Type, Tags, Status, etc.) must be set manually in Notion UI after creation.
Inspect Database Schema
node scripts/get-database-schema.js <database-id> [--json]
Example output:
{
"object": "database",
"id": "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"title": [{"plain_text": "Ax Resources"}],
"properties": {
"Name": {"type": "title"},
"Type": {"type": "select"},
"Tags": {"type": "multi_select"}
}
}
Use when:
- Setting up new database integrations
- Debugging property names/types
- Understanding database structure
Archive Pages
node scripts/delete-notion-page.js <page-id> [--json]
Note: This archives the page (sets archived: true), not permanent deletion.
Common Workflows
Collaborative Editing Workflow
-
Push local draft to Notion:
node scripts/md-to-notion.js draft.md <parent-id> "Draft Title" -
User edits in Notion (anywhere, any device)
-
Monitor for changes:
node scripts/watch-notion.js <page-id> <local-path> # Returns hasChanges: true when edited -
Pull updates back:
node scripts/notion-to-md.js <page-id> draft-updated.md -
Repeat as needed (update same page, don't create v2/v3/etc.)
Research Output Tracking
-
Generate research locally (e.g., via sub-agent)
-
Sync to Notion database:
node scripts/add-research-to-db.js -
User adds metadata in Notion UI (Type, Tags, Status properties)
-
Access from anywhere via Notion web/mobile
Page ID Extraction
From Notion URL: https://notion.so/Page-Title-abc123-example-page-id-456def
Extract: abc123-example-page-id-456def (last part after title)
Or use the 32-char format: abc123examplepageid456def (hyphens optional)
Limitations
- Property updates: Database properties (Type, Tags, Status) must be added manually in Notion UI after page creation. API property updates can be temperamental with inline databases.
- Block limits: Very large markdown files (>1000 blocks) may take several minutes to sync due to rate limiting.
- Formatting: Some complex markdown (tables, nested lists >3 levels) may not convert perfectly.
Troubleshooting
"Could not find page" error:
- Ensure page/database is shared with your integration
- Check page ID format (32 chars, alphanumeric + hyphens)
"Module not found" error:
- Scripts use built-in Node.js https module (no npm install needed)
- Ensure running from the skill's directory (where scripts/ lives)
Rate limiting:
- Notion API has rate limits (~3 requests/second)
- Scripts handle this automatically with 350ms delays between batches
Resources
scripts/
Core Sync:
- md-to-notion.js - Markdown → Notion sync with full formatting
- notion-to-md.js - Notion → Markdown conversion
- watch-notion.js - Change detection and monitoring
Search & Query:
- search-notion.js - Search pages and databases by query
- query-database.js - Query databases with filters and sorting
- update-page-properties.js - Update database page properties
- batch-update.js - Batch update one property across many pages (query or stdin IDs)
Database Management:
- add-to-database.js - Add markdown files as database pages
- get-database-schema.js - Inspect database structure
- delete-notion-page.js - Archive pages
Utilities:
- notion-utils.js - Shared utilities (error handling, property formatting, API requests)
All scripts use only built-in Node.js modules (https, fs) - no external dependencies required.
references/
- database-patterns.md - Common database schemas and property patterns