# How Notate stores your files

> How workspaces, roots, folders, and plain markdown files fit together on disk.

Source: https://notate.md/docs/getting-started/files-on-disk/

Category: Getting started

Updated: 2026-08-16

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Notate is files-first. Your notes are plain markdown files in ordinary folders on your disk, and the app is a view onto them. Nothing is locked inside a proprietary database.

## Workspaces, roots, folders, files

The structure nests from the top down:

- A **workspace** is a named collection of one or more roots.
- A **root** is a top-level folder you point Notate at (see [Root folders explained](https://notate.md/docs/organizing/root-folders/)).
- **Folders** are the subdirectories inside a root.
- **Notes** are `.md` files inside those folders.

What you see in the sidebar is exactly what you would see if you opened the same folders in Finder, Explorer, or the Files app.

## Attachments live alongside your notes

Images and other attachments are saved into a folder inside your root, so they travel with your notes when you copy or back up the folder.

## Deleted items go to a trash folder

Deleting a note or folder moves it into a hidden `.notate/trash` folder inside its root rather than erasing it, so it can be restored. See [Version history and trash](https://notate.md/docs/organizing/history-trash/).

## Control what Notate indexes

When you add a folder, Notate reads the markdown files inside it. You can tell it what to skip with a per-device **ignore list** in **Settings → Files**, so build output, dot-directories, or other files you do not want as notes are left out. The ignore list is per device, so each machine can index the same folder differently.

## Portable and standard

Because everything is standard markdown in real directories, your notes stay yours. Open them in another editor, sync them with your own tools, or walk away entirely and your files are intact and readable.