Open your ColorNote backup on a PC
ColorNote runs only on Android, and its backups cannot be opened by other programs. Notelift opens the .backup file in your browser, with your backup password, so you can read, search and save every note on a computer.
- Open the .backup file from your phone. ColorNote's default password, 0000, is tried first; if you set your own, type it.
- Read and search every note, with checklists, colours, folders, the archive and the trash.
- Nothing is uploaded: the file and the password stay on this device.
Open your backup
Pick the file that ends in .backup. You can also drop it here.
Older backups ending in .dat or .doc, or a backup sent as a ZIP, open too.
No backup yet? How to make one and send it to your computer.
Opening your backup
This backup has its own password
Your backup and its password never leave this device. The file is opened by this page, here, and nothing in it is stored or sent. We count page visits with Cloudflare Web Analytics: no cookies, no personal data, and never your files.
Your notes
Show
Colours
Folders
Also in the backup
Save your notes as files you can keep, open on any computer or move to another app. Everything is made in this tab.
A text file of 20 notes
Free. The first 20 notes of your choice in one .txt file, each with its title, dates, colour and folder.
Every note as files Pro
One file per note in a ZIP, sorted into your ColorNote folders, as plain text or as Markdown (Obsidian, Bear, Joplin). Checklists become task lists in Markdown.
Move to iPhone Pro
A pack for Notes: on a Mac it imports in one step, and iCloud brings the notes to your iPhone. The steps are in the pack, including what to do without a Mac.
Move to Google Docs Pro
Every note in one document, or one Google Doc per note in your folders, with step-by-step instructions for Google Drive.
PDF book or printout Pro
A book of your notes with a cover and a contents page, A5 or A4. Or print them from your browser, where you can also choose "Save as PDF".
Spreadsheet and data Pro
A CSV with one row per note for Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets, and a JSON file with every field for other programs.
Open a second backup to see what changed between the two: notes added, changed (with the changed lines) and removed. Useful when an older backup has something the newer one lost.
Notes you archived or put in the trash are still in the backup. Here they are in one list, so you can find what to bring back in ColorNote.
Notelift Pro: everything out, in the format you need
- Every note as text files or Markdown in one ZIP, sorted into your ColorNote folders.
- A pack for iPhone: Notes on a Mac imports it in one step, and iCloud brings it to your phone.
- A pack for Google Docs: all notes in one document, or one document per note.
- A PDF book with a cover and contents, or a printout from your browser.
- A CSV for spreadsheets and a JSON file with every field.
- Compare two backups: what was added, changed or removed.
- The restore list of everything in your archive and trash.
$6 one payment
No subscription. Paste the key on any browser you use; it works on all five language pages.
Buy Pro on GumroadPro sends only your license key to Gumroad, to check it. Reading, search, filters, copying and the text file of 20 notes stay free.
Get the backup from your phone to the computer
ColorNote saves backups on the phone itself. Send one to yourself, then open it here. These are the steps from ColorNote's own help page.
On the Android phone
- In ColorNote, open the menu and tap Backup, then the Device tab (or go to Settings, Backup).
- Tap Backup notes and enter your master password if ColorNote asks for it.
- Tap the backup file you just made and send it to yourself: by email, Google Drive or another app.
- On the computer, download the file (it ends in .backup) and open it here.
The password
ColorNote encrypts every backup. Without a master password it uses 0000, which Notelift tries first. With one, type the master password you had when the backup was made. ColorNote's automatic backups open with 0000 unless "Secured auto backup" was on.
Moving to an iPhone
ColorNote has no iPhone app. Open the backup here and save the iPhone pack: Notes on a Mac imports it, and iCloud brings the notes to your iPhone. All the steps, with and without a Mac.
Steps from ColorNote's help pages (restoring notes with a device backup, versions for other systems), checked on 22 October 2026. The backup format was checked on real ColorNote backups from January 2026. Notelift is an independent tool by Peak Apps Studio and is not affiliated with ColorNote or Social & Mobile, Inc.
Questions
Is there a ColorNote app for PC or Windows?
Not from ColorNote. ColorNote's help page says it supports only Android and suggests running the Android app in the BlueStacks emulator. To read your notes on a computer without an emulator, open a backup here.
How do I open a ColorNote backup file on a PC?
Make a backup in ColorNote (Settings, Backup, Backup notes), send the file to yourself, then choose it on this page. Notelift tries ColorNote's default password, 0000, and asks for yours if the backup has one. Your notes appear in a list you can search and filter.
Why can't other programs open ColorNote notes?
The backup is encrypted with your backup password, and ColorNote says its notes are not readable in other programs. Notelift opens the backup with the password you give it, in your browser, the way ColorNote itself does when it restores.
Is my backup or my password uploaded?
No. The file is read and decrypted by this page on your own device; nothing in it, and not the password, is stored or sent. The only request Pro makes is the license check with Gumroad, which sends the license key and nothing else.
What about notes I locked in ColorNote?
They are listed with their title and dates, but their text stays encrypted with your lock and cannot be shown. Take the lock off in ColorNote, make a new backup and open that one.
Can I move my ColorNote notes to an iPhone or to Google Keep?
To an iPhone, yes: Pro saves a pack that Notes on a Mac imports, and iCloud brings it to the phone (steps). Google Keep cannot import files, so the Google pack is for Google Docs and Drive.
Does Notelift change my backup or put notes back into ColorNote?
It never changes the file; it only reads it. To bring notes back into ColorNote on a phone, use ColorNote's own restore. The restore list shows which notes are in your archive and trash.