Import Markdown Files

Import local Markdown notes into Second Me so your AI self can learn from your journals, ideas, project notes, reading notes, and other long-form records.

Supported Files

• .md files
• .zip archives that contain one or more .md files

When you upload a ZIP archive, each .md file in the archive is imported as a separate note. Other file types in the archive are not imported as Markdown notes.

Prepare Your Markdown Files

Use one Markdown file for each note you want to import. To set the note title, add a level-1 heading near the beginning of the file:

# My Travel Notes

I want to remember these places for my next trip...

For regular Markdown files, Second Me uses the first level-1 heading (# Title) as the note title and removes that heading from the imported body to avoid duplicate titles.

If a file does not include a level-1 heading, the body content can still be imported, but the note title may be empty or generated later during analysis.

Add Metadata With Frontmatter

If you want Second Me to read metadata from a Markdown file, add YAML frontmatter at the top of the file and include secondme_export: v2.

---
secondme_export: v2
title: "My Travel Notes"
created: "2026-05-08 10:30:00"
tags:
  - Travel
  - Planning
---

# My Travel Notes

I want to remember these places for my next trip...

Without secondme_export: v2, frontmatter is treated like regular Markdown content and may appear in the imported note body. For ordinary Markdown imports, use a # Title heading instead.

Recommended Metadata

Field	Recommended use
secondme_export	Required if you want the frontmatter to be read as import metadata. Set it to v2.
title	Recommended. Used as the imported note title. If both title and a matching # Title are present, Second Me keeps the metadata title and avoids duplicating the heading in the body.
created	Recommended when you want to preserve the original note creation time. Use yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss, for example "2026-05-08 10:30:00". Invalid values are ignored.

For title, use the title you want to see on the imported note. Keep it concise; very long titles may be shortened during import.

For created, use a plain date-time string without a timezone suffix. If created is missing or cannot be parsed, Second Me falls back to the normal import-time behavior.

Additional Metadata Fields

These fields are optional. They are mainly useful when re-importing Markdown files previously exported from Second Me, or when you need a more structured import.

Field	How Second Me uses it
memory_type	Restores the note's memory type when valid. If missing or invalid, the note is imported as a text note.
tags	Restores Smart Topic associations by topic name. Existing Smart Topics with matching names can be linked to the imported note.
resources	Restores resource or attachment references. Each resource should include a url; optional fields include title, type, process, content, duration, and language.
process	Restores the note processing status. Usually only needed for files exported from Second Me.
permission	Restores the note permission or visibility state when available.
stage_code	Restores the note processing stage code when available.
doc_id	Preserved in exported files for reference. It is not used to keep the same note ID during import.
source_type	Preserved in exported files for reference. It is not required for user-authored Markdown imports.
data_type	Preserved in exported files for reference. For regular note import, memory_type is the relevant field.
modified	Preserved in exported files for reference. It is not used as the imported note's update time.
status	Preserved in exported files for reference. It is not required for user-authored Markdown imports.

Markdown files exported from Second Me may also include sections such as ## AI Summary, ## AI Insight, and ## AI Keywords. When present in the expected export format, Second Me can restore those AI-generated fields.

Import Steps

1. Open Second Me on the web.
2. Go to Import Data.
3. Select Markdown.
4. Upload a .md file, or upload a .zip archive that contains multiple .md files.
5. Wait for the import to complete.

What Happens After Import

Each imported Markdown file becomes a note in Second Me. After import, Second Me analyzes the note content asynchronously to enrich your AI self's memory. Important information may be extracted from the note, but extraction results can vary by content.

Limits and Notes

• You can upload up to 99 file items at one time.
• A ZIP archive can contain up to 100 Markdown files by default.
• Each imported Markdown note is limited to 100 KB of UTF-8 content.
• Overall upload size is also subject to your account's file upload limits.
• Local image or attachment paths inside ordinary Markdown files are not automatically uploaded as resources.
• Use UTF-8 encoded Markdown files for best results.

Troubleshooting

• If import fails, confirm that the file uses the .md extension, or that the ZIP archive contains at least one .md file.
• If the title is missing or incorrect, add a level-1 heading such as # My Note Title, or use the title metadata field with secondme_export: v2.
• If frontmatter appears in the imported body, add secondme_export: v2 to make it import metadata, or remove the frontmatter before uploading.
• If your AI self does not reflect the imported content immediately, wait for the asynchronous analysis to finish.