Manual method
Export accessible Notion workspace pages and databases into portable documents and files.
- On desktop/web, open Settings → Workspace → General.
- Choose Export all workspace content and select HTML or Markdown/CSV with files included as offered.
- Download the completed export from the notification; Notion says processing can take up to 30 hours and the emailed link expires after seven days.
- Extract the ZIP, open the sitemap and retain the folder structure.
Coverage and limitations: Permissions and teamspace export restrictions limit coverage; inaccessible private pages are excluded. Database views and application behavior may not survive export and re-import. Reuploading the archive does not instantly recreate the workspace.
Size and time to allow
Illustrative small / central / large case: 0.01 / 2 / 50 GB (decimal GB). These are planning assumptions, not a measured average per person. 2 GB is an illustrative personal workspace with notes, databases, images and PDFs; embedded video and large uploads can dominate.
Preparation: Provider-documented processing: up to 30 hours; download within the seven-day link window. Transfer is additional.
For the central 2 GB example, network transfer alone is approximately:
| Connection | Estimated transfer |
|---|---|
| 10 Mbps | 38.1 minutes |
| 50 Mbps | 7.6 minutes |
| 100 Mbps | 3.8 minutes |
Assumes 70% sustained use of the stated connection. Provider throttling, many small files, retries, local extraction and copying add time. For online backup use your upload speed. These are not estimates of the provider’s preparation queue. See calculation and large-file advice.
Store and verify the archive
An encrypted external drive is a practical main archive; a USB key can carry a copy if it has sufficient free space. Keep an additional encrypted copy on another device or private online backup, outside the source account’s sync folder.
Create notion/YYYY-MM-DD/originals/, preserve the untouched download, and extract a separate working copy when needed. Allow extra free space for archive plus extraction; compressed text can expand far beyond twice its size. Record account/scope, export date, date coverage and missing items in a local README without passwords.
Follow sitemap links offline, open CSVs and attachments, and compare key databases/page counts. Record inaccessible pages and external embeds. Reopen a sample from the second copy before deleting or replacing any source. Storage choices and verification.
Sources and review
Public documentation was reviewed on 27 October 2026. No signed-in export or restoration was performed. Account options and availability can change; follow the current provider instructions.