Move from ClickUp to Markdown
Export a CSV from ClickUp, then use File ▸ Import… in nokko on the Mac. Each Space and Folder becomes a folder, each List becomes a Markdown file, and each task becomes a line that Obsidian can read.
For Mac · Last checked
Export from ClickUp
ClickUp exports your tasks as one CSV file. These steps come from ClickUp's help page on exporting task data, read on 4 November 2026.
- In ClickUp, click your Workspace avatar in the upper-left corner and select Settings.
- In the All settings sidebar, select Imports / Exports.
- Click Export Items.
- Open Select locations and choose the Spaces, Folders or Lists you want. ClickUp says a smaller export is more likely to succeed.
- Click Start Export, then Download Export when it is ready, and save the CSV. ClickUp also emails you a link to it.
Import it into nokko
On the Mac
- Open the workspace the work should land in. It can be a folder you already use as an Obsidian vault.
- Choose File ▸ Import….
- Leave ClickUp selected and click Choose CSV…, then pick the file.
- Read the preview. It shows the count of spaces, projects and tasks and the whole tree. If anything needs your attention, a list headed Read, but worth knowing follows.
- Click Import. Nothing is written until you do.
The import only adds files. Each ClickUp Space becomes a new folder with a small _space.md marker, and your existing files are not touched. If a space with that name already exists, the import lands in <name> (Imported) and is never merged.
nokko opens the first board and shows a notice such as Imported 5 files from ClickUp. Press ⌘Z straight away and the whole import goes in one step. Importing writes files, so it needs the free trial or a purchase.
What maps to what
| In the ClickUp CSV | In nokko | In the file |
|---|---|---|
| Space Name | In nokkoA space | In the fileA top-level folder with _space.md. No name gives ClickUp Import. |
| Folder Name/Path | In nokkoA folder | In the fileOne folder level. Deeper levels join the board's name with – , and the preview says so. |
| List Name | In nokkoA board | In the file<List>.md with type: project. No name gives Tasks. |
| Task Name | In nokkoA task | In the fileOne - [ ] line under ## Tasks. |
| Parent ID | In nokkoA subtask | In the fileThe line is indented under its parent. |
| Task Content | In nokkoNotes | In the fileOne indented line per line of text. |
| Task Link | In nokkoA note | In the fileClickUp: <url> under the task, so you can find the original. |
| Priority 1 or urgent | In nokkoHighest | In the file🔺 |
| Priority 2 or high | In nokkoHigh | In the file⏫ |
| Priority 3 or normal | In nokkoNone | In the fileNo mark. |
| Priority 4 or low | In nokkoLow | In the file🔽 |
| Start Date | In nokkoStart date | In the file🛫 2026-10-25 |
| Due Date | In nokkoDue date | In the file📅 2026-11-01 |
| Tags | In nokkoTags | In the file#web. Spaces become hyphens, and other punctuation is dropped. |
| Assignees | In nokkoAn Assignee column | In the file[Assignee:: Eglė Kazlauskė], on boards that have any. |
| Task Type: Milestone | In nokkoA milestone | In the file🎯 |
| Any other Task Type | In nokkoA task type | In the file[type:: Bug]. Plain Task adds nothing. |
| Time Estimated | In nokkoAn estimate | In the file[est:: 4h] |
| Time Spent | In nokkoA text column | In the file[Logged (ClickUp):: 1h30m]. It does not become ⏱ lines. |
ClickUp stores dates as timestamps. nokko reads each one as the calendar day in your Mac's time zone. Names are made safe for the disk: a / becomes – , a : is dropped, and two boards with one name in a space get (2).
How statuses come across
A list that uses only Open and Closed needs no setup: Open is [ ], Closed is [x]. Any other list keeps its own statuses. nokko writes them into the board's statuses: block, in the order they first appear, and puts [status:: in design] on each task.
The CSV gives a status name but not its type, so nokko decides the checkbox from the words:
| Status name | Group | Checkbox |
|---|---|---|
| closed, complete, completed, done | Groupdone | Checkbox[x] |
| open, to do, todo, backlog, or empty | Grouptodo | Checkbox[ ] |
| cancelled, canceled | Groupcancelled | Checkbox[-] |
| Anything else | Groupactive | Checkbox[/] |
What is counted but not imported
These appear in Read, but worth knowing before you import, so you can decide what to copy by hand:
- Checklists.
1 task has checklists the CSV does not carry item-by-item; not imported - Comments. The preview counts the tasks that have them. Their text is not imported.
- Attachments. The preview counts the tasks that have them. The files stay in ClickUp.
- Logged time. Each task's total is kept in the
Logged (ClickUp)column. It never becomes ⏱ lines, because the export has no dates for it and invented dates would spoil your timesheets. - Subtasks whose parent is not in the export. They move to the top level.
- Folders deeper than one level. The extra levels join the board's name.
- A priority ClickUp does not export. It is skipped.
- Rows with more cells than the header. The extra cells are not read.
Columns nokko does not read at all, such as Date Created and Task Custom ID, are skipped without a warning.
What the Markdown looks like
This is real importer output for a small list called Website, in a folder called Halden Coffee:
---
type: project
statuses:
- "in design: active"
- "to do: todo"
- "complete: done"
columns:
- "Assignee"
- "Logged (ClickUp)"
---
# Website
## Tasks
- [/] Homepage redesign [Assignee:: Eglė Kazlauskė] [Logged (ClickUp):: 1h30m] [est:: 4h] [status:: in design] ⏫ 🛫 2026-10-25 📅 2026-11-01 #web #q4-launch
- Hero first.
- Then the grid.
- ClickUp: https://app.clickup.com/t/a1
- [ ] Write copy [status:: to do]
- ClickUp: https://app.clickup.com/t/a2
- [ ] Launch [status:: to do] 🎯 🔺 📅 2026-11-01
- ClickUp: https://app.clickup.com/t/a3
- [x] Book the photographer [status:: complete]
- ClickUp: https://app.clickup.com/t/a4Dates and priorities are Obsidian Tasks notation, so this opens in Obsidian as it is. See Obsidian Tasks and Dataview for what each mark means there. If you are moving to Obsidian, open this workspace folder as a vault, or import into a workspace that already is one.
What to check afterwards
- Compare the task count on a large board with the same List in ClickUp.
- Open a board in the Board view and read the columns. Fix any status that landed in the wrong group.
- Spot-check a few due dates, especially if your team works across time zones.
- Check that subtasks sit under the right parent.
- Add your people if you need them. The import writes each name into
[Assignee:: …], the same field People uses, but it makes no People files. Add a person with exactly that name and the assignee filter finds those tasks. A task with two assignees holds both names in one value, so reassign it by hand. - Keep the CSV and your ClickUp account until you have copied any comments, checklists and attachments you still need.
If the file is refused with This CSV has no "Task Name" column, it is not a ClickUp task export. Go back to Imports / Exports and export again.
If you import the same CSV twice, the second copy lands in <Space> (Imported). Press ⌘Z to remove it. If you keep it and import a third time, nothing is written and nokko says Nothing was imported — every file already exists.
Questions
- Can I move from ClickUp to Obsidian with nokko?
- Yes, nokko turns a ClickUp CSV export into Markdown boards in Obsidian Tasks notation, inside a folder Obsidian can open as a vault. Spaces become folders and Lists become files. You need nokko on a Mac for the import, and the files stay plain Markdown whether or not you keep using it.
- Does nokko import ClickUp comments and attachments?
- No, nokko only counts the tasks that have comments, checklists or attachments, and shows those counts in the preview. Each task keeps a link back to ClickUp as a note. Keep your ClickUp account until you have copied anything you still need.
- Why is my ClickUp time not in nokko's timesheet?
- nokko keeps ClickUp's logged time as a Logged (ClickUp) column on the board, not as time entries. The export gives one total per task with no dates, so nokko cannot place those hours on a day. They stay out of the timesheet, reports and invoices. Time you track from now on goes in as normal.