Where Does Zim Wiki Keep Notebooks and Config?
Zim notebooks are plain folders of text files, with config under XDG paths. Notebook and config locations on Linux and Windows.
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A Zim notebook is just a folder of plain text files with a notebook.zim config file inside. You pick the folder when you create it, and new ones default to ~/Notebooks on Linux or %USERPROFILE%\Notebooks on Windows. Because pages are files, any backup tool or sync service handles them fine.
The app settings follow the XDG base directories: config under ~/.config/zim on Linux, %APPDATA%\zim on Windows. The notebooks.list file there records which notebooks you registered and which is default. To open a notebook elsewhere, point Zim at its folder. It will read the notebook.zim inside.
Where Zim stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\zim
Config root, with the zim subfolder holding notebooks.list and preferences.conf. New notebooks default to %USERPROFILE%\Notebooks rather than under AppData, which surprises people.
~/.config/zim
Same role as on Windows, following XDG_CONFIG_HOME when set. Default notebooks go to ~/Notebooks. Each notebook folder carries its own notebook.zim file.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find which folder a Zim notebook uses?
Open the notebook, then check File > Properties or read notebooks.list in the config folder above. The entry maps the notebook name to its folder. The folder containing notebook.zim is the one to back up.
How do I move Zim notebooks to a new computer?
Copy the notebook folders as-is, then open each with File > Open Another Notebook on the new machine. Text files and attachments travel together automatically. Copy ~/.config/zim too if you want preferences and the notebook list.
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