Where your notes live

Mimir keeps every note in a single, real SQLite database file on your device. Nothing is stored in the cloud unless you turn on Cloud Sync, and even then, sync only carries your notes between your own devices — Mimir has no servers that read your notes.

On macOS, the file is at:

~/Library/Application Support/mimir/mimir.db

You can open it with any SQLite browser. Mimir doesn’t let you move or rename it. To bring notes in from another app, see Importing notes from another app.

On iOS/iPad, the database lives inside Mimir’s private app storage. iOS doesn’t allow direct file access to it, the same as any other app on the platform. Use Exporting your notes if you want a copy of your notes outside Mimir.

Back up your notes

Don’t copy mimir.db in Finder or with cp while Mimir is running. Mimir keeps your most recent edits in a second file next to the database until it writes them in, so a plain copy can leave out your latest notes.

On macOS, run this in Terminal instead. It’s safe while Mimir is open:

sqlite3 ~/Library/Application\ Support/mimir/mimir.db "VACUUM INTO '$HOME/Desktop/mimir-backup-$(date +%Y-%m-%d).db'"

This writes a complete copy to your Desktop, named with today’s date, for example mimir-backup-2026-09-27.db. It stops with an error rather than overwrite a backup that already has that name.

To check that the copy is sound, run this. It prints ok for a good copy:

sqlite3 ~/Desktop/mimir-backup-$(date +%Y-%m-%d).db "PRAGMA integrity_check"

A backup tool such as Time Machine copies the file while Mimir runs, so quit Mimir before it runs, or back up a copy made with the command above. Exporting your notes is safe to run at any time too. To put a backup back, see Restoring from a backup.