Primary workflow for creating, organizing, and managing notes in Evernote. Covers CRUD operations, ENML formatting, notebook organization, and tag management.
Prerequisites
Completed evernote-install-auth setup
Understanding of ENML format
Valid access token configured
Instructions
Step 1: Note Creation Service
Build a NoteService class that wraps NoteStore operations. Key methods: createNote() with ENML wrapping, createTextNote() for plain text, createChecklistNote() for <en-todo> items. Always sanitize titles (max 255 chars, no newlines) and wrap content in the required ENML envelope.
// Wrap raw HTML in required ENML envelope
function wrapInENML(content) {
return `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE en-note SYSTEM "http://xml.evernote.com/pub/enml2.dtd">
<en-note>${content}</en-note>`;
}
const note = new Evernote.Types.Note();
note.title = 'Meeting Notes';
note.content = wrapInENML('<p>Discussion points...</p>');
note.tagNames = ['meeting', 'team'];
const created = await noteStore.createNote(note);
Step 2: Note Retrieval and Reading
Use getNote(guid, withContent, withResources, withRecognition, withAltData) to control response size. Extract plain text from ENML by stripping tags. Check for uncompleted todos with /<en-todo\s+checked="false"/.
Step 3: Note Updates
Update notes by fetching metadata, modifying fields, and calling noteStore.updateNote(). Append content by inserting before the closing </en-note> tag. Add tags via note.tagNames array. Move notes between notebooks by changing note.notebookGuid.
Step 4: Note Organization
Manage notebooks with listNotebooks(), createNotebook(), and getDefaultNotebook(). Use notebook.stack to group notebooks into stacks. Implement ensureNotebook(name) to find-or-create by name.
Step 5: Complete Workflow Example
See Implementation Guide for the full NoteService, NotebookService, and a combined workflow that creates meeting notes with checklists, appends content, and toggles todos.
Output
NoteService class with create, read, update, and delete operations
ENML content formatting and validation helpers
NotebookService for notebook CRUD and stack organization
Tag management (add, remove, find-or-create)
Checklist note support with <en-todo> elements
Error Handling
Error
Cause
Solution
BAD_DATA_FORMAT
Invalid ENML
Use wrapInENML() helper; remove forbidden elements (<script>, <form>)
For search and retrieval workflows, see evernote-core-workflow-b.
Examples
Meeting notes workflow: Create a note with attendees, discussion points, and <en-todo> action items in a "Work" notebook. Append follow-up items after the meeting. Tag with meeting and team.
Bulk note import: Read Markdown files from disk, convert to ENML using htmlToENML(), and create notes in a designated notebook with automatic tag assignment.
