Apple's built-in route is vCard: select contacts in the Contacts app, File > Export > Export vCard. It is free and works for moving contacts into another address book. vCard files are for importing into other apps, not for reading or searching as text.
contacts as Markdown
Notes Exporter exports every contact card as a Markdown file: phones, emails, addresses and groups, with YAML front matter. Two things vCard does not do:
- your people and your conversations cross-link — a contact's page lists your iMessage conversations with them, and each conversation links back to the person
- it keeps syncing: edit a contact and the file updates automatically
Plain files work in Obsidian, in backups, and as context for AI tools (use in Claude).
Your first 100 contacts export and re-sync free. Unlimited contacts are a one-time $4.99 (US price, adjusted per country) — not a subscription.
Download Notes Exporter for Mac
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