Connecting Apps

A Brief Thought

What if I could manage a part of my Notion workspace from a Markdown file? There would have to be some sort of translation between what Markdown can express and what Notion can infer from it. This applies when looking at it from either direction. How would data from Notion be expressed in Markdown and vice versa, and more specifically, what kind of system would I need to ensure I am able to communicate consistently between the two?

Why might this be useful? Well, in cases where internet connectivity is not optimal and being online is a requirement for the application to even function, having the ability to open local files (JSON, Markdown, or plain text) and make changes that can later sync with a primary application provides a significant advantage.

What might this actually look like? Take an app like Obsidian, a Markdown-based knowledge management system that guarantees your data is truly yours and accessible at all times. With the help of a plugin, I could track changes made to a file and commit them.

After committing, the system would:

• If online, make a request to one of Notion’s API endpoints.
• If offline, queue offline commits for when connectivity returns.

Ultimately, appending a new item to a list in Markdown would directly translate to a new row being inserted into a Notion database.

Some Takeaways

The concept of managing a Notion workspace through Markdown files presents an interesting bridge between structured online applications and local file-based systems. By creating a bidirectional translation layer between Markdown’s capabilities and Notion’s database structure, we can establish a workflow that maintains data integrity while enhancing flexibility. This approach isn’t just valuable for the Notion use case—it represents a broader paradigm that could be generalized across many modern applications.