Evernote Core Workflow A: Note Creation & Management

Overview

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>)
LIMIT_REACHED	Too many notebooks (250 max)	Clean up unused notebooks before creating
DATA_REQUIRED	Missing title or content	Validate inputs before API call
INVALID_USER	Token expired	Re-authenticate user via OAuth flow

Resources

• Creating Notes
• ENML Reference
• Note Types Reference

Next Steps

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.