# Accepted file formats

> Which files Terra opens and how: Markdown notes, PDFs, EPUB books, images, spreadsheets, web pages, and anything else as an attachment.

Source: https://terramd.io/docs/file-formats

Notes in Terra are Markdown files, but a [Library](https://terramd.io/docs/libraries) can hold other files too. When you add a PDF, a book, an image, a spreadsheet or a saved web page, Terra copies it into the Library and gives it a note of its own, so it turns up in lists, search and [databases](https://terramd.io/docs/databases) like any note and opens in a viewer made for it. Anything else is kept as an attachment, with a note that links to it.

![Three rows in the note list, labelled XLSX, PDF and EPUB.](https://terramd.io/docs/shots/files-format-list.webp "In the note list, a label on each row says what kind of file the note stands for.")

## What Terra does with each format

| Extension | What it becomes | Where it opens |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `.md` | A note | The editor |
| `.pdf` | A PDF, with its own note | The PDF viewer. Highlights are saved into the PDF itself; see [Annotate and keep every mark](https://terramd.io/docs/annotate-in-the-sidecar). |
| `.epub` | A book, with its own note | The [e-reader](https://terramd.io/docs/read-in-the-e-reader). Your highlights and place are kept beside the book, which is never changed. |
| `.png`, `.jpg`, `.jpeg`, `.gif`, `.webp`, `.svg`, `.heic`, `.avif` | An image, with its own note | The image viewer, which fits the picture to the window |
| `.bmp` | An image, with its own note | The editor, with the picture as the note's cover |
| `.xlsx`, `.csv` | A spreadsheet, with its own note | The spreadsheet view. Changes you make there are saved back to the file. |
| `.html`, `.htm` | A web page or report, with its own note | A page view inside Terra. Scripts in the page stay off until you click **Enable scripts**. |
| Anything else | An attachment, with a note that links to it | The note |

Only `.md` files are read as notes. Files ending in `.markdown` or `.txt` aren't, so if they hold Markdown or plain text, rename them to end in `.md`.

## Ways to add a file

- **Drag it into Terra** from Finder. This works for every format in the table; see [Add files from Finder](https://terramd.io/docs/files-and-folders#add-files-from-finder). Before adding files that have no viewer, Terra lists them so you can check:

  ![A dialog titled Add 3 files to Field guide, listing print-budget.numbers under Added with a note that links to the file, with Cancel and Add buttons.](https://terramd.io/docs/shots/files-drop-dialog.webp "Dropping a PDF, an image and a Numbers file onto a folder. The Numbers file has no viewer, so it gets a note that links to it.")

- **Copy it into the Library folder** with Finder. Markdown files appear as notes straight away. PDFs, images, spreadsheets and web pages get their notes the next time you open the Library, with a message such as **Adopted 3 loose files**. Books and other files aren't picked up this way; drag them into Terra instead.
- **Paste or drop it into a note** to attach it to that note. Images appear in the text; other files become a link. They're stored in the note's `attachments` folder (see [How Terra stores your notes](https://terramd.io/docs/how-terra-stores-your-notes#where-the-pieces-live)).
- **Import** a whole collection from another app (below).

Terra always copies: the file you dragged from stays where it was.

## Limits

- Files over 256 MB are skipped when you drop them, and hidden files (names starting with a dot) are left out.
- Books protected with DRM can't be opened; Terra shows **Encrypted EPUB** instead.
- A web page larger than 8 MB isn't shown inside Terra. It says **Report too large to preview**; use **Reveal in Finder** to open it in another app.

## Formats you can import

Importing converts notes from another app into Markdown notes in your Library. [Bring in your notes from another app](https://terramd.io/docs/bring-in-your-notes) walks through it.

| From | What Terra reads |
| --- | --- |
| Obsidian | The vault folder |
| Notion | A `.zip` export |
| Bear | A `.bear2bk` backup |
| Evernote | An `.enex` export |
| Roam Research | A `.json` export |
| Apple Notes | A folder of Markdown files and images exported from Apple Notes |
| Plain Markdown | A folder of `.md` files |
| Zotero, Mendeley and other reference managers | A BibTeX (`.bib`), RIS (`.ris`) or CSL-JSON (`.json`) export |

## Related

- [Files and folders](https://terramd.io/docs/files-and-folders) — where added files go, and how to move them.
- [How Terra stores your notes](https://terramd.io/docs/how-terra-stores-your-notes) — notes, attachments and sidecars on disk.
- [Read in the e-reader](https://terramd.io/docs/read-in-the-e-reader) — books, PDFs and images in Terra.
- [Bring in your notes from another app](https://terramd.io/docs/bring-in-your-notes) — importing step by step.