Recovering Lost Notes in Markdown Editor

Stop typing first. Markdown Editor auto-saves the editor pane to markdownCurrentDoc. Typing now risks overwriting recoverable content. Take any fresh notes elsewhere.

What likely happened

Markdown Editor stores everything locally in your browser's extension storage under two keys:

• markdownDocuments — your full document list (titles, content, timestamps).
• markdownCurrentDoc — the raw text last shown in the editor pane.

Common causes when the list looks empty:

• Storage was cleared — often Firefox for Android's Delete browsing data on quit or site-data cleanup.
• Extension was reinstalled or moved profile — sideload, new profile, or cleared via debug tools.
• Storage is unreadable — if the JSON can't parse, the editor silently falls back to empty. Your data may still be on disk.
• You're in a different profile — private browsing, a synced device, or a second install.

Work through the steps in order — easiest first.

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Step 1 — Freeze the extension

Close the tab. Don't save, don't create, don't clear. If you're on a phone, put it down.

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Step 2 — Look for a backup file

If you ever used Export All Documents, there's a file like markdown-docs-2025-09-14.json in Downloads (or iCloud / Drive / Dropbox).

Found one? Open the extension → Import → pick the file. Even an old export recovers most of the work.

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Step 3 — Check other browsers and devices

Extension storage doesn't sync between devices — but a separate copy may exist on another one.

1. Open Markdown Editor everywhere you've used it.
2. If you find intact documents, Export All Documents immediately.
3. Import that JSON on the broken device.

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Step 4 — Inspect storage directly (desktop Firefox)

This recovers the most cases.

1. Open about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox.
2. Find Markdown Editor → click Inspect.
3. In DevTools, open the Storage tab (hit » if hidden).
4. Expand Extension Storage → Local.
5. Look for markdownDocuments and markdownCurrentDoc.

If markdownDocuments has data:

1. Expand it, right-click → Copy Value.
2. Wrap it like this and save as markdown-recovery.json:

{
  "version": "2.0",
  "exportDate": "2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z",
  "documents": [ ...paste your array here... ]
}

3. Re-open the extension → Import → pick the file.

If only markdownCurrentDoc has data: copy the string into a new document. That's your most recent session, at least.

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Step 5 — Firefox for Android (USB debugging)

Android Firefox has no about:debugging — drive it from a desktop instead.

1. Phone: Firefox → Settings → About Firefox → tap the logo 5× to unlock Secret Settings.
2. Back in Settings → turn on Remote debugging via USB.
3. Enable USB debugging in Android Developer options.
4. Connect the phone to a computer running desktop Firefox.
5. Desktop: about:debugging → USB Devices → Connect.
6. Click Inspect next to Markdown Editor → follow Step 4.

Heads up: match channels. If the phone runs Firefox Beta, use Firefox Beta on the desktop too.

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Step 6 — Dig into the profile folder (advanced)

If the extension won't load at all, or Step 4 is empty, data may still be on disk.

1. Go to about:profiles → click Open Folder next to Root Directory on the active profile.
2. Look inside:
   • storage/default/moz-extension+++…/idb/ — IndexedDB files.
   • browser-extension-data/{extension-id}/storage.js — older storage file.
3. Search for chunks of your text.
4. Found something? Copy the whole folder elsewhere before touching it, then email filenames (not contents) to [email protected].

Never edit profile files in place — a corrupted one stops Firefox from starting.

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Step 7 — Chrome, Edge, and Safari

Same idea, different menus.

Chrome / Edge

1. Open chrome://extensions (or edge://extensions) → enable Developer mode.
2. Find Markdown Editor → click Inspect views: service worker (or background page).
3. In the Console, run:

chrome.storage.local.get(['markdownDocuments', 'markdownCurrentDoc'], d => console.log(JSON.stringify(d, null, 2)))

4. Copy the output, wrap it in the Step 4 JSON format, import.

Safari (macOS)

1. Safari → Settings → Advanced → enable Show features for web developers.
2. Open Markdown Editor → right-click → Inspect Element.
3. Storage tab → look for markdownDocuments and markdownCurrentDoc.

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Step 8 — Stop it happening again

• Export monthly. Export All Documents → save to iCloud / Drive / Dropbox. The file is tiny.
• Check "clear on quit" settings. Firefox Android → Delete browsing data on quit — make sure Site data and Cookies are off. Same idea in Chrome / Edge.
• Don't uninstall to "reset". Uninstalling wipes storage. Email us first — we can almost always fix it in place.
• Split long documents. Extension storage caps around 5 MB. Ten small files survive better than one huge one.

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A small promise

Markdown Editor stays out of your way — no accounts, no cloud, no telemetry. The trade-off: the data lives on your device, and device storage can get cleared. That's what the Export button is for. Open the editor and find it — takes two seconds.

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Still stuck?

Email [email protected] with:

• Browser and version (e.g. Firefox 127 on Android 14).
• Roughly when the documents disappeared.
• Any recent updates, reinstalls, or browser changes.
• What you tried from this guide and what happened.

A real person reads every message. You're not yelling into a void.