1d ago
Option to store notes outside the sandbox container
## TitleProvide a supported option to store the note repository in a user-chosen location outside the app's sandbox container (for external tool / automation access)## SummaryNotePlan stores its notes by default inside the app's sandbox container:`~/Library/Containers/co.noteplan.NotePlan3/Data/Library/Application Support/co.noteplan.NotePlan3`The notes are plain markdown, which is excellent — but because they live inside a sandbox container, any external tool that reads them directly (a script, a backup tool, or an AI agent CLI) triggers the macOS TCC dialog "[tool] would like to access data from other apps." On current macOS that consent is hard to persist, so the prompt recurs continually, and in some configurations the App Sandbox blocks the read outright (it can block even Terminal and root). This makes direct external file access to a NotePlan repository impractical.The only alternative storage location — iCloud Drive — is hidden in current builds. It can only be re-enabled by invoking `noteplan://x-callback-url/showiCloudDrive` per platform, and NotePlan's own documentation discourages it. There is no supported way to point NotePlan at an ordinary user folder the way Obsidian opens a vault.## RequestAdd a visible, supported setting to store the note repository in a user-chosen location **outside** `~/Library/Containers` — for example a normal folder under `~/Documents` or any path the user selects. This would let external automation and AI agents read and write the files directly without hitting the sandbox-container TCC wall, while keeping NotePlan's editing/calendar/task features on top of the same files.If full relocation isn't feasible, smaller improvements that would help, in order of usefulness:1. Restore a visible toggle for iCloud Drive storage in Preferences → Sync (rather than requiring the hidden `x-callback-url`), with the tradeoffs documented inline.2. Document a supported, persistent way for an external tool to be granted access to the container repository on current macOS.3. Document the official NotePlan MCP server as the recommended automation path for AI agents, with its capabilities and limits, so users know not to rely on direct container file access.## Use case / motivationI run a local AI assistant that reads and writes a plain-markdown repository directly on disk. With an ordinary folder this is a frictionless filesystem operation. With NotePlan's container storage, the assistant triggers the macOS "access data from other apps" prompt on essentially every operation, which is unworkable. A user-selectable, non-container storage location would let NotePlan serve as the editing/calendar/task front end over the same files an external agent maintains.## Environment- NotePlan version: 3.21.1 (1521)- macOS: macOS Tahoe 26.5.1, MacBook Pro (Apple M5 Pro), 64 GB RAM, Apple silicon## Related reports- Apple Feedback Assistant report on the OS-side TCC behavior: **FB23381293**.- I'm aware NotePlan ships an official MCP server that routes automation through the running app; this request is specifically about supported **direct file** access for tools that operate on the repository as a folder.
Pending