Evernote Core Workflow A: Note Creation & Management Skill

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

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.

Agent Skills: Evernote Core Workflow A: Note Creation & Management

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