Bidirectional Sync Notion Pages Databases

---
name: bidirectional-sync-notion-pages-databases
description: "Bi-directional sync and management for Notion pages and databases. Use when working with Notion workspaces for collaborative editing, research tracking, project management, or when you need to sync markdown files to/from Notion pages or monitor Notion pages for changes."
category: "DevOps & Infra"
author: community
version: "2.5.3"
icon: server
---

# Notion Sync

Bi-directional sync between markdown files and Notion pages, plus database management utilities for research tracking and project management.

## Upgrading

**From v2.0:** Replace `--token "ntn_..."` with `--token-file`, `--token-stdin`, or `NOTION_API_KEY` env var. Bare `--token` is no longer accepted (credentials should never appear in process listings).

**From v1.x:** See v2.0 changelog for migration details.

## Requirements

- **Node.js** v18 or later
- A **Notion integration token** (starts with `ntn_` or `secret_`)

## Setup

1. Go to https://www.notion.so/my-integrations
2. Create a new integration (or use an existing one)
3. Copy the "Internal Integration Token"
4. Pass the token using one of these methods (priority order used by scripts):

   **Option A — Token file (recommended):**
   ```bash
   echo "ntn_your_token" > ~/.notion-token && chmod 600 ~/.notion-token
   node scripts/search-notion.js "query" --token-file ~/.notion-token
   ```

   **Option B — Stdin pipe:**
   ```bash
   echo "$NOTION_API_KEY" | node scripts/search-notion.js "query" --token-stdin
   ```

   **Option C — Environment variable:**
   ```bash
   export NOTION_API_KEY="ntn_your_token"
   node scripts/search-notion.js "query"
   ```

   **Auto default:** If `~/.notion-token` exists, scripts use it automatically even without `--token-file`.

5. Share your Notion pages/databases with the integration:
   - Open the page/database in Notion
   - Click "Share" → "Invite"
   - Select your integration


## JSON Output Mode

All scripts support a global `--json` flag.

- Suppresses progress logs written to stderr
- Keeps stdout machine-readable for automation
- Errors are emitted as JSON: `{ "error": "..." }`

Example:
```bash
node scripts/query-database.js <db-id> --limit 5 --json
```

## Path Safety Mode

Scripts that read/write local files are restricted to the current working directory by default.

- Prevents accidental reads/writes outside the intended workspace
- Applies to: `md-to-notion.js`, `add-to-database.js`, `notion-to-md.js`, `watch-notion.js`
- Override intentionally with `--allow-unsafe-paths`

Examples:
```bash
# Default (safe): path must be inside current workspace
node scripts/md-to-notion.js docs/draft.md <parent-id> "Draft"

# Intentional override (outside workspace)
node scripts/notion-to-md.js <page-id> ~/Downloads/export.md --allow-unsafe-paths
```

## Core Operations

### 1. Search Pages and Databases

Search across your Notion workspace by title or content.

```bash
node scripts/search-notion.js "<query>" [--filter page|database] [--limit 10] [--json]
```

**Examples:**
```bash
# Search for newsletter-related pages
node scripts/search-notion.js "newsletter"

# Find only databases
node scripts/search-notion.js "research" --filter database

# Limit results
node scripts/search-notion.js "AI" --limit 5
```

**Output:**
```json
[
  {
    "id": "page-id-here",
    "object": "page",
    "title": "Newsletter Draft",
    "url": "https://notion.so/...",
    "lastEdited": "2026-02-01T09:00:00.000Z"
  }
]
```

### 2. Query Databases with Filters

Query database contents with advanced filters and sorting.

```bash
node scripts/query-database.js <database-id> [--filter <json>] [--sort <json>] [--limit 10] [--json]
```

**Examples:**
```bash
# Get all items
node scripts/query-database.js xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

# Filter by Status = "Complete"
node scripts/query-database.js <db-id> \
  --filter '{"property": "Status", "select": {"equals": "Complete"}}'

# Filter by Tags containing "AI"
node scripts/query-database.js <db-id> \
  --filter '{"property": "Tags", "multi_select": {"contains": "AI"}}'

# Sort by Date descending
node scripts/query-database.js <db-id> \
  --sort '[{"property": "Date", "direction": "descending"}]'

# Combine filter + sort
node scripts/query-database.js <db-id> \
  --filter '{"property": "Status", "select": {"equals": "Complete"}}' \
  --sort '[{"property": "Date", "direction": "descending"}]'
```

**Common filter patterns:**
- Select equals: `{"property": "Status", "select": {"equals": "Done"}}`
- Multi-select contains: `{"property": "Tags", "multi_select": {"contains": "AI"}}`
- Date after: `{"property": "Date", "date": {"after": "2024-01-01"}}`
- Checkbox is true: `{"property": "Published", "checkbox": {"equals": true}}`
- Number greater than: `{"property": "Count", "number": {"greater_than": 100}}`

### 3. Update Page Properties

Update properties for database pages (status, tags, dates, etc.).

```bash
node scripts/update-page-properties.js <page-id> <property-name> <value> [--type <type>] [--json]
```

**Supported types:** select, multi_select, checkbox, number, url, email, date, rich_text

**Examples:**
```bash
# Set status
node scripts/update-page-properties.js <page-id> Status "Complete" --type select

# Add multiple tags
node scripts/update-page-properties.js <page-id> Tags "AI,Leadership,Research" --type multi_select

# Set checkbox
node scripts/update-page-properties.js <page-id> Published true --type checkbox

# Set date
node scripts/update-page-properties.js <page-id> "Publish Date" "2024-02-01" --type date

# Set URL
node scripts/update-page-properties.js <page-id> "Source URL" "https://example.com" --type url

# Set number
node scripts/update-page-properties.js <page-id> "Word Count" 1200 --type number
```

### 4. Batch Update

Batch update a single property across multiple pages in one command.

**Mode 1 — Query + Update:**
```bash
node scripts/batch-update.js <database-id> <property-name> <value> --filter '<json>' [--type select] [--dry-run] [--limit 100]
```

**Example:**
```bash
node scripts/batch-update.js <db-id> Status Review \
  --filter '{"property":"Status","select":{"equals":"Draft"}}' \
  --type select
```

**Mode 2 — Page IDs from stdin:**
```bash
echo "page-id-1\npage-id-2\npage-id-3" | \
  node scripts/batch-update.js --stdin <property-name> <value> [--type select] [--dry-run]
```

**Features:**
- `--dry-run`: prints pages that would be updated (with current property value) without writing
- `--limit <n>`: max pages to process (default `100`)
- Pagination in query mode (`has_more`/`next_cursor`) up to limit
- Rate-limit friendly updates (300ms between page updates)
- Progress and summary on stderr, JSON result array on stdout

### 5. Markdown → Notion Sync

Push markdown content to Notion with full formatting support.

```bash
node scripts/md-to-notion.js \
  "<markdown-file-path>" \
  "<notion-parent-page-id>" \
  "<page-title>" [--json] [--allow-unsafe-paths]
```

**Example:**
```bash
node scripts/md-to-notion.js \
  "projects/newsletter-draft.md" \
  "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx" \
  "Newsletter Draft - Feb 2026"
```

**Supported formatting:**
- Headings (H1-H3)
- Bold/italic text
- Links
- Bullet lists
- Code blocks with syntax highlighting
- Horizontal dividers
- Paragraphs

**Features:**
- Batched uploads (100 blocks per request)
- Automatic rate limiting (350ms between batches)
- Rich text is automatically chunked to Notion's 2000-character limit (including bold/italic/link spans)
- Returns Notion page URL and ID

**Output:**
```
Parsed 294 blocks from markdown
✓ Created page: https://www.notion.so/[title-and-id]
✓ Appended 100 blocks (100-200)
✓ Appended 94 blocks (200-294)

✅ Successfully created Notion page!
```

### 6. Notion → Markdown Sync

Pull Notion page content and convert to markdown.

```bash
node scripts/notion-to-md.js <page-id> [output-file] [--json] [--allow-unsafe-paths]
```

**Example:**
```bash
node scripts/notion-to-md.js \
  "abc123-example-page-id-456def" \
  "newsletter-updated.md"
```

**Features:**
- Converts Notion blocks to markdown
- Preserves formatting (headings, lists, code, quotes)
- Optional file output (writes to file or stdout)

### 7. Change Detection & Monitoring

Monitor Notion pages for edits and compare with local markdown files.

```bash
node scripts/watch-notion.js "<page-id>" "<local-markdown-path>" [--state-file <path>] [--json] [--allow-unsafe-paths]
```

**Example:**
```bash
node scripts/watch-notion.js \
  "abc123-example-page-id-456def" \
  "projects/newsletter-draft.md"
```

**State tracking:** By default maintains state in `memory/notion-watch-state.json` (relative to current working directory). You can override with `--state-file <path>` (supports `~` expansion):

```bash
node scripts/watch-notion.js "<page-id>" "<local-path>" --state-file ~/.cache/notion-watch-state.json
```

Default state schema:
```json
{
  "pages": {
    "<page-id>": {
      "lastEditedTime": "2026-01-30T08:57:00.000Z",
      "lastChecked": "2026-01-31T19:41:54.000Z",
      "title": "Your Page Title"
    }
  }
}
```

**Output:**
```json
{
  "pageId": "<page-id>",
  "title": "Your Page Title",
  "lastEditedTime": "2026-01-30T08:57:00.000Z",
  "hasChanges": false,
  "localPath": "/path/to/your-draft.md",
  "actions": ["✓ No changes since last check"]
}
```

**Automated monitoring:** Schedule periodic checks using cron, CI pipelines, or any task scheduler:
```bash
# Example: cron job every 2 hours during work hours
0 9-21/2 * * * cd /path/to/workspace && node scripts/watch-notion.js "<page-id>" "<local-path>"
```

The script outputs JSON — pipe it to any notification system when `hasChanges` is `true`.

### 8. Database Management

#### Add Markdown Content to Database

Add a markdown file as a new page in any Notion database.

```bash
node scripts/add-to-database.js <database-id> "<page-title>" <markdown-file-path> [--json] [--allow-unsafe-paths]
```

**Examples:**
```bash
# Add research output
node scripts/add-to-database.js \
  xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx \
  "Research Report - Feb 2026" \
  projects/research-insights.md

# Add project notes
node scripts/add-to-database.js \
  <project-db-id> \
  "Sprint Retrospective" \
  docs/retro-2026-02.md

# Add meeting notes
node scripts/add-to-database.js \
  <notes-db-id> \
  "Weekly Team Sync" \
  notes/sync-2026-02-06.md
```

**Features:**
- Creates database page with title property
- Converts markdown to Notion blocks (headings, paragraphs, dividers)
- Handles large files with batched uploads
- Returns page URL for immediate access

**Note:** Additional properties (Type, Tags, Status, etc.) must be set manually in Notion UI after creation.

#### Inspect Database Schema

```bash
node scripts/get-database-schema.js <database-id> [--json]
```

**Example output:**
```json
{
  "object": "database",
  "id": "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
  "title": [{"plain_text": "Ax Resources"}],
  "properties": {
    "Name": {"type": "title"},
    "Type": {"type": "select"},
    "Tags": {"type": "multi_select"}
  }
}
```

**Use when:**
- Setting up new database integrations
- Debugging property names/types
- Understanding database structure

#### Archive Pages

```bash
node scripts/delete-notion-page.js <page-id> [--json]
```

**Note:** This archives the page (sets `archived: true`), not permanent deletion.

## Common Workflows

### Collaborative Editing Workflow

1. **Push local draft to Notion:**
   ```bash
   node scripts/md-to-notion.js draft.md <parent-id> "Draft Title"
   ```

2. **User edits in Notion** (anywhere, any device)

3. **Monitor for changes:**
   ```bash
   node scripts/watch-notion.js <page-id> <local-path>
   # Returns hasChanges: true when edited
   ```

4. **Pull updates back:**
   ```bash
   node scripts/notion-to-md.js <page-id> draft-updated.md
   ```

5. **Repeat as needed** (update same page, don't create v2/v3/etc.)

### Research Output Tracking

1. **Generate research locally** (e.g., via sub-agent)

2. **Sync to Notion database:**
   ```bash
   node scripts/add-research-to-db.js
   ```

3. **User adds metadata in Notion UI** (Type, Tags, Status properties)

4. **Access from anywhere** via Notion web/mobile

### Page ID Extraction

From Notion URL: `https://notion.so/Page-Title-abc123-example-page-id-456def`

Extract: `abc123-example-page-id-456def` (last part after title)

Or use the 32-char format: `abc123examplepageid456def` (hyphens optional)

## Limitations

- **Property updates:** Database properties (Type, Tags, Status) must be added manually in Notion UI after page creation. API property updates can be temperamental with inline databases.
- **Block limits:** Very large markdown files (>1000 blocks) may take several minutes to sync due to rate limiting.
- **Formatting:** Some complex markdown (tables, nested lists >3 levels) may not convert perfectly.

## Troubleshooting

**"Could not find page" error:**
- Ensure page/database is shared with your integration
- Check page ID format (32 chars, alphanumeric + hyphens)

**"Module not found" error:**
- Scripts use built-in Node.js https module (no npm install needed)
- Ensure running from the skill's directory (where scripts/ lives)

**Rate limiting:**
- Notion API has rate limits (~3 requests/second)
- Scripts handle this automatically with 350ms delays between batches

## Resources

### scripts/

**Core Sync:**
- **md-to-notion.js** - Markdown → Notion sync with full formatting
- **notion-to-md.js** - Notion → Markdown conversion
- **watch-notion.js** - Change detection and monitoring

**Search & Query:**
- **search-notion.js** - Search pages and databases by query
- **query-database.js** - Query databases with filters and sorting
- **update-page-properties.js** - Update database page properties
- **batch-update.js** - Batch update one property across many pages (query or stdin IDs)

**Database Management:**
- **add-to-database.js** - Add markdown files as database pages
- **get-database-schema.js** - Inspect database structure
- **delete-notion-page.js** - Archive pages

**Utilities:**
- **notion-utils.js** - Shared utilities (error handling, property formatting, API requests)

All scripts use only built-in Node.js modules (https, fs) - no external dependencies required.

### references/

- **database-patterns.md** - Common database schemas and property patterns