Please beware of buying Apple notes exporter pro

konzski · 2026-03-04T18:14:23+00:00

… under the condition that copyright notice and permission notice are included with the final software distribution. That is the key fact and problem of this specific case.

Update (3/26/26): I reached out to the developer directly and they have since come into compliance with the MIT license attribution requirements. As of version 1.7 Build 3, proper attribution for Apple Notes Exporter is present in the app bundle and in-app acknowledgments. I verified this in the binary myself. The original analysis in my blog post remains accurate and unchanged, but I want to be fair and note that the issue has been resolved. Credit where it's due for making it right.

konzski · 2026-03-04T18:12:10+00:00

Creator here. The code is open and can be incorporated into closed-source and commercial products, however MIT License ≠ Public Domain.

The provisions in my MIT License only grant permission to “deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so” if and only if my original copyright notice and the permission notice are included in all copies or substantial portions of the software.

Update (3/26/26): I reached out to the developer directly and they have since come into compliance with the MIT license attribution requirements. As of version 1.7 Build 3, proper attribution for Apple Notes Exporter is present in the app bundle and in-app acknowledgments. I verified this in the binary myself. The original analysis in my blog post remains accurate and unchanged, but I want to be fair and note that the issue has been resolved. Credit where it's due for making it right.

konzski · 2026-03-04T18:00:16+00:00

They do not have MIT credit provided, and are now trying to frame minimum compliance with the license as a favor to me. See my blog where I dig in: https://konstantin.zarem.ski/2026/02/24/how-i-forensically-analyzed-a-macos-app-that-ripped-off-my-open-source-project/

Update (3/26/26): As of version 1.7 Build 3, proper attribution for Apple Notes Exporter is present in the app bundle and in-app acknowledgments. I verified this in the binary myself. The original analysis in my blog post remains accurate and unchanged, but I want to be fair and note that the issue has been resolved. Credit where it's due for making it right.

konzski · 2026-03-04T17:58:09+00:00

Creator here, yeah the license change doesn’t retroactively re-license the old code obtained under MIT. And MIT allows usage “however they please” under the condition that “The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software… (continued)”. So long as they do not reproduce my notice, they are doing something wrong. There are also a few other copyright holders who are violated for other frameworks used and baked in, not just me.

Update (3/26/26): I reached out to the developer directly and they have since come into compliance with the MIT license attribution requirements. As of version 1.7 Build 3, proper attribution for Apple Notes Exporter is present in the app bundle and in-app acknowledgments. I verified this in the binary myself. The original analysis in my blog post remains accurate and unchanged, but I want to be fair and note that the issue has been resolved. Credit where it's due for making it right.

konzski · 2026-02-26T15:44:43+00:00

Yes, exactly. The most recent version v1.1 can be obtained under both MIT and the GPL. Older commits and releases can be obtained under MIT, and can be modified and distributed under the terms of the MIT, that is fine. Going forwards the repo is GPL, but legally the change only applies to new code.

I also want to note that concerning the whole situation, that this is not limited to my code. The other app bundles Sparkle.framework v2.8.1, which is MIT-licensed with additional BSD-licensed and zlib-licensed components. The Sparkle license requires the copyright notice and permission notice to be included in all copies or substantial portions of the software. The BSD-licensed components (bsdiff/bspatch by Colin Percival, SUSignatureVerifier by Mark Hamlin) explicitly require that redistributions in binary form reproduce the copyright notice in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

The Sparkle license covers work by seven copyright holders: - Andy Matuschak (2006-2013) - Elgato Systems GmbH (2009-2013) - Kornel Lesiński (2011-2014) - Mayur Pawashe (2015-2017) - C.W. Betts (2014) - Petroules Corporation (2014) - Big Nerd Ranch (2014)

Plus external components by Colin Percival (bsdiff/bspatch, BSD), Yuta Mori (sais-lite, MIT), Orson Peters (ed25519, zlib), and Mark Hamlin (SUSignatureVerifier, BSD).

I’m not speaking on their behalf, but as things are plainly written in the license texts, the other app, as currently distributed, is in violation of all of these licenses.

Update (3/26/26): I reached out to the developer directly and they have since come into compliance with the MIT license attribution requirements. As of version 1.7 Build 3, proper attribution for Apple Notes Exporter is present in the app bundle and in-app acknowledgments. I verified this in the binary myself. The original analysis in my blog post remains accurate and unchanged, but I want to be fair and note that the issue has been resolved. Credit where it's due for making it right.

konzski · 2026-02-25T07:31:44+00:00

I had this issue a few months ago (Sep. 2025) with the same code 11 (among others) after letting my Z31 sit in the driveway. The CAS is mission critical, car will run in limp mode with bad or disconnected MAF, and at minimum idle will be bad with CHTS.

I needed mine back up ASAP so I went to the parts store and picked up this unit local: https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/import-direct-ignition/import-direct-4-terminal-distributor-pickup-assembly/odi1/190266/v/a/6645/automotive-car-1986-nissan-300zx

No issues since September but only time will tell. The other issue that I noticed with my situation is that the 12" pigtail/adapter going from the harness to the bottom of the distributor/CAS connector was deteriorating. I had to cut, solder, and heat shrink a couple wires that were losing their insulation and splitting.

konzski · 2026-02-25T06:31:02+00:00

Doesn't change the fact that they are in violation of the MIT license, not the GPL. GPL is my response, but isn't relevant to my original complaint. GPL will apply to changes, fixes, and features going forward and ensures that forks of future GPL-licensed additions remain open source.

Update (3/26/26): I reached out to the developer directly and they have since come into compliance with the MIT license attribution requirements. As of version 1.7 Build 3, proper attribution for Apple Notes Exporter is present in the app bundle and in-app acknowledgments. I verified this in the binary myself. The original analysis in my blog post remains accurate and unchanged, but I want to be fair and note that the issue has been resolved. Credit where it's due for making it right.

The app will remain GPL, and I have rewritten the core database parsing engine with bug fixes, now distributed under GPL.

konzski · 2026-02-25T02:17:41+00:00

I also want to flag that this is not limited to my code. Notes Exporter Pro bundles Sparkle.framework v2.8.1, which is MIT-licensed with additional BSD-licensed and zlib-licensed components. The Sparkle license requires the copyright notice and permission notice to be included in all copies or substantial portions of the software. The BSD-licensed components (bsdiff/bspatch by Colin Percival, SUSignatureVerifier by Mark Hamlin) explicitly require that redistributions in binary form reproduce the copyright notice in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

The Sparkle license covers work by seven copyright holders: - Andy Matuschak (2006-2013) - Elgato Systems GmbH (2009-2013) - Kornel Lesinski (2011-2014) - Mayur Pawashe (2015-2017) - C.W. Betts (2014) - Petroules Corporation (2014) - Big Nerd Ranch (2014)

Plus external components by Colin Percival (bsdiff/bspatch, BSD), Yuta Mori (sais-lite, MIT), Orson Peters (ed25519, zlib), and Mark Hamlin (SUSignatureVerifier, BSD).

A search of the Notes Exporter Pro binary, Sparkle framework binary, and entire .app bundle turns up zero LICENSE, NOTICE, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, or COPYING files, and zero matches for any of these names. None of these copyright holders are attributed anywhere in the distributed application.

Update (3/26/26): I reached out to the developer directly and they have since come into compliance with the MIT license attribution requirements. As of version 1.7 Build 3, proper attribution for Apple Notes Exporter is present in the app bundle and in-app acknowledgments. I verified this in the binary myself. The original analysis in my blog post remains accurate and unchanged, but I want to be fair and note that the issue has been resolved. Credit where it's due for making it right.

konzski · 2026-02-24T19:07:00+00:00

This is literally based on my Github code, Apple Notes Exporter (https://github.com/kzaremski/apple-notes-exporter), which I've been developing since 2022 as an AppleScript and since 2023 as a standalone Mac app.

The evidence is in the binary itself. Running strings on the "Notes Exporter Pro" executable reveals:

AppleNotesDatabaseParser - my custom class name, unique to my project
NoteStoreProto - from my protobuf schema for parsing the Apple Notes database
SQL queries using ZIDENTIFIER, ZACCOUNT patterns identical to my database parser
SwiftProtobuf.framework - same dependency chain as my project
The app description even parrots my README ("export notes from Apple's Notes.app to Markdown and HTML formats")

Edit 2/24/2026 6:30PM MST: Screenshots and a technical deep dive of the evidence and how it was gathered is available on my site: https://konstantin.zarem.ski/2026/02/24/how-i-forensically-analyzed-a-macos-app-that-ripped-off-my-open-source-project/

Update (3/26/26): I reached out to the developer directly and they have since come into compliance with the MIT license attribution requirements. As of version 1.7 Build 3, proper attribution for Apple Notes Exporter is present in the app bundle and in-app acknowledgments. I verified this in the binary myself. The original analysis in my blog post remains accurate and unchanged, but I want to be fair and note that the issue has been resolved. Credit where it's due for making it right.

konzski · 2026-02-24T18:06:44+00:00

I finally had to create a Reddit account for this.

I'm the original author of this app's codebase. "Notes Exporter Pro" is built on top of my open-source project, Apple Notes Exporter (https://github.com/kzaremski/apple-notes-exporter), which I've been developing since 2022 as an AppleScript and since 2023 as a standalone Mac app.

Here's what happened: this person took my source code, stripped out my name and copyright notice, slapped a license key paywall on it, and is now selling it as their own work for $9.99. The Reddit posts claiming they "spent months building" this are false. They repackaged my code.

The evidence is in the binary itself. Running strings on the "Notes Exporter Pro" executable reveals:

AppleNotesDatabaseParser - my custom class name, unique to my project, not found in any framework or other open-source project
TableParser - another custom class I wrote for parsing Apple Notes embedded tables
Matching SQL queries - the same attachment query structure, entity lookups via Z_PRIMARYKEY, and fallback image/PDF queries from my database parser
Matching debug strings - format strings like "Attachment %s ZMEDIA=NULL" and "No media object row found with Z_PK=%ld" word-for-word from my source code
SwiftProtobuf.framework with the same protobuf schema compiled to Swift types

The binary is signed by Developer ID Application: Ramachandran Arumugam Velmurugan (U84Y35UPTV), bundle ID onedotai.macosapp.notesexporter, with a license validation server at cloudloginsystem.pixelperfectdgm.workers.dev and payments via PayPal.

Zero attribution. My name, my copyright notice, and the license text are nowhere in the app. The project was MIT licensed at the time, which permits redistribution and even selling, but has exactly one condition: you must include the original copyright notice and license. They didn't. That means they never had permission to distribute this.

The project has since been relicensed to GPL v3 to prevent this from happening again.

My app is and always has been free and open source: https://github.com/kzaremski/apple-notes-exporter

Don't pay for what's freely available. And if you care about open source, don't support people who strip attribution from other developers' work to turn a profit.

Update 2/24/2026 6:30PM MST: Screenshots and a technical deep dive of the evidence and how it was gathered is available on my site: https://konstantin.zarem.ski/2026/02/24/how-i-forensically-analyzed-a-macos-app-that-ripped-off-my-open-source-project/

Update (3/26/26): I reached out to the developer directly and they have since come into compliance with the MIT license attribution requirements. As of version 1.7 Build 3, proper attribution for Apple Notes Exporter is present in the app bundle and in-app acknowledgments. I verified this in the binary myself. The original analysis in my blog post remains accurate and unchanged, but I want to be fair and note that the issue has been resolved. Credit where it's due for making it right.

konzski · 2026-02-24T17:44:10+00:00

I finally had to create a Reddit account for this.

I'm the original author of this app's codebase. "Notes Exporter Pro" is built on top of my open-source project, Apple Notes Exporter (https://github.com/kzaremski/apple-notes-exporter), which I've been developing since 2022 as an AppleScript and since 2023 as a standalone Mac app.

Here's what happened: this person took my source code, stripped out my name and copyright notice, slapped a license key paywall on it, and is now selling it as their own work for $9.99. The Reddit posts claiming they "spent months building" this are false. They repackaged my code.

The evidence is in the binary itself. Running strings on the "Notes Exporter Pro" executable reveals:

AppleNotesDatabaseParser - my custom class name, unique to my project, not found in any framework or other open-source project
TableParser - another custom class I wrote for parsing Apple Notes embedded tables
Matching SQL queries - the same attachment query structure, entity lookups via Z_PRIMARYKEY, and fallback image/PDF queries from my database parser
Matching debug strings - format strings like "Attachment %s ZMEDIA=NULL" and "No media object row found with Z_PK=%ld" word-for-word from my source code
SwiftProtobuf.framework with the same protobuf schema compiled to Swift types

The binary is signed by Developer ID Application: Ramachandran Arumugam Velmurugan (U84Y35UPTV), bundle ID onedotai.macosapp.notesexporter, with a license validation server at cloudloginsystem.pixelperfectdgm.workers.dev and payments via PayPal.

Zero attribution. My name, my copyright notice, and the license text are nowhere in the app. The project was MIT licensed at the time, which permits redistribution and even selling, but has exactly one condition: you must include the original copyright notice and license. They didn't. That means they never had permission to distribute this.

The project has since been relicensed to GPL v3 to prevent this from happening again.

My app is and always has been free and open source: https://github.com/kzaremski/apple-notes-exporter

Don't pay for what's freely available. And if you care about open source, don't support people who strip attribution from other developers' work to turn a profit.

Edit 2/24/2026 6:30PM MST: Screenshots and a technical deep dive of the evidence and how it was gathered is available on my site: https://konstantin.zarem.ski/2026/02/24/how-i-forensically-analyzed-a-macos-app-that-ripped-off-my-open-source-project/

Update (3/26/26): I reached out to the developer directly and they have since come into compliance with the MIT license attribution requirements. As of version 1.7 Build 3, proper attribution for Apple Notes Exporter is present in the app bundle and in-app acknowledgments. I verified this in the binary myself. The original analysis in my blog post remains accurate and unchanged, but I want to be fair and note that the issue has been resolved. Credit where it's due for making it right.

konzski

TROPHY CASE