Bear is a markdown note-taking app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, made by Shiny Frog. It's known for its clean writing interface, nested tag system, and excellent markdown export. Bear is popular with writers, journalists, researchers, and developers who prefer a minimal, focused writing environment. Bear syncs across Apple devices via iCloud. Notes can be exported as Markdown, PDF, HTML, DOCX, and other formats.

How do I add reading highlights to Bear Notes?

The most frictionless pipeline is: convert PDF to EPUB → read and highlight in Readwise Reader or Apple Books → export highlights. From Readwise, highlights can be exported as markdown and pasted into Bear, or you can use Readwise's Bear integration (via Readwise's Markdown export + Bear's 'Import from Files' feature). From Apple Books, highlights can be shared via the Share sheet to Bear directly. Kobo highlights export as CSV and can be reformatted as Bear note blocks.

Does Bear support PDF annotation?

Bear can display PDFs as attachments within notes (tap the attachment to view), but it doesn't have a built-in PDF annotation layer. For annotation, use a dedicated tool: Apple Books (for EPUB), Readwise Reader (for EPUB or PDF), or PDF Expert / GoodNotes (for PDF). The recommended workflow is to convert your PDF to EPUB first, annotate in Readwise Reader or Apple Books, then bring highlights into Bear as linked note blocks.

What kinds of projects use Bear with EPUB reading?

Bear is particularly popular with: long-form writers researching for non-fiction books or articles, journalists tracking sources, researchers maintaining a reading log, developers tracking technical documentation, and students building topic-based note collections. In all of these, the pattern is the same: find a source PDF, convert to EPUB for comfortable reading, annotate while reading, then distil highlights into Bear notes linked to the source.

Can I use Bear with Readwise Reader?

Readwise Reader doesn't have a native Bear integration, but the workflow is straightforward: convert PDF to EPUB → upload to Readwise Reader → highlight passages → in Readwise export settings, choose Markdown export → copy the formatted highlights into a Bear note. You can also use Shortcuts on iOS to automate pasting Readwise exports into a specific Bear note. Bear's tagging system lets you tag the highlight note with the same tags as your writing project for easy retrieval.

Bear Notes Workflow: Convert PDFs to EPUB for Annotated Reading Before Adding to Bear (2026)

Updated June 2026 · Research

Bear is a beloved note-taking app for Apple devices — clean, markdown-based, and excellent for long-form writing projects. Most research source material arrives as PDF. Converting to EPUB first, annotating in Readwise Reader or Apple Books, then adding highlights to Bear as linked notes gives you a clean reading-to-writing pipeline. Here's how it works.

Bear reading and research pipeline

Step	Tool	Output
1. Find source PDF	Any research database or web	PDF file
2. Convert to EPUB	toolkit.bot	EPUB file
3. Read and annotate	Apple Books / Readwise Reader	Highlights + tags
4. Export highlights	Readwise Markdown export / Apple Books share	Markdown text
5. Add to Bear	Bear — paste into note or 'Import from Files'	Linked source note
6. Write in Bear	Bear — tag and link to writing project notes	Draft with source references

Bear vs other PKM tools for reading workflows

Tool	Platform	Readwise integration	Best for
Bear	Apple only	Markdown export → paste	Writers, clean prose notes
Obsidian	All platforms	Native plugin	Researchers, linked notes graph
Notion	All platforms	Native integration	Teams, structured databases
Roam Research	Web	Native integration	Bi-directional linking, academics
Logseq	All platforms	Native plugin	Daily notes, open-source

Frequently asked questions

What is Bear Notes?: Bear is a markdown note-taking app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, made by Shiny Frog. It's known for its clean writing interface, nested tag system, and excellent markdown export. Bear is popular with writers, journalists, researchers, and developers who prefer a minimal, focused writing environment. Bear syncs across Apple devices via iCloud. Notes can be exported as Markdown, PDF, HTML, DOCX, and other formats.
How do I add reading highlights to Bear Notes?: The most frictionless pipeline is: convert PDF to EPUB → read and highlight in Readwise Reader or Apple Books → export highlights. From Readwise, highlights can be exported as markdown and pasted into Bear, or you can use Readwise's Bear integration (via Readwise's Markdown export + Bear's 'Import from Files' feature). From Apple Books, highlights can be shared via the Share sheet to Bear directly. Kobo highlights export as CSV and can be reformatted as Bear note blocks.
Does Bear support PDF annotation?: Bear can display PDFs as attachments within notes (tap the attachment to view), but it doesn't have a built-in PDF annotation layer. For annotation, use a dedicated tool: Apple Books (for EPUB), Readwise Reader (for EPUB or PDF), or PDF Expert / GoodNotes (for PDF). The recommended workflow is to convert your PDF to EPUB first, annotate in Readwise Reader or Apple Books, then bring highlights into Bear as linked note blocks.
What kinds of projects use Bear with EPUB reading?: Bear is particularly popular with: long-form writers researching for non-fiction books or articles, journalists tracking sources, researchers maintaining a reading log, developers tracking technical documentation, and students building topic-based note collections. In all of these, the pattern is the same: find a source PDF, convert to EPUB for comfortable reading, annotate while reading, then distil highlights into Bear notes linked to the source.
Can I use Bear with Readwise Reader?: Readwise Reader doesn't have a native Bear integration, but the workflow is straightforward: convert PDF to EPUB → upload to Readwise Reader → highlight passages → in Readwise export settings, choose Markdown export → copy the formatted highlights into a Bear note. You can also use Shortcuts on iOS to automate pasting Readwise exports into a specific Bear note. Bear's tagging system lets you tag the highlight note with the same tags as your writing project for easy retrieval.