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Bear Notes Missing After Upgrade to Bear 2

Workaround available macOS, iOS Updated October 21, 2026

Quick answer

When notes or images go missing after moving from Bear 1 to Bear 2, the migration can be re-run: export any new notes, quit Bear, delete the 'Application Data v2' folder and relaunch so Bear imports from the untouched Bear 1 data again.

Most likely fix: Back up first.

Symptoms

Bear 2 opens with an empty or partial library, or some inline images in migrated notes no longer display.

Why it happens

  • Initial migration from Bear 1 didn't run or was interrupted
  • Notes created in the Bear 2 beta don't migrate to the release
  • Indented content from Bear 1 hiding inline images

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

  1. 1. Back up first

    1. Export any notes created or edited since the upgrade (File > Export Notes)
    2. Make a full backup with File > Backup Notes

  2. 2. Re-run the Bear 1 migration (Mac)

    1. Quit Bear with ⌘Q
    2. In Finder press ⇧⌘G and open ~/Library/Group Containers/9K33E3U3T4.net.shinyfrog.bear/
    3. Delete only the 'Application Data v2' folder - do not touch the Bear 1 data
    4. Relaunch Bear and let it import again; keep original dates if asked

  3. 3. Recover images from a backup

    1. Rename a .bear2bk backup to .zip and unzip it
    2. Open the note's .textbundle and copy the image from its assets folder back into the note

This guide also covers

  • bear 2 notes missing
  • bear 2 upgrade problems
  • bear 1 to bear 2 migration
  • bear images missing after update

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