Setup guide

CodaMail Notebook on macOS

Keep your CodaMail notes in step with the Joplin app on your Mac.

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Step 1: create an auth pair

Your notes live in your CodaMail account. The app signs in with a sync auth pair, which is a randomly generated username and password created just for this. It is not your account password, and it can be revoked on its own.

  1. In webmail, go to Settings → DAV Server.
  2. Choose Create New Token and give it a name you will recognise, such as the device you are setting up.
  3. Under CodaMail Notebook Permissions, enable the access you want:
    • Allow access to CodaMail Notebook data (read) is required.
    • Allow creating and updating lets the app save changes back.
    • Allow deleting lets it remove notes and notebooks.
    For normal two-way syncing, enable all three.
  4. Save it, then copy both the username and the password.

The password is shown once, when the auth pair is created. It cannot be recovered afterwards. If you lose it, delete the auth pair and create a new one.

Step 2: install the app

CodaMail Notebook uses the same open format as Joplin, which is free and open source. Two macOS builds are offered: a standard one and a native Apple Silicon build. Choose the Apple Silicon build for M1 and later, and the standard one for Intel Macs.

Step 3: point it at your account

  1. Open Joplin → Preferences → Synchronisation.
  2. Set Synchronisation target to WebDAV.
  3. Fill in the three fields below.
  4. Choose Check synchronisation configuration. It should report success.
  5. Choose Synchronise.
  • WebDAV URL: https://codamail.com/dav/cmnotebook/
  • WebDAV username: the generated username, which looks like ABCD1234@codamail.com
  • WebDAV password: the matching password from the same auth pair

The exact URL is also shown as CodaMail Notebook sync URL on the auth pair screen, so you can copy it from there.

Unlike some other WebDAV services, you do not need to create a folder first. The location already exists on your account. Enter the URL exactly as shown, including the trailing slash.

Step 4: encryption

If you encrypted your notes in webmail, the app will download them and show them as encrypted until you supply the master password. Open its encryption settings and enter the same master password you set in webmail, and it will decrypt everything.

That password never reaches our servers, from either side. We cannot reset it and we cannot read your notes without it. If you lose it, the notes cannot be recovered by anyone, including us.

If something does not work

  • “WebDAV directory not found” almost always means the URL is wrong. Check it matches the sync URL on the auth pair screen exactly, trailing slash included.
  • Authentication errors mean the username and password are not a matching pair, or the auth pair has no Notebook permissions. Both values come from the same auth pair, and at least the read permission must be enabled.
  • Notes appear but stay unreadable means the set is encrypted and the master password has not been entered in the app yet. See Step 4.
  • Gatekeeper may warn the first time you open a downloaded app. Open it from Finder with a right click and choose Open if macOS will not start it normally.

More

The full CodaMail Notebook reference covers everything the web app can do, including notebooks, tags, to-dos, attachments, version history and encryption in detail.