Memos

A modern, open-source, self-hosted knowledge management and note-taking platform designed for privacy-conscious users and organizations. Memos provides a lightweight yet powerful solution for capturing, organizing, and sharing thoughts with comprehensive Markdown support and cross-platform accessibility.

Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
• Overview
• Key Features
• Quick Start
• Sponsors
• Contributing
• Star History

Overview

Memos is a lightweight, self-hosted alternative to cloud-based note-taking services. Built with privacy and performance in mind, it offers a comprehensive platform for personal knowledge management without compromising data ownership or security.

Key Features

Privacy & Security

• Complete Data Ownership — All data stored locally in your chosen database
• Self-Hosted Architecture — Full control over infrastructure and access policies
• No External Dependencies — Zero third-party services or cloud connections required

Content Creation

• Instant Save — Streamlined plain text input with automatic persistence
• Rich Markdown Support — Full Markdown rendering with syntax highlighting
• Media Integration — Native support for images, links, and embedded content

Performance & Technology

• High-Performance Backend — Built with Go for optimal resource utilization
• Modern React Frontend — Responsive, intuitive user interface
• Lightweight Deployment — Minimal system requirements, maximum efficiency
• Cross-Platform — Linux, macOS, Windows, and containerized environments

Customization

• Configurable Interface — Custom branding, themes, and UI elements
• API-First Design — RESTful API for seamless third-party integrations
• Multi-Database Support — SQLite, PostgreSQL, and MySQL compatibility

Cost-Effective

• Open Source (MIT) — Full source code availability with permissive licensing
• Zero Subscription Fees — No usage limits, premium tiers, or hidden costs
• Community-Driven — Transparent development with active community support

Quick Start

Get Memos running in under 1 minutes with Docker:

docker run -d \
  --name memos \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 5230:5230 \
  -v ~/.memos:/var/opt/memos \
  neosmemo/memos:stable

Access Memos at http://localhost:5230 and complete the initial setup.

Alternative methods: For Docker Compose, binary installation, or building from source, see our Installation Guide.

Pro Tip: The data directory stores all your notes, uploads, and settings. Include it in your backup strategy!

🔒 Database Encryption (for SQLite)

Memos can protect its SQLite database with SQLCipher so that the on-disk file is unreadable without a passphrase. This is encryption at rest: the server keeps the key in memory while running, so it does not provide end-to-end encryption for clients.

[!IMPORTANT] Losing the passphrase means losing your data. Store it safely (for example, in a password manager or a hardware secret vault).

Enable SQLCipher Builds

• Docker (recommended)

  docker build \
    --build-arg CGO_ENABLED=1 \
    --build-arg MEMOS_BUILD_TAGS="memos_sqlcipher libsqlite3 sqlite_omit_load_extension" \
    -t memos-sqlcipher \
    -f scripts/Dockerfile .
  docker run -d \
    --name memos \
    -p 5230:5230 \
    -v ~/.memos:/var/opt/memos \
    -e MEMOS_SQLITE_ENCRYPTION_KEY="your-super-secret-key" \
    memos-sqlcipher
  

• Manual build

  CGO_ENABLED=1 \
  CGO_CFLAGS="-I/usr/include/sqlcipher -DSQLITE_HAS_CODEC" \
  CGO_LDFLAGS="-lsqlcipher" \
  go build -tags "memos_sqlcipher libsqlite3 sqlite_omit_load_extension" -o memos-sqlcipher ./bin/memos
  ./memos-sqlcipher --sqlite-encryption-key "your-super-secret-key" ...
  

Migration Plan for Existing Deployments

1. Full backup

   cp ~/.memos/memos_prod.db ~/.memos/memos_prod.db.bak
   cp ~/.memos/memos_prod.db-wal ~/.memos/memos_prod.db-wal.bak 2>/dev/null || true
   cp ~/.memos/memos_prod.db-shm ~/.memos/memos_prod.db-shm.bak 2>/dev/null || true
   

2. Stop every Memos instance touching the database.

3. Build the SQLCipher-capable binary or Docker image using the instructions above. The resulting image already contains the sqlcipher CLI.

4. Convert the database using the SQLCipher CLI. You can do this without installing anything on the host:

   docker run --rm \
     -v ~/.memos:/data \
     memos-sqlcipher \
     sh -c "cd /data && sqlcipher memos_prod.db <<'EOS'\nATTACH DATABASE 'memos_encrypted.db' AS encrypted KEY 'your-super-secret-key';\nSELECT sqlcipher_export('encrypted');\nDETACH DATABASE encrypted;\nEOS"
   

   If you prefer to run the command directly on the host, install sqlcipher (e.g. brew install sqlcipher, apt install sqlcipher) and execute the same ATTACH ... sqlcipher_export sequence locally.

5. Swap the files

   mv memos_prod.db memos_prod.db.plaintext
   mv memos_encrypted.db memos_prod.db
   rm -f memos_prod.db-wal memos_prod.db-shm
   

6. Start the SQLCipher build of Memos and pass the same key (MEMOS_SQLITE_ENCRYPTION_KEY or --sqlite-encryption-key).

7. Verify the upgrade

   • Log in and ensure your memos/attachments are intact.
   • Confirm the file is encrypted: sqlite3 memos_prod.db '.tables' should now print Error: file is not a database.

Sponsors

Memos is made possible by the generous support of our sponsors. Their contributions help ensure the project's continued development, maintenance, and growth.

Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a difference!

Contributing

Memos welcomes contributions from developers, designers, and users worldwide. We value quality, innovation, and community feedback.

Ways to Contribute:

• Code contributions (bug fixes, features, performance improvements)
• Documentation and user guides
• Testing and bug reporting
• Localization and translation
• Community support

Get Started: Contributing Guide • Code of Conduct

Star History