What databases does Memos support?

Memos works with SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL, selectable during setup, with SQLite as the default for simple single-binary deployments.

Is Memos really a single binary?

Yes. Memos is written in Go and ships as one binary plus a roughly 20MB Docker image, without a separate database server required for the SQLite setup.

Does Memos track usage or send telemetry?

No. The project states it collects zero telemetry, and all data stays on the infrastructure you deploy it to.

Can I try Memos before installing it?

Yes, a live demo is available at demo.usememos.com.

Does Memos have an API?

Yes, Memos exposes both REST and gRPC APIs for integrations.

What license is Memos released under?

Memos is released under the MIT License.

Memos: Open source Google Keep alternative

Memos is a self-hosted, markdown-native note app for quick capture, built as a single lightweight Go binary.

Open Source Alternative to:

Google Keep

Memos is an open-source, self-hosted note-taking application built for quick capture. Notes are stored in plain Markdown, and the whole application ships as a single Go binary with a roughly 20MB Docker image, so it runs without a heavy dependency stack. It's a lightweight, self-hosted counterpart to quick-capture tools like Google Keep.

Key features

Instant capture: A timeline-first interface lets you open the app, write a note, and move on, without folders to sort through first.
Total data ownership: Everything runs on your own infrastructure, notes are stored as portable Markdown files, and the project collects zero telemetry.
Radical simplicity: Memos ships as a single Go binary and a roughly 20MB Docker image, deployable with one command against SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL.
Open and extensible: The project is MIT-licensed and exposes both REST and gRPC APIs for building integrations on top of it.

Self-hosting and deployment

The quickest path is Docker: docker run -d --name memos -p 5230:5230 -v ~/.memos:/var/opt/memos neosmemo/memos:stable, then open http://localhost:5230. Memos can also be installed as a native binary with a one-line curl script for Linux, macOS, or Windows, deployed with Docker Compose for production, run on Kubernetes with Helm charts and manifests, or built from source for development and customization. Anyone who wants to try it first can use the hosted live demo without installing anything.

Ideal use cases

Memos suits people who want a fast, personal scratchpad for fleeting notes, ideas, and short journal entries rather than a full project-management or document-editing tool. Its microblog-style timeline and tagging also make it usable as a lightweight personal knowledge log or team notice board once self-hosted, and because notes are plain Markdown files, they stay portable if you ever move to a different tool.

Community and licensing

Memos is licensed under the MIT License and is developed as a community project, with contributions welcomed for bug reports, feature suggestions, pull requests, documentation, and translations of the web interface. The project also documents its data handling practices in a published privacy policy, which matters for a tool whose entire premise is that your notes stay under your own control rather than a vendor's.

Development is supported in part through GitHub Sponsors and the Vercel OSS Program, alongside sponsorship from hosting providers, and the project tracks its GitHub star history publicly. Translation work happens directly in the repository's locale files, so adding or improving a language doesn't require a separate translation platform account.