Memos is a self-hosted note-taking server with a chronological, Twitter-like feed for quick thoughts and longer markdown notes. It runs as a single binary backed by SQLite, making it easy to deploy on a personal server or VPS. Privacy here comes entirely from self-hosting: there is no end-to-end encryption, so the security of your notes depends on how you secure your server.
Reviewed by Marco Wollank
Memos
usememos.com 1 rating so far*
Rate Memos: No account needed
Threat level
Hardened
A hardened pick. Worth the effort once you have chosen to shrink your footprint on purpose. Enough for most people. Threat levels
Our take
For anyone who wants a fast, zero-friction place to capture thoughts without feeding a cloud service, Memos is hard to beat on simplicity. The Go binary with embedded SQLite means a one-command setup, and the MIT license means you own the stack completely. The catch is worth being clear about: this is not an encrypted notebook. If your server is compromised, your notes are readable in plain text. That makes it a strong pick for self-hosters who already run hardened infrastructure, and a poor fit for anyone who needs confidentiality guarantees without managing their own security perimeter.
GitHub at a glance
usememos/memos
Stars
61,633
+ 649 this week
Last commit
16d ago
healthy
License
MIT
Latest release
v0.29.1
1mo ago
Stars, last 38d
Website at a glance
usememos.com
B- score 65
Solid website security headers
Graded by Mozilla HTTP Observatory, tested 5d ago
Inspect this site yourself
Measures the security configuration of the tool's own website, not the privacy of the product itself. A strong tool can still score low here.
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Memos license, in plain English
MIT Permissive
Do almost anything: use, change, and ship it, even inside closed-source products. The only condition is keeping the copyright notice.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Private use
Requires
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: Permissive licensing lets anyone reuse this, including inside closed products. That is freedom to build on, but no guarantee that downstream copies stay open.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.
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