Alternative to Notion: Sharing My Favorite Private Note-taking App

3 min readMay 28, 2024

I am a big fan of Notion. It’s better than Evernote (used to be my favorite) and undoubtedly way better than OneNote 😆… But, what if I have something private I want to keep a note of, like my journal?

Browsing through GitHub projects is like walking through a flea market. There are a lot of hidden gems, and once in a while, you will find a surprise. Today, I want to introduce a note-taking app that you can easily deploy to your local laptop or host on your server. It’s not as fancy as Notion, but you keep all your secrets 🤫 there. It’s called Memos.

What is Memos?

Memos is a minimalist, self-hosted note-taking application designed for simplicity and privacy. It’s a lightweight solution that focuses on functionality over flashiness, ensuring your notes are stored securely on your own hardware.

Privacy and Control:

Self-hosting: You can install Memos on your local machine or your server, meaning you have full control over your data. There are no third parties involved.
Data Encryption: Memos supports data encryption, ensuring your notes are safe from unauthorized access.

Ease of Deployment:

Docker Support: Memos can be easily deployed using Docker, making the setup process straightforward and manageable, even for those with limited technical experience.
Cross-Platform: Whether you’re using Windows, macOS, or Linux, Memos is designed to work seamlessly across different operating systems.

Markdown Support:

Rich Text Formatting: With Markdown, you can format your notes with headings, lists, links, images, and more. This makes your notes not only readable but also beautifully structured.

Search and Organization:

Tagging: Organize your notes using tags to make finding specific notes quick and easy.
Full-Text Search: The search functionality allows you to find any note quickly, even if you have hundreds of them.

Open Source:

Community-Driven: Memos is open-source, meaning anyone can contribute to its development. This ensures continuous improvement and a robust feature set.
Transparency: Being open-source also means you can review the code yourself to ensure there are no hidden backdoors or vulnerabilities.

Getting started with Memos is quite straightforward. Here’s a brief guide to deploying Memos using Docker:

1. Install docker:

Follow the instructions on the official Docker website to install Docker on your system.

2. Pull and run the Memos docker image:

Open your terminal and run the following command:

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

This command will start Memos on port 5230. You can access it by navigating to http://localhost:5230 in your web browser.

3. Access and configure Memos:

You’ll be greeted by the Memos interface. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your account and start taking notes! 🤗

Conclusion:

While Notion remains my go-to for collaborative and structured note-taking, Memos has carved out a niche for itself as my private, secure note-taking app. Its simplicity, combined with the power of self-hosting, makes it an excellent choice for anyone looking to keep their notes completely private.

If you’re someone who values privacy and control over your data, give Memos a try. It might just become your new favorite note-taking app! 😉