Install Memos in 60 Seconds
Memos is a privacy-first, self-hosted note-taking and micro-blogging service with full Markdown support - a lightweight alternative to Notion and Google Keep where every note lives on your own server, not someone else's cloud. InstaPods gets you a live Memos instance with HTTPS in under a minute, no Docker and no reverse-proxy config.
The usual way to self-host Memos
- Provision a VPS, install Go or pull the Docker image, then run the memos binary with the right flags (--port 5230 --data /opt/memos/data) - get the data path wrong and your notes vanish on the next restart.
- Memos serves plain HTTP on port 5230 with no TLS of its own, so you have to stand up nginx or Caddy as a reverse proxy, point it at localhost:5230, and wire up the WebSocket and long-poll handling yourself.
- Get a domain, run certbot for a Let's Encrypt cert, and remember to renew it - a self-hosted notes app that nags about an expired certificate every time you open it is its own kind of misery.
- Lock it down: Memos lets the first visitor register as host admin, so if your box is exposed before you sign up, a stranger owns your notes. You also need to firewall 5230 so only the proxy can reach it.
- Stay patched: every release means SSH in, stop the service, pull the new linux_amd64 tarball from GitHub, swap the binary, and restart - and hope the SQLite schema migrated cleanly.
That is a full evening of VPS, proxy, TLS, and lockdown work before you write a single note. With InstaPods it is one command and you are writing notes 40 seconds later.
Or install it in one click
What you get
Recommended plan for Memos
- 1 vCPU
- 512 MB RAM
- 10 GB storage
- HTTPS included
- Custom domain support
- SSH & web terminal access
Memos requirements
Runs comfortably on Launch
Memos is a single compiled Go binary backed by SQLite, so it is genuinely light - a Launch pod is plenty for personal use and a small team writing thousands of notes. Sign up on the first screen to claim the host admin account before anyone else can, then turn off public registration in Settings if you want it private. Move up to Build only if you are running it for a larger team or hammering it with API clients.
No env vars to set, ports and data are pre-wired
Unlike apps such as n8n that demand a WEBHOOK_URL, Memos needs zero environment variables to boot. We launch it exactly as upstream intends - `memos --port 5230 --data /opt/memos/data` - and put nginx in front for HTTPS, so the app listens on 5230 internally while you reach it over a clean https:// URL. Nothing to configure to get running; tune visibility, users, and storage from the in-app Settings page.
Your notes persist on disk - and stay yours
Memos keeps everything in a SQLite database under /opt/memos/data on your pod's real disk, so your notes, tags, and uploads survive restarts, updates, and binary swaps. Restarting or upgrading the pod never wipes that directory. The whole point of self-hosting Memos is that no third party reads your notes - on InstaPods the data lives on a server you control, and you can point a custom domain at the pod whenever you want.
Memos install FAQ
Is Memos really a good Notion or Google Keep alternative?
For fast, private capture - daily notes, micro-blogging, snippets, and tagged thoughts in Markdown - yes. Memos is built around a single timeline of short notes with Markdown rendering, tags, and an API, so it shines where Keep feels too thin and Notion feels too heavy. It is not a database/wiki replacement for Notion's structured pages, but for journaling and quick capture it is faster and the data is entirely yours.
Do I need to configure anything after it deploys?
No required setup to run. Memos takes no environment variables, and we already pass the correct port (5230) and data path. The one thing you should do immediately: open the live URL and create your account on the first screen - that first signup becomes the host admin. Then go to Settings and disable public registration if you want the instance private to you or your team.
Where are my notes stored and will they survive updates?
Everything lives in a SQLite database under /opt/memos/data on your pod's disk. That directory persists across restarts, pod reboots, and version upgrades, so updating Memos to a new release does not touch your notes. When we ship a new image or run the update, the binary is swapped but your data path stays put.
Can I use my own domain instead of the instapods.app URL?
Yes. Every Memos pod comes live at https://my-memos.instapods.app with HTTPS already issued, and you can add a custom domain from the dashboard. Point your domain's DNS at the pod and we handle the certificate, so you reach your notes at notes.yourdomain.com with a valid cert and no certbot renewals to babysit.
How much does it cost to host Memos here?
Memos runs on the Launch plan, our smallest tier at $3/month, which is plenty for personal use and small teams given how light the Go-plus-SQLite stack is. Add a card and you get a one-time $10 credit, so the first few months are effectively covered. You only move up to a larger plan if you are running it for a bigger team or heavy API traffic.
Install Memos in 60 seconds
One click. Real server. HTTPS included. No Docker, no nginx, no DevOps degree required.
Install Memos