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Setting Up Memos with Docker Compose

Disable open registration for public instances

Memos allows open registration by default. If your instance is accessible from the internet, go to Settings → System and disable Allow user registration after creating your account.

Introduction to Memos

Memos is a self-hosted note-taking application that offers a convenient way to organize and store personal notes, memos, and other pieces of information.

Docker Compose Configuration for Memos

This Docker Compose setup deploys Memos in a Docker container, providing an easy-to-manage environment for your note-taking needs.

Docker Compose File (docker-compose.yml)

services:
  memos:
    image: neosmemo/memos:latest
    container_name: memos
    volumes:
      - ~/.memos/:/var/opt/memos
    ports:
      - 5230:5230
    restart: unless-stopped

Key Components of the Configuration

Service: Memos

  • Image: neosmemo/memos:latest is the Docker image used for Memos.
  • Volumes:
  • ~/.memos/:/var/opt/memos maps a local directory (~/.memos/) to the container's data storage directory (/var/opt/memos). This is where Memos stores its data.

Use an absolute path for the data volume

The ~/.memos/ path may behave unexpectedly with rootless Docker or systemd-managed services. Replace it with an absolute path, e.g. /opt/memos/data:/var/opt/memos.

  • Ports:
  • 5230:5230 maps port 5230 on the host to port 5230 in the container, where Memos's web interface is accessible.

Restart Policy

  • Not specified in the Compose file, but the default is no which means the container does not automatically restart. It's recommended to set a restart policy like unless-stopped.

Deploying Memos

  1. Save the Docker Compose configuration in a docker-compose.yml file.
  2. Run docker compose up -d to start Memos in detached mode.
  3. Access Memos by navigating to http://<host-ip>:5230.

Configuring and Using Memos

After deployment, you can start using Memos through its web interface for creating and managing your notes.

Youtube Video

Updating Memos

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Back up before updating

Your data lives in the ~/.memos/ host directory. Back this up before major version updates.


If there is an issue with this guide or you wish to suggest changes, please raise an issue on GitHub.