I replaced Google Keep with a self-hosted notes app that works like a timeline of thoughts

My thoughts go to Google Keep to be forgotten. It captures my notes well, but isn’t particularly good at bringing them back to my attention. After saving a note, the only time I see it is when I go digging for it. So I switched to Memos, a free, open-source notes app that I self-host.

Surprisingly, I’ve stuck to it for several months even though it requires some effort, and I’d gladly make the same call all over again.

Taking quick notes is easier with Memos

No titles or organization required

The entire routine with Memos is quite basic, and that’s the attraction for me. You open it, and the cursor is already blinking. Type, save, watch your note drop into the stream, and you’re out.

This feels far different from Google Keep, which seems to always want a decision first, like choosing a title or color. These are small decisions, but each one takes a few seconds, and I realize I end up skipping small thoughts rather than dealing with these choices. Memos doesn’t have these hurdles. Memos feels more like a message thread with myself. I could have a link and a grocery item sitting one above the other without either looking out of place.

Many times I just drop my thoughts in plain text, but there are options for formatting if you need them. I can use Markdown and there are checklist options. Drafts are saved locally, so if I close the tab before saving, I don’t lose what I typed.

I often need to create notes in the gaps of the day, such as when I’m waiting for a page to load or sitting in the car before heading out. Because it costs me nothing to save a note, it’s easy to document the thoughts without thinking if they really deserve it.

Memos makes old notes easier to find

Organizing notes with tags, search, and a timeline

There are no folders on Memos and initially this may sound like the perfect setup for chaos, but it turned out that tags put some order in my notes. You can add a tag by starting with #. The more you use tags, the easier old notes are to find.

By default, when you open Memos, it displays a list of your tags in the left pane, and clicking a tag brings up the notes that have that tag. Also, when you type # in a note, Memos suggests tags based on what you have used in the past. I have found this to be a fluid way of grouping my thoughts.

Scrolling back was more satisfying than I thought. When I jump to a date or open the weekly or monthly view, what felt like weeks of scattered thoughts reads like a log of what was on my mind. This was something I never got from Google Keep’s grid of cards, and because I can edit a note’s display time, I can slot a late entry into the right day.

A timeline only works if you search; otherwise, it’s just a long scroll. To keep things accessible and tidy, I pin some important notes and archive the finished ones. If I’m working on an article idea or if I keep forgetting a specific command, those notes stay pinned.

Your server, your notes

Running Memos on my own computer with Docker

I self-host Memos, which just means it runs on a computer I own. This is quite the contrast to Google Keep, which holds my notes on Google’s servers.

There are certain benefits to this. I can export the entire note database in Markdown, JSON, or CSV. I don’t have to worry about telemetry or a company account that may one day change its terms.

This freedom means I have to handle the parts Google Keep used to do for me, so now I’m in charge of updates and backups. Since all the data are stored in a folder, backing up means having a copy of that folder, and I outsource this task to BorgBackup.

Self-hosting was simple, and it took less than three minutes because I had Docker Desktop already installed on my Windows 11 machine.

After Docker is done downloading the image and starting the container, open localhost:5230in your browser and create an account.

It isn’t automatically private just because it’s self-hosted. You must use a strong password and set up HTTPS if you need to reach it online, because Memos doesn’t have end-to-end encryption.

Not all Google Keep features work in Memos

I couldn’t find built-in reminders on Memos, so I still use Google Calendar. However, compared with Google Keep, Memos gave me a few excellent reasons for the switch:

I’ve used Joplin and Obsidian, which I still believe are among the best options for notes, but they’re overkill for my simple note-taking. Memos is basic, but does the little things well, and easily feels like a better choice than Google Keep for me.

OS

Cross platform

Price

Free

Memos is an open-source, self-hosted note-taking app that offers a personal timeline to bring everyday thoughts together.