Lepton vs Memos
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A lean desktop app for organizing code snippets stored in GitHub Gists or GitLab snippets.
Open source · MIT
A self-hosted, open-source notes app that keeps your daily thoughts in a personal timeline.
The short answer
Choose Lepton if you need…
- Developers who already keep snippets as GitHub Gists or GitLab snippets
- People who want a desktop editor for their existing snippet collection
- Users who want Markdown or Jupyter notebook snippets in one place
- Users who need a proxy or GitHub Enterprise support
Choose Memos if you need…
- People who want a private, self-hosted journal or quick-notes timeline
- Anyone who wants to keep their notes on their own server rather than a hosted service
- People comfortable running a Docker container to host an app
- Small groups who want shared spaces where each person keeps their own memos
Side-by-side
| Lepton | Memos | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | App |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 10.3k | 64.2k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Run with Docker |
| Main language | JavaScript | Go |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
Lepton
Lepton is a desktop app for saving and organizing small pieces of code and notes. Instead of storing snippets only on your computer, it syncs them with GitHub Gist or GitLab personal snippets. It supports tags, language groups, Markdown and Jupyter Notebook content, search, and light and dark themes.
Memos
Memos is a note-taking app you run on your own server. You write short or long entries (using Markdown for formatting), and they appear in a timeline by date, with tags linking related thoughts. The project says your data stays on your server and you choose what is private, shared with others, or published on the web.
Best for
Lepton
- Developers who already keep snippets as GitHub Gists or GitLab snippets
- People who want a desktop editor for their existing snippet collection
- Users who want Markdown or Jupyter notebook snippets in one place
- Users who need a proxy or GitHub Enterprise support
Memos
- People who want a private, self-hosted journal or quick-notes timeline
- Anyone who wants to keep their notes on their own server rather than a hosted service
- People comfortable running a Docker container to host an app
- Small groups who want shared spaces where each person keeps their own memos
Strengths
Lepton
- Free and MIT licensed, with a Free feature listed in the README
- Works on macOS, Windows, and Linux
- Customizable through a documented config file and a range of built-in themes
Memos
- Data is stored on your own server, per the README
- Runs from a single Docker command with one folder to back up
- Open source under the MIT License
Not ideal for
Lepton
- People who want fully offline storage, since the README describes syncing with GitHub or GitLab
- Users who need real GitHub login without setting up their own OAuth client ID and secret, since the README says the dummy config will not support real login
- Teams looking for shared or collaborative snippet editing, which the README does not describe
Memos
- People who want zero setup and prefer a hosted service; you must run and maintain the server yourself
- People who need a full wiki or document-organizing system, since the README describes a timeline-based model
- Users who need guaranteed backups; the README only says to back up the ~/.memos folder
Trade-offs
Lepton
- Setup for development requires registering a GitHub OAuth application and adding its credentials to a local config file
- The README says the smoke tests are non-blocking CI checks and that fixtures do not verify OAuth, snippet CRUD, or sync
- Depends on GitHub or GitLab services for storage
Memos
- You must host and maintain it yourself, including upgrades
- Upgrading from releases before v0.31.0 requires an extra step described in the upgrade docs
- The README is truncated, so details on security hardening and backups are not covered here
Getting started
Lepton
macOS install via Homebrew
brew install --cask leptonLinux install via Snap
snap install leptonMemos
Run Memos with Docker
docker run -d \
--name memos \
-p 5230:5230 \
-v ~/.memos:/var/opt/memos \
neosmemo/memos:stableFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Lepton and Memos?
Lepton: A lean desktop app for organizing code snippets stored in GitHub Gists or GitLab snippets. Memos: A self-hosted, open-source notes app that keeps your daily thoughts in a personal timeline. Lepton suits developers who already keep snippets as github gists or gitlab snippets, while Memos suits people who want a private, self-hosted journal or quick-notes timeline.
Are Lepton and Memos free?
Lepton: Free and open source. Memos: Free and open source.
Which is easier to set up, Lepton or Memos?
Lepton is easier to get started with (rated beginner); Memos is rated intermediate and usually needs more setup.
Is Lepton or Memos more popular?
Memos has more GitHub stars (64.2k) than Lepton (10.3k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Lepton and Memos?
Other options people compare them with include Dash, ZY Player, PicGo, Carbon, AiToEarn.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.