head to head · open source
Memos vs nocturne_memory
Memos has 63,155 GitHub stars, 4,769 forks, 67 open issues and last shipped yesterday. nocturne_memory has 1,359 stars, 168 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped 23 days ago. Memos leads on adoption by 4,547% (63,155 vs 1,359 stars). Memos is written in Go under MIT; nocturne_memory is written in Python under MIT. Memos has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, nocturne_memory 12%. Memos was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Memos | nocturne_memory | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 63K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.8K | ⑂ 168 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Memos if
- You weight community size — 63K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick nocturne_memory if
- You want the nocturne_memory feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and nocturne_memory fits your workflow better
About Memos
Memos is an open source, self hosted note taking tool designed for rapid capture of short form content like daily logs, links, code snippets, and microblog style entries. It lives in the Go ecosystem and uses a Markdown native, timeline based interface. Unlike traditional note apps that enforce folders or rigid templates, Memos prioritizes speed and simplicity: users write in Markdown, attach media, and save without selecting titles or locations.
read the full Memos overview →
About nocturne_memory
Nocturne Memory is an MIT licensed, Python based Long Term Memory Server that speaks the Model Context Protocol, giving MCP capable agents persistent, structured, rollbackable memory across sessions, models and tools — built for anyone running Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Codex or another MCP client who is tired of an agent that forgets who it is.
read the full nocturne_memory overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or nocturne_memory more popular?
Memos has 63,155 GitHub stars and nocturne_memory has 1,359. Memos has the larger community by that measure.
Are Memos and nocturne_memory free?
Both are open source. Memos is licensed under MIT and nocturne_memory under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Memos and nocturne_memory?
Memos is written in Go and nocturne_memory in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Memos or nocturne_memory?
Choose Memos if you want the larger community (63,155 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose nocturne_memory if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.