Memos maps runtime flags to environment variables with the MEMOS_ prefix. In production, environment variables are usually the cleanest way to keep deployment config explicit and repeatable.

Reference

All flags and their corresponding environment variables:

Flag	Environment variable	Default	Purpose
`--port`	`MEMOS_PORT`	`8081`	HTTP listen port
`--addr`	`MEMOS_ADDR`	``	Bind address (empty = all interfaces)
`--unix-sock`	`MEMOS_UNIX_SOCK`	``	Unix socket path
`--data`	`MEMOS_DATA`	auto	Data directory
`--driver`	`MEMOS_DRIVER`	`sqlite`	Database backend (`sqlite`, `mysql`, `postgres`)
`--dsn`	`MEMOS_DSN`	auto	Database connection string
`--instance-url`	`MEMOS_INSTANCE_URL`	``	Public instance URL
`--demo`	`MEMOS_DEMO`	`false`	Demo mode
`--allow-private-webhooks`	`MEMOS_ALLOW_PRIVATE_WEBHOOKS`	`false`	Allow webhook URLs that resolve to private or reserved IP ranges
`--log-level`	`MEMOS_LOG_LEVEL`	`info`	Log verbosity (`debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error`)

Data directory defaults

MEMOS_DATA resolves automatically when not set:

Windows: %ProgramData%\memos
Docker: /var/opt/memos (when writable)
Linux / macOS: current directory (.)

DSN defaults

When MEMOS_DRIVER=sqlite and MEMOS_DSN is empty, the database file defaults to {MEMOS_DATA}/memos_prod.db. For MySQL and PostgreSQL, MEMOS_DSN is required.

Priority order

Command-line flags (highest)
Environment variables
Default values (lowest)

An explicit flag always wins over the environment variable for the same setting.

Practical guidance

set MEMOS_INSTANCE_URL whenever the app sits behind a proxy
prefer explicit MEMOS_DRIVER and MEMOS_DSN when you are not using SQLite defaults
leave MEMOS_ALLOW_PRIVATE_WEBHOOKS disabled unless your webhook targets intentionally live on a trusted private network
keep secrets such as database credentials outside committed compose files
treat these values as part of deployment config and back them up accordingly

Common patterns

SQLite with explicit data directory:

export MEMOS_DRIVER=sqlite
export MEMOS_DATA=/var/opt/memos
./memos

External PostgreSQL:

export MEMOS_DRIVER=postgres
export MEMOS_DSN="postgres://user:password@db:5432/memos?sslmode=disable"
export MEMOS_INSTANCE_URL=https://memos.example.com
./memos

Unix socket with Nginx (useful for local reverse proxy):

export MEMOS_UNIX_SOCK=/var/run/memos.sock
export MEMOS_DATA=/var/lib/memos
export MEMOS_INSTANCE_URL=https://memos.example.com
./memos

Nginx upstream for the socket:

upstream memos {
    server unix:/var/run/memos.sock;
}

Environment Variables