Moe Memos for Android: A memos Client With a Version Ceiling

The Problem: memos Has No First-Party Android Client

The memos project is a self-hosted service for short notes, and the README of Moe Memos describes the app as a third-party client, explicitly noting that the two projects are not affiliated. That sentence defines the whole product. If you already run a memos server, Moe Memos is the phone-shaped front end for it. If you do not, the app still works: the README says you can use it locally on your device with no server required, and that local mode supports export. So the audience splits in two. There are people with a memos instance on a VPS or a home machine who want to write from a phone, and there are people who never wanted a server and just want a fast place to put a thought. The feature list is written for the first group but the local mode makes the second group viable. What the app is not is a general note-taking system with folders, notebooks or a database you can query. The README frames the core interaction as writing memos like tweeting to yourself, which sets expectations about length and structure.

Local Mode, Server Mode, and the Sync Model

Moe Memos has two storage paths and the README treats them as alternatives: use it locally on your device with export, or sync with your own memos server. In server mode the app is described as offline-first, with automatic sync once you are back online. That phrasing matters more than it usually does. Offline-first here means the app is usable without a connection and reconciles later, which is the right model for a phone that spends time in tunnels and on planes. The README does not describe the conflict resolution rules, and nothing in the supplied material explains what happens when the same memo is edited on the phone and on the server before a sync completes. That is a real gap. For a single-user memo app the risk is low, but if you write from two devices against one server, you are trusting behaviour the documentation does not spell out. The local mode sidesteps this entirely by keeping data on the device, at the cost of the sync and the server-side search that a memos instance would give you.

What the Editor and Organization Actually Cover

The README lists a Markdown editor and renderer, images, non-image attachments, and to-do items as the content types. Tags, pinning and search are the organization primitives. There is no hierarchy beyond that, which is consistent with memos itself: tags are the grouping mechanism, not folders. The share sheet accepts text, images and webpages, so the practical workflow is capturing from another app rather than composing inside Moe Memos. A home screen widget is listed, and a progress graph for memo activity. The graph is a small thing but it tells you the intended usage pattern is frequent, short entries rather than long documents. Material You dynamic themes and a themed icon are listed as features, which places the app firmly in the modern Android design language. If your phone runs an older Android release, dynamic theming will not apply, though the README does not state a minimum Android version, so check the store listing before assuming your device is supported.

The Supported memos Range Is the Constraint That Matters

This is the part to read twice. The README states that the current Moe Memos version supports Memos 0.21.0 and Memos 0.27.0 to 0.30.0, and warns that Memos updates may introduce breaking API changes. If your server is above 0.30.0, the README recommends using Mortis to convert the newer Memos API to the 0.21.0 API, then re-logging in to Moe Memos. Two things follow from that. First, the supported set is not a continuous range: 0.21.0 is called out on its own, then a gap, then 0.27.0 through 0.30.0. If you are on 0.22.0 through 0.26.x, the README does not claim support, and you should treat that as unknown rather than fine. Second, running Mortis means an extra service in your stack whose only job is translating API calls for one client. That is a legitimate design decision for a third-party client that cannot chase every upstream release, and the README is unusually direct about it. But it is a dependency you inherit, and it is the single most likely reason an otherwise working setup breaks after you upgrade your memos server.

Getting It Running

Installation is the conventional Android path. The README offers F-Droid at the package me.mudkip.moememos, Google Play under the application id me.mudkip.moememos, or a direct APK from the Releases section of the repository. If you want a build you can audit or a store that does not require a Google account, F-Droid is the option the README lists first. For server mode, the flow is: install, point the app at your memos instance, and log in. The README does not document the login screen fields, the URL format, or whether an access token is supported alongside username and password, so those details have to come from the app itself. The one procedural instruction the README does give is in the upgrade note: if you are above 0.30.0, set up Mortis first, then re-login in Moe Memos. The re-login step is explicit, which suggests cached credentials or cached API assumptions survive an upgrade and need to be cleared by signing in again. For local mode there is nothing to configure; the README says no server is required and export is available.

Where It Is the Wrong Tool, and What to Compare It Against

Moe Memos is the wrong tool in three situations. You are on a memos release above 0.30.0 and you do not want to run Mortis. You need your notes on a desktop or in a browser, since this is an Android application and the README describes no other client. Or you need a note system with structure: nested notebooks, backlinks, a query language. Tags and search are what you get here. The obvious alternative is the memos web interface itself, which requires no third-party client and cannot fall out of sync with the server API, but it gives you nothing offline and nothing in the share sheet. A second comparison is Mortis, which appears in the README not as a competitor but as a companion: it converts the newer Memos API down to the 0.21.0 shape. If you are already above 0.30.0, Mortis is not optional for this app, it is part of the deployment. The difference between Moe Memos and a generic note app is that the server is the source of truth and the app is a client, which is exactly the property that makes version compatibility a first-class concern rather than an afterthought.

Licence, Maintenance, and What Upgrades Cost You

The Android version is under GPLv3, per the README and the repository. For anyone installing from F-Droid, Play or a release APK, that is a distribution licence and it does not add obligations to you as an end user. It matters if you fork the app or ship a modified build, because GPLv3 carries source and copyleft requirements that a permissive licence would not. This is not legal advice; read the LICENSE file if you plan to redistribute. On maintenance, the supplied material shows a steady release cadence through 2026, with 2.0.4, 2.0.3 and 2.0.2 spaced roughly two months apart, and a last push date in September 2026. The repository is not archived. The cost you should budget for is not the app, it is the version pairing. Every memos server upgrade is a compatibility question, and the README's own warning about breaking API changes tells you the maintainer expects to be behind upstream by design. The practical upgrade procedure is to check the supported range in the README first, and only then touch your server.

Editorial conclusion

Adopt Moe Memos if you run a self-hosted memos server in the 0.21.0 or 0.27.0 to 0.30.0 range, or if you want a local-only memo app on a phone without running a server at all. Do not adopt it if your server is on a release above 0.30.0 and you are unwilling to put Mortis in front of it, or if you need desktop or web access. Before installing, confirm your server version, decide whether you want the F-Droid build or the Play build, and test the export path if you plan to use local-only mode.

Official sources

1. License: GPL-3.0
2. mudkipme/MoeMemosAndroid on GitHub
3. Project website
4. README
5. Releases