Zen Notes Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Zen Notes hosting on xCloud lets you deploy Zen Notes, the self-hosted web edition of ZenNotes, a keyboard-first Markdown notes app that keeps notes as plain files, on your own domain. xCloud runs the pinned community image with a vault volume and a data volume, generates the access token and publishes it over HTTPS. There are no accounts: one shared token opens the whole vault.

Deploy your Zen Notes

No terminal
No technical skills needed
No lock-in, cancel anytime

What is Zen Notes?

ZenNotes is a keyboard-first, local Markdown notes app that keeps notes as ordinary .md files on disk rather than in a hidden database. It offers Vim motions, a command palette, edit, split and preview modes, math and Mermaid rendering, tasks, tags, daily notes, vault-wide search and compatibility with Obsidian-style vaults. The web edition runs from a Go server, so a self-hosted Zen Notes is a Markdown vault in your browser. It is MIT licensed.

On xCloud it is Zen Notes 2.69.1, the community image adibhanna/zennotes pinned by digest. The zennotes_vault volume holds the vault, mounted at /workspace, and zennotes_data holds settings. There are no user accounts, no registration and no sharing model: a generated access token signs a browser in, and anyone holding it can read, change and delete every note.

From Sign-Up to a Live Vault In Just 3 Easy Steps

A self-hosted notes app normally means a container, volume ownership, a sign-in secret, a domain and a certificate before the first note. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

Step 01
Sign Up
Create your xCloud account and pick Zen Notes from the OneClick catalog. Choose your domain and target server — there are no extra fields to fill in.
Step 02
We Deploy It For You
One click. We bring up the community Zen Notes image, pinned by immutable digest, with a helper that fixes volume ownership and a health-probe sidecar (neither publishes a port), mount the zennotes_vault and zennotes_data volumes, generate the access token, and publish it over HTTPS on your domain.
Step 03
Sign In And Connect The Vault
Save the access token shown in the protected installation credentials and open your HTTPS Zen Notes URL. Sign in with the token, choose /workspace when the app offers to connect a vault, then create your first note.

Everything Zen Notes Does, On Your Own Server

The Zen Notes web app runs here in full: a Markdown vault and browser editor on your own domain, with your notes stored as files you can copy out.

Plain Markdown Files
Every note is a normal .md file inside the vault, not a row in a hidden database, so notes can be copied out and opened in any editor.
Edit, Split And Preview
Write in a CodeMirror-based editor with live preview, or switch to split and preview modes. Preview renders GitHub-flavored Markdown, KaTeX math, Mermaid diagrams, callouts and footnotes.
Wiki Links And Backlinks
Link notes with wiki links and follow backlinks between them, in the editor and in preview.
Search, Tasks And Tags
Search notes by title and path or search the text of the whole vault, and use the tags and tasks views to see what is open.
Daily And Weekly Notes
Optional daily and weekly notes can be switched on in Settings, with configurable folders and title patterns.
One Access Token, No Accounts
A random token generated at install is the only credential; requests without it get 401. There is no registration and no multi-user model.

Everything You Need To Run Your Notes Vault 24/7

Managed hosting for Zen Notes, so the parts that keep it online are not your problem.

Zen Notes 2.69.1 deployed instantly
Community image pinned by digest
Access token generated for you
Read-only, non-root app container
Free SSL certificate
Server backups and snapshots
Server security updates included
30+ server locations
Unused balance refunded

What You Can Do With Zen Notes

Keep notes as plain Markdown files
Write in Markdown with wiki links and tags, with every note stored as an ordinary file in the vault volume, so you can read or copy them without the app.
Edit with Vim motions from a browser
Use Vim motions, leader keys and a command palette in the web editor, so a keyboard-driven workflow follows you onto any machine.
Open an existing Obsidian-style vault
Point the app at a vault that already uses wiki links and image embeds, so notes written elsewhere keep working on your server.
Capture tasks and daily notes
Keep tasks, daily and weekly notes and quick captures in the same vault, so planning and reference notes sit together.

Zen Notes Screenshots

Zen Notes vault home with the sidebar, quick access to Tasks and Quick Notes, a recent notes list and New note, Database and Drawing buttons

Zen Notes Markdown editor with Edit, Split and Preview mode buttons and a note open in a tab

Zen Notes first-run welcome screen with Vim mode, theme and vault setup steps

Zen Notes vs Alternatives

Notion: Notion is a hosted workspace. Zen Notes keeps notes as plain Markdown files in your own volume, with one shared access token instead of accounts, so it suits a personal vault.
Obsidian: Upstream says ZenNotes works with Obsidian-style vaults, including root-level notes and image embeds. Zen Notes adds a web edition, so the same plain-file vault is reachable from a browser.
Note Mark: Note Mark has its own OneClick page. In a Zen Notes vs Note Mark comparison, Zen Notes is keyboard-first with Vim motions and a command palette, while Note Mark has built-in user accounts.
Poznote: Poznote has its own OneClick page. Zen Notes has no accounts or sharing and stores plain files, where Poznote offers multi-user sharing and a SQLite database.

Simple Pricing. Everything Included.

Dedicated Cloud VPS sizes, pre-configured for Zen Notes hosting. Pick the one that fits, and resize any time.

Cloud VPS 6 GB

Cloud VPS 16 GB

More headroom if Zen Notes sits alongside other apps on one server.

$59.99per month

16 GB RAM
6 vCPU cores
200 GB NVMe SSD
30 TB
Unlimited

Get started

Every size is a dedicated Cloud VPS we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Billed monthly with no lock-in — delete the server and the unused balance comes back to your account. Zen Notes itself is licensed by its maintainers under MIT.

Docker hosting

Already Have a Server? Bring Your Own

Connect any VPS — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Hetzner or bare metal — and deploy Zen Notes on it through the same panel, for a per-server management fee instead of a Cloud VPS rental.

Free

Start your journey without cost.

$0forever

1 server
10 sites

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Starter

Professional

The same platform, discounted at 6–10 servers.

$4per server / month

6–10 servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
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Agency

The same platform, discounted at 11+ servers.

$3per server / month

11+ servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

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Priced per connected server, so your rate adjusts automatically as you add or remove servers. You pay your own provider for the server itself.

Self-managed hosting

Ready To Run Your Own Notes Vault?

Zen Notes on xCloud runs on a dedicated Cloud VPS that we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Deploy faster. Own the server. Stay in control.

Fast Provisioning
Deploy faster using an xCloud Managed Server built with optimized stacks and high-speed SSDs.
Enterprise-grade security
Protect your infrastructure with a free SSL certificate and more advanced security features at no additional cost.
Intuitive Control Panel
From Server creation to application deployment, everything can be managed from our intuitive control panel.

Hear what people are saying about us

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Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

How much RAM does Zen Notes need?

Very little: the template asks for 128 MB of RAM, 1 CPU core and 2 GB of disk, because it is one small server serving a vault of text files. The 6 GB plan leaves room for other apps.

Can you self-host Zen Notes with Docker?

Yes, and this template is zen notes docker hosting without the setup: the community image pinned by digest, the zennotes_vault and zennotes_data volumes, a generated access token and HTTPS on your own domain, with no database.

How do I sign in to Zen Notes?

Enter the access token from your credentials. It is the only credential, and the server refuses to start without one. On first sign-in the app asks you to connect a vault; choose /workspace, the folder on the persistent volume.

Can several people use one Zen Notes install?

Not safely. There are no accounts, no multi-user model and no sharing, and anyone with the token can read, change and delete every note. Keep the token private, and restrict who can reach the site.

Does Zen Notes work with Obsidian vaults?

Yes. Upstream says it works with Obsidian-style vaults, including root-level notes and image embeds. Put the vault files in the workspace volume, and keep a copy elsewhere while you test the match. Plugins from Obsidian are not part of it.

Is Zen Notes an alternative to Notion or Obsidian?

For a personal Markdown vault, yes. Upstream describes a keyboard-first notes app and makes no comparison with either. It has no team features, so it replaces neither for shared workspaces. Try it with a copy of your notes first.

Is Zen Notes free?

Yes. ZenNotes carries the MIT licence and costs nothing to run. The Cloud VPS is your only bill, so this Zen Notes cloud install keeps every note as a file on a server you control.

How do I back up Zen Notes?

Copy the zennotes_vault volume, which holds your notes as plain Markdown files, and zennotes_data, which holds settings. Because the notes are ordinary files, any file backup tool works. Keep the access token with the copy.

Backup and restore Docker apps

How do I upgrade Zen Notes?

Zen Notes stays on its pinned 2.69.1 image until a newer template version is adopted. Copy both volumes beforehand and check the release notes. No upgrade is automatic, and redeploying keeps your vault in place.

How do I change the Zen Notes access token?

Edit ZENNOTES_AUTH_TOKEN in the Environment editor and redeploy; it cannot be changed from inside the app. Leave ZENNOTES_BEHIND_TLS set to 1. Every browser signed in with the old token must sign in again. Plan it for a quiet moment.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. There is no lock-in — cancel any time. Hosting is billed monthly and charged for what you actually use, so when you delete the server the unused balance is refunded to your account, less up to 10% in payment-processing fees.