File Attachments

Memos supports rich file attachments including images, documents, videos, and more. Files can be stored locally or in S3-compatible cloud storage.

Uploading Files

Drag and Drop

The easiest way to add attachments:

Open the memo editor
Drag files from your desktop
Drop them onto the editor
Files upload automatically

Supported in:

New memo creation
Editing existing memos
Comments

Upload Button

Use the toolbar for traditional file selection:

Click the attachment icon in the toolbar
Browse your file system
Select one or more files
Files upload and attach to your memo

Paste from Clipboard

Quickly paste screenshots and images:

Copy an image to your clipboard
Paste (Ctrl/Cmd + V) in the editor
The image uploads automatically
A reference is inserted at your cursor

This works great for:

Screenshots
Images from other applications
Copied files from file managers

File Types

Images
Documents
Media
Other

Supported formats:

JPEG/JPG - Photos and compressed images
PNG - Screenshots and graphics with transparency
GIF - Animations
WebP - Modern web format
SVG - Vector graphics
HEIC/HEIF - Apple’s high-efficiency formats
TIFF - High-quality images

Features:

Automatic thumbnails
Responsive sizing
Lazy loading
EXIF metadata removal (privacy protection)

Privacy & Security

Automatic EXIF Stripping

Image files may contain sensitive metadata like GPS location, camera settings, and timestamps.

Memos automatically removes EXIF data from uploaded images for your privacy:

What's Removed

GPS coordinates
Camera make and model
Date/time taken
Software used
Copyright information
Thumbnail previews

What's Preserved

Image content and quality
Dimensions and aspect ratio
Color profiles
Visual appearance
JPEG quality: 95%
PNG: lossless

Formats processed:

JPEG/JPG
TIFF
WebP
HEIC/HEIF

The process:

Image is decoded on upload
EXIF orientation is applied (image displays correctly)
Image is re-encoded without metadata
Clean image is stored

If EXIF stripping fails, the original image is uploaded with a warning logged. Uploads never fail due to metadata issues.

File Validation

All uploads are validated:

// Filename requirements
- No path traversal (../, .\)
- No directory separators
- Valid characters only
- No leading/trailing spaces or dots

// MIME type validation
- Must match pattern: type/subtype
- Maximum length: 255 characters
- Validated against file extension

Storage Options

Local Storage
S3 Storage

Files stored on your server’s filesystem:Configuration:

storage:
  type: LOCAL
  filepath_template: "assets/{timestamp}_{filename}"

Template variables:

{filename} - Original filename
{timestamp} - Unix timestamp
{year} - Current year (4 digits)
{month} - Current month (2 digits)
{day} - Current day (2 digits)
{hour} - Current hour (2 digits)
{minute} - Current minute (2 digits)
{second} - Current second (2 digits)
{uuid} - Random UUID

Example paths:

assets/1706123456_photo.jpg
uploads/{year}/{month}/{day}/{filename}
files/{uuid}.{ext}

Pros:

Simple setup
No external dependencies
Fast access
No additional costs

Cons:

Limited by server disk space
Backups required
No CDN support

Store files in S3-compatible cloud storage:Supported providers:

Amazon S3
MinIO
Cloudflare R2
DigitalOcean Spaces
Backblaze B2
Wasabi

Configuration:

storage:
  type: S3
  s3_config:
    access_key: "your-access-key"
    secret_key: "your-secret-key"
    endpoint: "https://s3.region.amazonaws.com"
    region: "us-east-1"
    bucket: "memos-attachments"
  filepath_template: "{year}/{month}/{uuid}_{filename}"

Features:

Presigned URLs for secure access
Automatic URL refresh
CDN integration
Unlimited storage (based on provider)

Pros:

Scalable storage
Geographic redundancy
CDN support
Off-site backups

Cons:

Additional costs
Configuration required
Network dependency

Upload Limits

Configure maximum upload size:

storage:
  upload_size_limit_mb: 32

Default limits:

Upload size: 32 MB (configurable)
Memory buffer: 32 MB (system constant)
Concurrent uploads: No hard limit (browser/network constrained)

Large files (>100MB) should use cloud storage with direct upload capabilities for better performance.

Managing Attachments

View Attachments

Access all your uploaded files:

Navigate to Attachments page from the sidebar
View all attachments with metadata:
- Filename
- Type (MIME)
- Size
- Upload date
- Associated memo (if any)

Filter Attachments

Use the filter syntax:

# Find images
type.contains("image/")

# Find PDFs
type == "application/pdf"

# Find files from specific date
create_time > timestamp("2024-01-01T00:00:00Z")

# Find large files (>10MB)
size > 10485760

# Find unattached files
memo == ""

# Combined filters
type.contains("image/") && size > 1048576

Delete Attachments

Deleting an attachment is permanent. References in memos will break.

To delete:

Find the attachment in the Attachments page
Click the delete icon
Confirm deletion

When deleting:

File is removed from storage
Database record is deleted
Memo references become broken links
Thumbnails are also deleted

Rename Attachments

Update attachment metadata:

await client.updateAttachment({
  attachment: {
    name: "attachments/xyz789",
    filename: "new-name.jpg",
  },
  updateMask: { paths: ["filename"] },
});

Renaming updates:

Display name in UI
Download filename
Metadata only (file on disk unchanged)

Linking Attachments to Memos

During Creation

Attachments are automatically linked when uploaded:

const attachment = await client.createAttachment({
  attachment: {
    filename: "screenshot.png",
    content: imageBytes,
    type: "image/png",
    memo: "memos/abc123", // Link to memo
  },
});

After Upload

Link existing attachments:

await client.setMemoAttachments({
  name: "memos/abc123",
  attachments: [
    { name: "attachments/xyz789" },
    { name: "attachments/xyz790" },
  ],
});

Unlink Attachments

Remove attachment from memo (file remains):

// Set empty attachments array
await client.setMemoAttachments({
  name: "memos/abc123",
  attachments: [],
});

Access Control

Attachment visibility follows memo visibility:

Private Memo

Only the creator can access attachments.

Protected Memo

All authenticated users can access.

Public Memo

Anyone with the link can access, even without login.

Unlinked attachments:

Only the creator can access
Not visible in public/protected contexts
Useful for staging before publishing

API Reference

Create Attachment

curl -X POST https://your-instance.com/api/v1/attachments \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -F "filename=photo.jpg" \
  -F "[email protected]" \
  -F "type=image/jpeg"

List Attachments

const response = await client.listAttachments({
  pageSize: 50,
  filter: 'type.contains("image/")',
  orderBy: "create_time desc",
});

for (const attachment of response.attachments) {
  console.log(`${attachment.filename} - ${attachment.size} bytes`);
}

Download Attachment

const attachment = await client.getAttachment({
  name: "attachments/xyz789",
});

// For external/S3 storage
if (attachment.externalLink) {
  window.open(attachment.externalLink);
} else {
  // For local storage, use direct path
  window.open(`/o/${attachment.name}`);
}

API Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Purpose
`/api/v1/attachments`	POST	Upload attachment
`/api/v1/attachments`	GET	List attachments
`/api/v1/attachments/{id}`	GET	Get attachment metadata
`/api/v1/attachments/{id}`	PATCH	Update filename
`/api/v1/attachments/{id}`	DELETE	Delete attachment
`/api/v1/memos/{id}/attachments`	GET	List memo attachments
`/api/v1/memos/{id}/attachments`	PATCH	Set memo attachments
`/o/attachments/{id}`	GET	Download file (direct)

Thumbnails

Images automatically generate thumbnails: Supported formats:

image/png
image/jpeg

Thumbnail generation:

Created on-demand
Cached in .thumbnail_cache/ directory
Maximum 3 concurrent generations (prevents overload)
Responsive sizes for different viewports

Storage:

data/
├── assets/
│   └── photo.jpg (original)
└── .thumbnail_cache/
    └── photo.jpg (thumbnail)

Best Practices

Image Optimization

Compress images before upload (use tools like TinyPNG)
Use WebP format for better compression
Resize large images to reasonable dimensions (< 4K)
Prefer JPEG for photos, PNG for screenshots

File Organization

Use descriptive filenames
Link attachments to memos immediately
Periodically clean up unused attachments
Use cloud storage for archival content

Security

Never upload sensitive unencrypted data
Verify EXIF stripping for privacy-sensitive photos
Use private memos for confidential attachments
Enable S3 bucket policies for additional security

Performance

Batch upload multiple small files
Use S3 with CDN for global distribution
Clean thumbnail cache periodically
Monitor storage usage and set limits

Troubleshooting

Upload Fails

Possible causes:

File exceeds size limit
Invalid filename or MIME type
Storage quota exceeded
Network timeout

Solutions:

Check file size against limit
Rename file to remove special characters
Verify storage configuration
Try smaller files or chunks

Image Not Displaying

Check:

Attachment is linked to memo
File permissions (local storage)
S3 presigned URL is valid
Browser console for errors

Solutions:

Re-link attachment
Fix file permissions (644 recommended)
Trigger URL refresh
Clear browser cache

EXIF Not Stripped

Verify:

Check server logs for warnings
Download and inspect with ExifTool
Confirm image format is supported

Note: EXIF stripping never blocks uploads. If it fails, the original image is stored with a warning.

Next Steps

Creating Memos

Learn how to create memos with attachments

Markdown Support

Embed attachments in Markdown content

Storage Configuration

Configure local or S3 storage

API Reference

Full attachment API documentation

Get Started

Installation

Core Features

Configuration

Advanced

Developer Guide

​Uploading Files

​Drag and Drop

​Upload Button

​Paste from Clipboard

​File Types

​Privacy & Security

​Automatic EXIF Stripping

What's Removed

What's Preserved

​File Validation

​Storage Options

​Upload Limits

​Managing Attachments

​View Attachments

​Filter Attachments

​Delete Attachments

​Rename Attachments

​Linking Attachments to Memos

​During Creation

​After Upload

​Unlink Attachments

​Access Control

Private Memo

Protected Memo

Public Memo

​API Reference

​Create Attachment

​List Attachments

​Download Attachment

​API Endpoints

​Thumbnails

​Best Practices

​Troubleshooting

​Next Steps

Creating Memos

Markdown Support

Storage Configuration

API Reference

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Uploading Files

Drag and Drop

Upload Button

Paste from Clipboard

File Types

Privacy & Security

Automatic EXIF Stripping

File Validation

Storage Options

Upload Limits

Managing Attachments

View Attachments

Filter Attachments

Delete Attachments

Rename Attachments

Linking Attachments to Memos

During Creation

After Upload

Unlink Attachments

Access Control

API Reference

Create Attachment

List Attachments

Download Attachment

API Endpoints

Thumbnails

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Next Steps