What is DumbPad?

DumbPad is a lightweight, self-hosted notepad application designed for simplicity and collaboration. It provides a clean interface with auto-saving notes, dark/light mode toggle, and optional PIN protection (4-10 digits) for basic access control. The app supports enhanced markdown formatting including GitHub-style alert blocks, extended tables, collapsible details, and code syntax highlighting via highlight.js. Multiple notepads can be created and managed with fuzzy search across filenames and contents. Real-time collaborative editing works over WebSockets, and shareable URLs allow direct linking to specific notepads. It runs as a Node.js/Express backend with a vanilla JavaScript frontend, storing data in a file-based structure (JSON index plus individual .txt files). Deployment options include Docker (single command), Docker Compose with configurable environment variables, or local Node.js development. The Docker image runs as non-root user (UID 1000) for security. No external database or cache is required. PWA support enables offline-capable mobile usage with automatic cache updates.

Should you self-host DumbPad?

DumbPad scores 49/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #41 of 81 in Notes & Editors. It has 473 GitHub stars.

There was no stable release in the past 12 months, so check the repository's recent activity before you rely on it.

Setup is easy: most people get it running in one sitting. An official Docker image is available. It is GPL-3.0-licensed and written mostly in JavaScript.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is Memos (86/100, 64 139 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See DumbPad vs Memos side by side.