In simple English
Monica is a private diary and contact list for your personal life. It works like a customer database, but for your friends, family, and acquaintances. You can log birthdays, gift ideas, notes, and past conversations so you never forget important details. The software is free to download and run on your own server, though you will need to spend time setting it up and maintaining it.
What it is
Monica is an open-source web application written in PHP (a programming language used to build websites) that acts as a personal CRM (a database used by companies to track interactions with people). It stores all your relationship data in a self-hosted database so no outside company can read it.
What it is good for
This project is for anyone who struggles to remember personal details about the people they care about. It helps you keep track of gift ideas, important dates, and notes from past chats without relying on social media.
- Keeps all your personal relationship data completely private on your own server.
- Helps you remember birthdays, gifts, and past conversations with friends and family.
- Includes support for multiple users, vaults, and is translated into 27 languages.
- Requires technical knowledge to set up and manage a web server and database.
- Uses the AGPL-3.0 licence, which places strict sharing rules on modified versions.
- Has hundreds of open issues on GitHub, indicating plenty of unresolved bug reports.
a paper notebook or messy phone contact notes
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To run Monica, follow the installation instructions in the official documentation at docs.monicahq.com, usually by setting up a web server, a database, and using Docker.