What Is Trilium Notes?

TriliumNext Notes is an open-source hierarchical note-taking application designed for building personal knowledge bases. It supports rich text editing, Markdown, code notes with syntax highlighting, relation maps between notes, note cloning (same note in multiple places), and powerful search. Notes are stored in a SQLite database with optional sync to a self-hosted server.

TriliumNext is the community fork of the original Trilium Notes project (which is no longer maintained). The fork is actively developed and maintains full compatibility with existing Trilium databases.

Prerequisites

A Linux server (Ubuntu 22.04+ recommended)
Docker and Docker Compose installed (guide)
512 MB of RAM minimum (1 GB recommended)
2 GB of free disk space
A domain name (recommended for remote sync)

Docker Compose Configuration

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

services:
  trilium:
    image: triliumnext/notes:v0.95.0
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
      - trilium-data:/home/node/trilium-data
    environment:
      TRILIUM_DATA_DIR: /home/node/trilium-data
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  trilium-data:

Start the stack:

docker compose up -d

Trilium is a self-contained application — no external database or Redis required. Everything is stored in a SQLite database inside the data directory.

Initial Setup

Navigate to http://your-server-ip:8080
On first access, you’ll be prompted to set a password — this encrypts your note database
Choose a strong password — this is the only authentication mechanism and also serves as the encryption key
After setting the password, you’ll see the note tree with some default demo notes
Delete the demo notes and start creating your own structure

Configuration

Sync Setup

Trilium’s main use case as a self-hosted server is syncing with desktop clients. The architecture:

Server instance (Docker): Runs 24/7, holds the authoritative database
Desktop client (Windows/macOS/Linux): Syncs bidirectionally with the server

To set up sync:

Install the TriliumNext desktop app on your computer
On first launch, choose “I have a server instance already”
Enter the server URL (https://trilium.yourdomain.com) and your password
Sync completes automatically — changes propagate in both directions

Protected Notes

Trilium supports “protected” notes that are encrypted at rest. These require re-entering the password to view. Use for sensitive information like credentials, private journal entries, or confidential documents.

Note Types

Text notes: Rich text with formatting, images, tables
Code notes: Syntax-highlighted code in 30+ languages
Relation maps: Visual diagrams showing connections between notes
Book notes: Render child notes as a book/document
Render notes: Custom HTML rendering via scripting
Canvas notes: Drawing canvas (Excalidraw-based)
File notes: Attach files directly to the note tree

Scripting

Trilium has a built-in scripting engine (JavaScript). You can create custom widgets, automate note organization, build dashboards, and extend functionality. Scripts run both on the server and in the desktop client.

Advanced Configuration (Optional)

Environment Variables

environment:
  TRILIUM_DATA_DIR: /home/node/trilium-data  # Data directory path
  TRILIUM_PORT: 8080                          # Server port
  # TRILIUM_NOAUTH: true                      # Disable authentication (NOT recommended)

Running with a Custom Data Path

Map the data volume to a specific host path for easier backup access:

volumes:
  - /opt/trilium-data:/home/node/trilium-data

Reverse Proxy

Set up a reverse proxy to access Trilium over HTTPS. Point your proxy to port 8080. Trilium uses WebSocket connections for sync, so ensure your proxy supports WebSocket passthrough:

For Nginx, add:

proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";

For detailed setup: Reverse Proxy Setup

Backup

The entire Trilium database is a single SQLite file in the data directory:

Database: trilium-data/document.db — this is everything (notes, attachments, history)
Backup built-in: Trilium creates automatic daily backups in trilium-data/backup/

To create a manual backup:

docker compose exec trilium cp /home/node/trilium-data/document.db /home/node/trilium-data/backup/manual-backup.db

Or copy from the host volume. Since it’s SQLite, you can also use Trilium’s built-in export (Menu → Export) for portable formats.

For a complete backup strategy: Backup Strategy

Troubleshooting

Sync fails with “401 Unauthorized”

Symptom: Desktop client can’t sync with the server. Fix: Verify the password matches on both client and server. If you changed the server password, you need to reconfigure the desktop client sync settings. Check that the URL includes the protocol (https://).

”Database is encrypted” error on startup

Symptom: Trilium won’t start, logs show database encryption error. Fix: The database file may be corrupted. Restore from the automatic backup in trilium-data/backup/. Copy the most recent backup to document.db.

High memory usage with large databases

Symptom: Trilium consumes more memory than expected. Fix: Trilium loads note metadata into memory. Large databases (10,000+ notes with attachments) can use 500 MB+. This is expected behavior. Increase container memory limits if needed.

WebSocket connection fails behind reverse proxy

Symptom: Sync works initially but disconnects, or the web UI shows connection errors. Fix: Ensure your reverse proxy is configured for WebSocket passthrough. For Nginx Proxy Manager, WebSocket support is enabled by default. For custom Nginx configs, add the Upgrade and Connection headers.

Resource Requirements

RAM: ~100 MB idle, 200-500 MB with large databases
CPU: Very low — SQLite is lightweight
Disk: ~50 MB for the application, plus your note database size

Verdict

TriliumNext Notes is the best self-hosted option for personal knowledge management with a hierarchical structure. The note cloning feature (same note appearing in multiple places without duplication), relation maps, and built-in scripting make it uniquely powerful for building interconnected knowledge bases.

The UI is functional but not as polished as Outline or commercial apps like Notion. It’s designed for power users who want deep organizational features over visual beauty. If you want something simpler for team documentation, use BookStack. If you want a more modern UI for team wikis, use Outline. For personal knowledge management with maximum depth, Trilium is unmatched.