AltFreeStack
ESEN
CRM & Supportdocker-ready1-click-deploy100% FOSS🟡 Standard · ~1GB

Monica: Open Source alternative to Clay in 2026

Monica is a personal CRM for keeping track of your relationships: contacts, birthday reminders, conversation notes and important interactions with friends and family.

ℹ️ monica/monica doesn't exist on Docker Hub. The real official image (monicahq/monicahq) hasn't published a new version since August 2020 — six years old. We don't recommend it without more context: check whether the project is still active before self-hosting your personal data there.

Alternative to Clay
License AGPL-3.025.5k starsWebsite GitHub Repository

Audit Snapshot

View notes →

  • License — Matches GitHub

  • GitHub — Active

  • Latest release — v4.1.2 · 2 years ago

  • Docker Compose — Not verified

  • Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack

Monica vs. Clay

Pros

  • Built for personal relationships, not just B2B sales

Things to consider

  • Doesn't replace a B2B sales CRM with a commercial pipeline

Quick Docker installation guide

Copy this docker-compose.yml, adjust the example passwords and run docker compose up -d on your server. See the full step-by-step guide →

💡 Official SaaS or self-hosted with AltFreeStack?

  • On the official cloud: a recurring monthly fee and usage limits on Clay.
  • On your own VPS: 100% free software on your own server, with no artificial row, project or user limits.
docker-compose.yml
version: "3.9"
services:
  monica:
    image: monica/monica:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    environment:
      - DB_HOST=monica-db
      - DB_DATABASE=monica
      - DB_USERNAME=monica
      - DB_PASSWORD=change-me-mysql-password # must match MYSQL_PASSWORD below
      - APP_KEY=change-me-app-key # REQUIRED: generate a random secret before first run
    depends_on:
      - monica-db
  monica-db:
    image: mariadb:11
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=change-me-mysql-root-password # REQUIRED: generate a random secret before first run
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=monica
      - MYSQL_USER=monica
      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=change-me-mysql-password # REQUIRED: generate a random secret before first run
    volumes:
      - monica_db_data:/var/lib/mysql
volumes:
  monica_db_data:

🚀 Deploy in 1 command

Recommended for beginners

Copy this single command and paste it into your freshly created VPS's console (Vultr, DigitalOcean...). It downloads the script, prints it to your screen so you can see exactly what it's about to do (never a blind direct pipe), and only then installs Docker if needed, writes the files with secrets already generated, and starts everything — no nano, no pasting code blocks.

curl -sSL ".../api/deploy?stack=monica" -o deploy.sh && cat deploy.sh && bash deploy.sh
See what this script does →

This docker-compose corresponds to an actively maintained project — last commit 18 days ago.

This docker-compose not working for you? Report it on GitHub →

Technical profile

License
AGPL-3.0
Category
CRM & Support
Replaces
Clay
Tech stack
PHPLaravelMySQL

Under the hood

Database

MySQL

Language

PHP (Laravel)

Platforms

Web

Key features

  • Reminders for important dates
  • Conversation and interaction notes
  • Gift and activity tracking

Preview

Monica interface preview

Public image provided by Monica on its own website.

💾 Backups in 3 steps (Day 2)

As long as the ./data folder (the "volume" mapped into the container) exists on your server, your data survives any restart or container update — that's the only thing you need to back up.

1. Create a compressed backup on the server

tar -czvf backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz ./data

2. Download it to your computer

From your computer's terminal (not your server's):

scp root@YOUR_IP:~/app/backup-*.tar.gz ./

3. Restore in case of emergency

tar -xzvf backup-file.tar.gz
🌐 Connect your domain with free SSL

Step 1 — Set up the DNS

In your domain registrar's dashboard (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy...), create a record:

Type
A
Name/Host
@ (root domain) or a subdomain, e.g. app
Content/Value
Your server's public IP

Wait 5 to 15 minutes for the record to propagate across the internet.

Step 2 — Automatic reverse proxy with Caddy

One single file, no Nginx config or manual certificates — Caddy issues and renews Let's Encrypt HTTPS on its own.

Create a file called Caddyfile:

yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8080
}

Start Caddy with this command (pulls the image and runs it in the background):

docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 --name caddy --restart always -v $PWD/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile -v caddy_data:/data caddy