MemGator

Q: Can MemGator replace Memento Time Travel?

For the aggregation part, yes. It does the same multi-archive lookup and keeps an /api alias for Time Travel API clients. You host it yourself, and there is no public search page. More options are on our Memento Time Travel alternatives page.

Q: How do I run MemGator?

Download a binary or pull the Docker image. Run memgator with a URL for a one-off lookup, or memgator server to start a service on port 1208.

Q: Is MemGator free?

Yes. It is open source under the MIT license. You only pay for the machine you run it on.

Q: Is MemGator still maintained?

Updates are rare. The newest release is 1.0-rc9 from 9 May 2024, still marked as a release candidate, and the GitHub repo shows 47 open issues.

Q: Which archives does it check?

Whatever is in its archive list. The list is a JSON file you pass with the --arcs option. The server's About endpoint shows each upstream archive and its status.

Open-source Memento aggregator you run yourself, as a command-line tool or server.

Free, MIT licenseSelf-hostedMemento aggregator

Visit github.com ↗Last verified: 6 Nov 2026

FreeMIT license

GoSingle binary or Docker

Port 1208Default server port

1.0-rc9Latest release, May 2024

The short version

What is MemGator?

MemGator is a free, open-source Memento aggregator from the web archiving group at Old Dominion University. Give it a URL and it checks many web archives at once, then returns every capture it found or the one closest to a date.

That is the job Memento Time Travel did until Los Alamos National Laboratory shut it down in September 2025, after announcing the sunset on 7 August 2025. The difference is that nobody hosts MemGator for you. You download a binary or a Docker image and run it on your own machine. It even keeps an /api endpoint for clients of the old Time Travel API, so old scripts may only need a new host name.

Bottom line: MemGator is how you keep using Memento aggregation yourself. It suits developers and researchers. If you just want to look up a page in your browser, use the Web Archives extension or the Wayback Machine.

What it does

Key features

Aggregated TimeMaps

Run memgator with a URL and it returns a single, date-ordered list of captures from all its archives, in Link, JSON or CDXJ format.

Closest capture to a date

Add a date and it finds the nearest capture. In server mode, the TimeGate endpoint redirects straight to it.

Time Travel API alias

The /api endpoint is an alias of /memento, kept so Time Travel API clients can switch over as a drop-in replacement.

Your own archive list

The archives it queries come from a JSON file, local or remote, so you can add or remove archives. A sample file ships with the code.

What it costs

MemGator pricing (2026)

Plan	Price	What you get
Source code	Free	MIT license on GitHub.
Binaries	Free	Windows, macOS and Linux, on amd64 and arm64.
Docker image	Free	oduwsdl/memgator, with port 1208 exposed in server mode.
Hosting	Your cost	There is no public instance. You run and maintain the server yourself.

MemGator has no paid plans. Your only cost is the machine you run it on.

Honest fit

Who it's for, who it isn't

Pick MemGator if

Your scripts called the Memento Time Travel API
You need multi-archive lookups from code
You want to choose which archives get queried
You are comfortable with a command line or Docker

Look elsewhere if

You want a search page in your browser
You need a stable 1.0 release, since it is still a release candidate
You do not want to run and update a server
You need to save pages, since it only finds existing captures

What people ask

MemGator FAQ

Can MemGator replace Memento Time Travel?

For the aggregation part, yes. It does the same multi-archive lookup and keeps an /api alias for Time Travel API clients. You host it yourself, and there is no public search page. More options are on our Memento Time Travel alternatives page.

How do I run MemGator?

Download a binary or pull the Docker image. Run memgator with a URL for a one-off lookup, or memgator server to start a service on port 1208.

Is MemGator free?

Yes. It is open source under the MIT license. You only pay for the machine you run it on.

Is MemGator still maintained?

Updates are rare. The newest release is 1.0-rc9 from 9 May 2024, still marked as a release candidate, and the GitHub repo shows 47 open issues.

Which archives does it check?

Whatever is in its archive list. The list is a JSON file you pass with the --arcs option. The server's About endpoint shows each upstream archive and its status.

Who made MemGator?

Sawood Alam and Michael L. Nelson at Old Dominion University. ODU's web archiving group was one of the original Memento partners, and the pair published a paper on MemGator in 2016.

Keep comparing

MemGator alternatives

Web ArchivesCheck several archives from your browser

Memento Time TravelWhat happened to the hosted service

Memento Time Travel alternativesEvery tool that does a similar job