Stop re-explaining your stack every chat. Long-term memory for AI coding agents — stored on your machine.
memex gives Cursor, Claude Desktop, and other MCP clients a memory that survives across chats. Save preferences, decisions, and facts once; the agent finds them again later. No cloud account, no API keys, no vector database to run.
Current release: v0.6.0 · Requires: Go 1.26+
When to use memex
Use memex if you:
- Code with Cursor, Claude Desktop, or any MCP client
- Want preferences and project facts to persist across chats
- Need memory on your machine — no vendor account or API keys
- Are building or running an agent that should recall past context
Good fits — ask memex to remember things like:
| Situation | Example |
|---|---|
| Coding preferences | "Prefers Go, table-driven tests, no Python for services" |
| Project decisions | "This repo uses SQLite; don't suggest Postgres" |
| Conventions | "Branch names: feature/…, commits: conventional commits" |
| Agent commitments | "Will add integration tests before merging" |
| Session start | Agent loads your prefs instead of re-interviewing you |
memex is not for:
- Passwords, API keys, or secrets
- Full chat transcripts or log archival
- Team-wide cloud memory synced across machines (local-first, per device)
- Non-MCP apps (memex speaks MCP over stdio)
Agents: if the user repeats themselves across sessions, or asks you to "remember" something durable — use memex. See docs/FOR-AGENTS.md.
The outcome
| Without memex | With memex |
|---|---|
| Every new chat starts from zero | Agent recalls your stack, style, and past decisions |
| You repeat the same preferences | You say it once; memex stores it locally |
| Memory lives in a vendor's cloud | Memory lives in ~/.memex/memex.db on your disk |
| Extra services and API keys | go install + one MCP config line |
Try it in 2 minutes
go install github.com/kioie/memex/cmd/memex@latest
memex doctor # confirm local store is ready
Add to your MCP client (e.g. Cursor):
{
"mcpServers": {
"memex": {
"command": "memex",
"args": ["serve"]
}
}
}
In chat:
Remember that I prefer table-driven tests and Go over Python.
Open a new chat:
What are my testing preferences?
Full walkthrough: docs/GETTING-STARTED.md
Try in browser (no Cursor): npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector memex serve
Smithery: kioie/memex (local Docker via MCPB — no hosting) · Registry metadata in server.json
How it works
You or the agent memex (local) Later sessions
│ │ │
│ remember("prefers Go")│ │
│ ──────────────────────►│ saved to SQLite │
│ │ │
│ │ recall("testing prefs") │
│ │ ◄─────────────────────────│
│ │ ─────────────────────────►│ relevant facts
- Save —
rememberstores a short fact (deduplicated per user) - Find —
recallorretrieve_contextsearches when the agent needs context - Update —
update_memoryrevises a fact; old versions stay in the audit trail
Data never leaves your machine unless you copy the database file.
What you get
| Feature | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Local storage | SQLite file under ~/.memex — you own it |
| Smart search | Keyword search built in; optional MEMEX_HYBRID=1 for paraphrase-friendly matching |
| Context limits | retrieve_context returns only what fits your token budget |
| Safe updates | Revising a fact keeps history; nothing is silently overwritten |
| Agent + user facts | Track who said what (source: user / agent / system) |
| Multi-project scoping | Separate by user, agent, session, or metadata tags |
| Built-in guidance | MCP prompts teach agents when and how to use memory |
| Health check | memex doctor shows path, counts, and config |
Documentation
| Doc | For |
|---|---|
| Getting started | First-time setup in Cursor |
| For AI agents | When agents should read/write memory |
| Examples | MCP configs and scoping recipes |
| All docs | Index |
Agents: fetch MCP prompts memory_guide, session_start, and remember_fact from the connected server.
Tools (10)
Everyday use — you usually only need the first three:
| Tool | Plain English |
|---|---|
remember | Save a fact |
retrieve_context | Find relevant facts, sized for the model context window |
recall | Search by keywords (query required) |
list_memories | Browse stored facts without searching |
update_memory | Change an existing fact (keeps history) |
get_memory | Look up one fact by ID |
forget | Remove one fact (soft delete) |
delete_memories | Remove several facts |
delete_all_memories | Wipe a user's memories (confirm=true) |
memory_history | See how a fact changed over time |
Settings
| Variable | Purpose |
|---|---|
MEMEX_DIR | Where to store data (default ~/.memex) |
MEMEX_USER_ID | Your memory namespace (default default) |
MEMEX_AGENT_ID | Separate memories per agent |
MEMEX_RUN_ID | Tag memories to a session or run |
MEMEX_HYBRID=1 | Turn on extra local matching for paraphrases |
MEMEX_VERBOSE=1 | Log database path while debugging |
Why memex?
Hosted memory products typically need API keys, cloud embeddings, and network calls on every recall. memex is the opposite: a small MCP server on your machine, writing distilled facts that agents choose to store — no extraction pipeline, no vendor lock-in.
| memex | Typical hosted memory | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | go install + MCP config | API keys, SDK, often Docker |
| Data | Your disk | Vendor cloud |
| Offline | Yes | Usually no |
| Cost | Free (local compute only) | Usage-based |
Development
git clone https://github.com/kioie/memex.git && cd memex
make test # fast unit tests
make test-integration # MCP stdio roundtrip
memex doctor
See CONTRIBUTING.md · CHANGELOG.md · SECURITY.md
License
MIT — see LICENSE.