Best for
- Privacy-conscious developers who want local data storage.
- Researchers who need AI-assisted management of large note collections.
- Users of Markdown editors like Obsidian.
B
72FMRS · B
Basic Memory offers local-first bidirectional knowledge management with seamless integration with various AI clients. Its Markdown format and knowledge graph design make it easy to understand and extend. However, the cloud service requires payment, and local mode requires a Python environment. Overall, it's a powerful tool for enhancing AI memory, especially suited for privacy-conscious developers.
Basic Memory is a local-first knowledge management server that enables bidirectional sync between humans and AI via Markdown files. It supports knowledge graphs, semantic search, and integrates with MCP clients like Claude, Codex, and Cursor, allowing you and your AI to read, write, search, and manage knowledge together.
Tools
write_note
Create or overwrite a note.
read_note
Read the content of a note.
edit_note
Edit a note, supporting append and prepend.
move_note
Move a note to a new location.
delete_note
Delete a note.
read_content
Read the content of any file.
view_note
View note details.
search_notes
Search notes with semantic and hybrid search.
recent_activity
Get recent activity records.
list_directory
List directory contents.
build_context
Build knowledge graph context by navigating memory:// URLs.
list_memory_projects
List all memory projects.
list_workspaces
List all workspaces.
create_memory_project
Create a new memory project.
delete_project
Delete a memory project.
schema_infer
Infer the schema of your knowledge base.
schema_validate
Validate the schema of your knowledge base.
schema_diff
Compare schema differences.
search
OpenAI-compatible search tool.
fetch
OpenAI-compatible fetch tool.
basic_memory_diagnostics
Run diagnostic checks.
Setup
Install basic-memory via uv, then configure the MCP server in your client. For example, in Claude Desktop add:
{
"mcpServers": {
"basic-memory": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["basic-memory", "mcp"]
}
}
}
claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"basic-memory": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"basic-memory",
"mcp"
]
}
}
}
Fit and risk
Not for
- Users needing cloud sync and mobile access (unless using the paid cloud service).
- Minimalists who want zero configuration.
- Scenarios requiring large-scale vector databases and complex retrieval (local SQLite may be insufficient).
Required permissions
- Read and write to the local filesystem (default: ~/basic-memory).
- Perform file and directory operations (create, edit, delete).
- Access local SQLite database (or Postgres/Milvus if configured).
Risks and side effects
- Tools have write operations that may unintentionally modify or delete notes.
- Edit operations may overwrite existing content, though there are protections.
- Semantic search and reranking features may require model downloads, adding latency.
- Local data backups are the user's responsibility.
Troubleshooting
- Ensure uv and Python 3.12+ are installed, and check that the MCP server starts successfully.
- Use `basic-memory status` for diagnostics and inspect the log file `~/.basic-memory/basic-memory.log` for errors.
- If search returns no results, verify semantic search is enabled.
Use cases
Let your AI remember your project preferences without re-explaining.
Continuously record and retrieve knowledge across sessions.
Share a knowledge base with your team, editable by both humans and AI.
Supported clients
Claude DesktopFull support
Claude CodeFull support
Codex CLIFull support
CursorFull support
VS CodeFull support
ChatGPTFull support
ObsidianFull support