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Persistent memory compression system built for Claude Code.
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Quick Start • How It Works • Search Tools • Documentation • Configuration • Troubleshooting • License
Claude-Mem seamlessly preserves context across sessions by automatically capturing tool usage observations, generating semantic summaries, and making them available to future sessions. This enables Claude to maintain continuity of knowledge about projects even after sessions end or reconnect.
Quick Start
Install with a single command:
npx claude-mem installOr install for OpenCode:
npx claude-mem install --ide opencodeOr install for Antigravity CLI (setup guide):
npx claude-mem install --ide antigravityOr install from the plugin marketplace inside Claude Code:
/plugin marketplace add thedotmack/claude-mem
/plugin install claude-memRestart Claude Code. Context from previous sessions will automatically appear in new sessions.
Note: Claude-Mem is also published on npm, but
npm install -g claude-meminstalls the SDK/library only — it does not register the plugin hooks or set up the worker service. Always install vianpx claude-mem installor the/plugincommands above.
🦞 OpenClaw Gateway
Install claude-mem as a persistent memory plugin on OpenClaw gateways with a single command:
curl -fsSL https://install.cmem.ai/openclaw.sh | bashThe installer handles dependencies, plugin setup, AI provider configuration, worker startup, and optional real-time observation feeds to Telegram, Discord, Slack, and more. See the OpenClaw Integration Guide for details.
Key Features:
- 🧠 Persistent Memory - Context survives across sessions
- 📊 Progressive Disclosure - Layered memory retrieval with token cost visibility
- 🔍 Skill-Based Search - Query your project history with mem-search skill
- 🖥️ Web Viewer UI - Real-time memory stream at the worker URL printed on startup
- 💻 Claude Desktop Skill - Search memory from Claude Desktop conversations
- 🔒 Privacy Control - Use
<private>tags to exclude sensitive content from storage - ⚙️ Context Configuration - Fine-grained control over what context gets injected
- 🤖 Automatic Operation - No manual intervention required
- 🔗 Citations - Reference past observations with IDs through the worker API or view all in the web viewer
Documentation
📚 View Full Documentation - Browse on official website
Getting Started
- Installation Guide - Quick start & advanced installation
- Usage Guide - How Claude-Mem works automatically
- Search Tools - Query your project history with natural language
- Cloud Sync - Back up your memories to cmem.ai — no daemon, the worker syncs on write
Best Practices
- Context Engineering - AI agent context optimization principles
- Progressive Disclosure - Philosophy behind Claude-Mem's context priming strategy
Architecture
- Overview - System components & data flow
- Architecture Evolution - The journey from v3 to v5
- Hooks Architecture - How Claude-Mem uses lifecycle hooks
- Hooks Reference - 7 hook scripts explained
- Worker Service - HTTP API & Bun management
- Database - SQLite schema & FTS5 search
- Search Architecture - Hybrid search with Chroma vector database
Configuration & Development
- Configuration - Environment variables & settings
- Development - Building, testing, contributing
- Release Branches - Stable, core-dev, and community-edge branch flow
- Troubleshooting - Common issues & solutions
How It Works
Core Components:
- 5 Lifecycle Hooks - SessionStart, UserPromptSubmit, PostToolUse, Stop, SessionEnd (6 hook scripts)
- Smart Install - Cached dependency checker (pre-hook script, not a lifecycle hook)
- Worker Service - Local HTTP API with web viewer UI and search endpoints, managed by Bun
- SQLite Database - Stores sessions, observations, summaries
- mem-search Skill - Natural language queries with progressive disclosure
- Chroma Vector Database - Hybrid semantic + keyword search for intelligent context retrieval
See Architecture Overview for details.
MCP Search Tools
Claude-Mem provides intelligent memory search through 4 MCP tools following a token-efficient 3-layer workflow pattern:
The 3-Layer Workflow:
search- Get compact index with IDs (~50-100 tokens/result)timeline- Get chronological context around interesting resultsget_observations- Fetch full details ONLY for filtered IDs (~500-1,000 tokens/result)
How It Works:
- Claude uses MCP tools to search your memory
- Start with
searchto get an index of results - Use
timelineto see what was happening around specific observations - Use
get_observationsto fetch full details for relevant IDs - ~10x token savings by filtering before fetching details
Available MCP Tools:
search- Search memory index with full-text queries, filters by type/date/projecttimeline- Get chronological context around a specific observation or queryget_observations- Fetch full observation details by IDs (always batch multiple IDs)
Example Usage:
// Step 1: Search for index
search(query="authentication bug", type="bugfix", limit=10)
// Step 2: Review index, identify relevant IDs (e.g., #123, #456)
// Step 3: Fetch full details
get_observations(ids=[123, 456])See Search Tools Guide for detailed examples.
Release Branches
Stable releases ship from main and are published to npm. core-dev and
community-edge are source-run branches for early reliability fixes and
community integrations. See Release Branches
for the branch flow and non-stable run instructions.
System Requirements
- Node.js: 20.0.0 or higher
- Claude Code: Latest version with plugin support
- Bun: JavaScript runtime and process manager (auto-installed if missing)
- uv: Python package manager for vector search (auto-installed if missing)
- SQLite 3: For persistent storage (bundled)
Windows Setup Notes
If you see an error like:
npm : The term 'npm' is not recognized as the name of a cmdletMake sure Node.js and npm are installed and added to your PATH. Download the latest Node.js installer from https://nodejs.org and restart your terminal after installation.
Configuration
Settings are managed in ~/.claude-mem/settings.json (auto-created with defaults on first run). Configure AI model, worker port, data directory, log level, and context injection settings.
See the Configuration Guide for all available settings and examples.
Mode & Language Configuration
Claude-Mem supports multiple workflow modes and languages via the CLAUDE_MEM_MODE setting.
This option controls both:
- The workflow behavior (e.g. code, chill, investigation)
- The language used in generated observations
How to Configure
Edit your settings file at ~/.claude-mem/settings.json:
{
"CLAUDE_MEM_MODE": "code--zh"
}Modes are defined in plugin/modes/. To see all available modes locally:
ls ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack/plugin/modes/Available Modes
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
code |
Default English mode |
code--zh |
Simplified Chinese mode |
code--ja |
Japanese mode |
Language-specific modes follow the pattern code--[lang] where [lang] is the ISO 639-1 language code (e.g., zh for Chinese, ja for Japanese, es for Spanish).
Note:
code--zh(Simplified Chinese) is already built-in — no additional installation or plugin update is required.
After Changing Mode
Restart Claude Code to apply the new mode configuration.
Development
See the Development Guide for build instructions, testing, and contribution workflow.
Troubleshooting
If experiencing issues, describe the problem to Claude and the troubleshoot skill will automatically diagnose and provide fixes.
See the Troubleshooting Guide for common issues and solutions.
Bug Reports
Create comprehensive bug reports with the automated generator:
cd ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack
npm run bug-reportContributing
Contributions are welcome! Please:
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch
- Make your changes with tests
- Update documentation
- Submit a Pull Request
Claude-Mem ships from three branches: main (stable), core-dev, and
community-edge. Only main is published to npm; the others are run from
source. See Release Branches for the
strategy and local run instructions.
See Development Guide for contribution workflow.
License
Claude-Mem is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.
We chose Apache-2.0 because durable agentic memory should be easy to embed in developer tools, local agents, MCP servers, enterprise systems, robotics stacks, and production agent harnesses.
See the LICENSE file for full details. See docs/license.md and docs/ip-boundary.md for licensing scope and the open/commercial boundary.
Note on Ragtime: The ragtime/ directory is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. See ragtime/LICENSE for details.
Support
- Documentation: docs/
- Issues: GitHub Issues
- Repository: github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem
- Official X Account: @Claude_Memory
- Official Discord: Join Discord
- Author: Alex Newman (@thedotmack)
Built with Claude Agent SDK | Works with Claude Code | Made with TypeScript
What About CMEM?
CMEM is a token created by a 3rd party but officially embraced by the creator of Claude-Mem (Alex Newman, @thedotmack). The token acts as a community catalyst for growth and a vehicle for bringing CMEM to the developers and knowledge workers that need it most.
Official BASE CA: 0x76b1967eec0ccaeb001bbbb2b40dc4badba31ba3
