Basic Memory is an open-source Python project that provides a local-first memory layer for AI, storing knowledge as Markdown files and syncing with cloud or local installs. It includes MCP-native tooling, semantic search, and multiple client integrations.
Collecting history — the radar snapshots this repo daily. The trend line appears after 3 days of data (1 so far).
What it is
Basic Memory provides AI memory across clients by storing knowledge as Markdown files on disk with a local-first approach and optional cloud synchronization. It exposes MCP-native integrations and tools to connect various AI clients (Claude, Codex, Cursor, ChatGPT, VS Code, Obsidian, etc.).
How it works
The project offers a knowledge graph built from Markdown files, supports semantic search with optional cross-encoder reranking, and includes per-tool behavior hints to guide agent tool usage. It ships host-native agent packages (Claude Code plugin, shared skills, Hermes, OpenClaw) and provides per-client MCP configurations to connect to a local or cloud instance.
Getting started
Local install
uv tool install basic-memory
For Postgres deployments that store semantic vectors in Milvus, install the first-party optional extra:
uv tool install "basic-memory[milvus]"
Claude Desktop / other clients
Edit the MCP server configuration as described in the README under client connection sections (examples include Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, VS Code, ChatGPT, Obsidian).
Recent releases
- skills-latest Latest Basic Memory skills (2026-07-15): Rolling skill archives built from de4589d24155332002709f5529c9bdd4937861a4.
- v0.22.1 (2026-06-13): chore(ci): route release recipes through PRs and refresh release runbook by @groksrc in https://github.com/basicmachines-co/basic-memory/pull/961; fix(cli): preload deferred rich/
- v0.22.0 (2026-06-11): fix(skills): reject invalid frontmatter YAML by @phernandez; fix(plugins): include codex in shared version bump by @ph
- v0.21.6 (2026-06-05): fix(cli): block team workspace rclone sync by @groksrc; feat(cli): expose project sync support metadata by @groksrc
- v0.21.5 (2026-05-26): fix(mcp): preinitialize local ASGI database by @phernandez; fix(core): load sqlite-vec before vector table cleanup by
Traction
Stars: 3577; Forks: 248; Open issues: 77
Behind the repo
This repository is the canonical home for host-native agent packages (Claude Code plugin, shared skills, Hermes, OpenClaw) and includes tooling to package and verify the MCP surface across hosts.
Caveats
License: AGPL-3.0; Language: Python; Created: 2024-12-02; Last push: 2026-08-03