Basic Memory MCP server

by basicmachines-co·io.github.basicmachines-co/basic-memory·v0.23.2

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Local-first knowledge management with bi-directional LLM sync via Markdown files.

C60/100grade C

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Safety scan

C60/100

full report

Adoption

Established

4.0k stars6.0k downloads/wk

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Basic Memory tools (23, 4 write)

write = sends, deletes, buys or posts

Read from the package source without running it. The installed server may list more.

basic_memory_diagnostics
Return version, system, and configuration diagnostics for Basic Memory.
build_context
create_memory_projectwrite action
Create a new Basic Memory project.
delete_notewrite action
Delete a note or directory by title, permalink, or path
delete_projectwrite action
Delete a Basic Memory project.
edit_note
Edit an existing markdown note using various operations like append, prepend, find_replace, replace_section, insert_before_section, or insert_after_section. Pass metadata to merge YAML frontmatter fields independent of the operation.
fetch
Fetch the full contents of a search result document
list_directory
List directory contents with filtering and depth control.
list_memory_projects
List all available projects with their status.
list_workspaces
List available cloud workspaces (tenant_id, type, role, and name).
move_note
Move a note or directory to a new location, updating database and maintaining links.
read_content
Read a file's raw content by path or permalink.
read_note
Read a markdown note by title or permalink.
read_note_ui
Read a note and return an embedded MCP-UI resource (raw HTML).
recent_activity
schema_diff
Detect drift between a schema definition and actual note usage.
schema_infer
Analyze existing notes and suggest a Picoschema definition.
schema_validate
Validate notes against their Picoschema definitions.
search
Search for content across the knowledge base
search_notes
Search across all content in the knowledge base with advanced syntax support.
search_notes_ui
Search notes and return an embedded MCP-UI resource (raw HTML).
view_note
View a note as a formatted artifact for better readability.
write_notewrite action
Create a markdown note. If the note already exists, returns an error by default — pass overwrite=True to replace.

Public scan report

scanner v0.1.9 · 2026-09-21 · same rubric, same numbers if you re-run it

1 high2 medium

Code scan575 source files scanned3/25
–Live reliabilityno gateway calls yet and no remote to proben/a
–Tool poisoningtools not inspected (local package is not executed); not countedn/a
Auth qualitylocal package, no credentials required12/15
Maintenancelast push 5 days ago15/15
Maintainer identityregistry namespace matches repository owner; GitHub account older than a year9/10

Findings (3)

highShell command built from a string (injection risk)exec.shell-concat

basic_memory-0.23.2/integrations/openclaw/commands/slash.ts: …}`) try { const output = execSync(`bash "${scriptPath}"`, { encoding: "ut…

mediumsubprocess with shell=Trueexec.shell-true

basic_memory-0.23.2/src/basic_memory/file_utils.py: … into args list for safer execution (no shell=True) args = shlex.split(cmd) …

mediumeval / new Function usedexec.eval

basic_memory-0.23.2/src/basic_memory/read_cache/redis.py: …, remaining_ttl_ms = await self._client.eval( _LOOKUP_SCRIPT, …

Overall 60/100. Components that don't apply are left out of the denominator. Any critical finding is an F.Rubric Appeal a finding JSON

What the publisher says

From the Basic Memory repository's README, as published. We do not edit it. Read it on GitHub

Skip the install — try Basic Memory in the cloud

Claude, Codex, or Cursor connected in 30 seconds. No Python, no JSON, no terminal. $15.00/mo locked in for life (12.50/mo yearly pricing). 7-day free trial — cancel any time before day 7 if it's not for you. Beta pricing — sign up now and your rate never goes up. OSS users: code BMFOSS takes another 20% off for 3 months.

Start free trial →

Basic Memory Teams is now available!

Give your team a single, shared cloud workspace. Knowledge isn't confined to one person — anything a teammate writes is immediately available to everyone else and to their AI assistants. Edit a note together in real time, hand work off between humans and agents, and build one connected knowledge base instead of scattered copies. Same pricing - start with one user and add more as needed.

Basic Memory

Your AI never forgets again.

Pick up right where you left off — in Claude, Codex, Cursor, ChatGPT, or anything that speaks MCP. Your knowledge lives as Markdown files that both you and your AI can read, write, and search.

cross-encoder reranking for higher-quality vector and hybrid results.

Local-first. Plain text on your disk. Forever.
Two-way. AI and humans write to the same files; sync keeps them in step.
A real knowledge graph. Observations and wikilinks compound into context.
Semantic search. Find notes by meaning, not just keywords, with optional

(read-only, destructive, idempotent) so agents pick the right tool on demand — no wasted context trying things to see what they do.

MCP-native. Works with every major AI client and IDE.
Progressive tool discovery. Every tool is tagged with behavior hints

Cloud, optional. Sync across devices when you want — never required.

Get started

Pick the path that fits you. Both run the same product on the same Markdown.

☁️   Cloud 💻   Local install

30 seconds. Sign up, connect your AI client, done.

Works in any browser
Mobile, web, desktop
Cross-device sync built in
We handle hosting, backups, snapshots

$15.00/mo locked for life · 7-day free trial · cancel any time

Start free trial →

2 minutes. Install, configure your AI client, run.

Free forever (AGPL-3.0)
All data on your disk
Air-gapped friendly
Requires Python via uv

uv tool install basic-memory --prerelease=allow

Shortened. The full README is on GitHub.

Nothing above is checked by us. What we check is on the safety report.

Install directly

claude mcp add basic-memory -- uvx basic-memory

Add to Cursor

Basic Memory: common questions

Is Basic Memory MCP server safe?: With care: it is graded C, so read the findings first (60/100). Read the Basic Memory safety report
How do I install Basic Memory?: It runs on your machine. Copy the Claude Code, Claude Desktop or Cursor config from the install section.
Does Basic Memory need an API key?: Not as far as the registry entry and our scan can tell: no credentials are declared or required.
Is Basic Memory maintained?: The last commit was 5 days ago (2026-09-16). The latest release is v0.23.2.
What can I use instead of Basic Memory?: Servers from other publishers that do the same job: IWE MCP server, Agent Memory Os MCP server and Total Agent Memory MCP server. Compare all Basic Memory alternatives.

Alternatives to Basic Memory

Same job from other publishers: the closest match first, then the best rated.

All Basic Memory alternatives →

IWE
Markdown knowledge base as agent memory. Runs against the notes directory it is started in.
not reviewed
Established
A
Agent Memory Os
Local-first memory engine for AI-agent teams: team/project ACL, recall, and federated sync.
not reviewed
Growing
A
Total Agent Memory
Persistent local memory for coding agents: temporal knowledge graph, procedural and episodic recall
not reviewed
Established
A
GrayMatter
Persistent agent memory as a single Go binary: knowledge graph, TUI observability, zero infra.
not reviewed
Growing
B
Inite Brain
Open-source bitemporal memory layer for LLM agents — knowledge graph with conflict resolution.
not reviewed
Growing
A

Basic Memory vs IWE Basic Memory vs Agent Memory Os Basic Memory vs Total Agent Memory