Mini Memory MCP
A lightweight, local-first persistent memory server for AI tools. Stores structured memory entries in SQLite and exposes them over both the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and a plain REST HTTP API. Comes with a React UI for browsing and managing memories in the browser.
What it does
- Persists named memory entries (title + content + tags) in a local SQLite database
- Full-text search via SQLite FTS5 (prefix queries, quoted phrases, negative filters)
- Tag-based filtering with
namespace:valueconvention (e.g.project:myapp,lang:typescript) - Exposes memories to AI clients over MCP stdio or MCP Streamable HTTP
- Also serves a plain REST API for direct HTTP access
- Includes a React 19 browser UI for visual management
Project structure
mini-memory-mcp/
├── server/
│ ├── index.ts # Entry point — stdio or HTTP mode
│ ├── db.ts # SQLite init, WAL, FTS5 schema & triggers
│ ├── memory-store.ts # CRUD + FTS search logic
│ ├── routes.ts # Express REST router (/api/memories)
│ └── mcp-tools.ts # MCP tool definitions (memory_list/create/read/update/delete/search)
├── ui/
│ └── src/
│ ├── api.ts # Typed fetch helpers
│ ├── hooks/useMemories.ts # State, debounced search, CRUD
│ └── components/ # MemoryList, MemoryCard, MemoryForm, SearchBar
├── data/
│ └── mini-memory.sqlite # Auto-created on first run
└── package.json
Prerequisites
- Node.js >= 20
Installation
# Install server dependencies
npm install
# Install UI dependencies
cd ui && npm install
Running the server
HTTP mode (REST API + MCP Streamable HTTP)
npm start
Server starts on port 5172.
- Health check:
GET http://localhost:5172/ - REST API:
http://localhost:5172/api/memories - MCP Streamable HTTP:
http://localhost:5172/mcp
stdio mode (MCP stdio — for Claude Desktop / Claude CLI)
npm run start:mcp
The process speaks the MCP protocol over stdin/stdout. No HTTP server is started.
Running the UI
With the HTTP server already running:
cd ui
npm run dev
UI starts on port 5173 and proxies /api requests to the server on port 5172.
Open http://localhost:5173 in your browser.
Connecting via MCP
stdio (Claude Desktop)
Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"mini-memory-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["tsx", "/absolute/path/to/mini-memory-mcp/server/index.ts", "--stdio"]
}
}
}
Or with npm run start:mcp:
{
"mcpServers": {
"mini-memory-mcp": {
"command": "npm",
"args": ["run", "start:mcp"],
"cwd": "/absolute/path/to/mini-memory-mcp"
}
}
}
stdio (Claude Code CLI)
claude mcp add mini-memory-mcp -- npx tsx /absolute/path/to/mini-memory-mcp/server/index.ts --stdio
stdio (GitHub Copilot in VS Code)
Add to .vscode/mcp.json:
{
"servers": {
"mini-memory-mcp": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["tsx", "/absolute/path/to/mini-memory-mcp/server/index.ts", "--stdio"]
}
}
}
HTTP (MCP Streamable HTTP)
First start the server in HTTP mode (npm start), then point your MCP client at:
http://localhost:5172/mcp
The server follows the MCP Streamable HTTP spec: send a POST with no mcp-session-id header to initialize a session, then include the returned session ID in all subsequent POST/GET/DELETE requests.
Available MCP tools
Memory content is stored in compressed shorthand (≤100 words). The tools guide the AI to drop filler words and use symbols/abbreviations so more context fits in less space.
REST API
Base path: http://localhost:5172/api/memories
Example: create a memory
curl -X POST http://localhost:5172/api/memories \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"title": "My note", "content": "important context here", "tags": ["project:myapp"]}'
Example: search
curl "http://localhost:5172/api/memories?search=typescript"
Example: filter by tag
curl "http://localhost:5172/api/memories?tags=project:myapp,lang:typescript"
Search syntax
The search query parameter and the memory_search MCP tool support:
Memory schema
{
"id": "uuid-v4",
"title": "Short descriptive title",
"content": "Memory body text",
"tags": ["namespace:value"],
"createdAt": "2026-04-12T10:00:00.000Z",
"updatedAt": "2026-04-12T10:00:00.000Z"
}
Tags follow a namespace:value convention to make filtering meaningful, e.g. project:myapp, lang:typescript, pref:style.