Memex

Persistent memory for AI coding agents. Your agent remembers what it learned across sessions.

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English

Every time your AI agent finishes a task, it saves insights as atomic knowledge cards with [[bidirectional links]]. Next session, it recalls relevant cards before starting work — building on what it already knows instead of starting from scratch.

No vector database, no embeddings — just markdown files your agent (and you) can read.

Supported platforms

All platforms share the same ~/.memex/cards/ directory. A card written in Claude Code is instantly available in Cursor, Codex, or any other client.

Prerequisites

• VS Code / Copilot: No prerequisites — the extension bundles everything
• Claude Code: No prerequisites — the plugin handles everything
• Pi: Requires Node.js 18+ and npm install -g @touchskyer/memex
• All other platforms (Cursor, Codex, Windsurf, etc.): Requires Node.js 18+

Install

Step 1: Add memex to your editor

> Note: If you use Claude Code inside VS Code, follow the Claude Code row — not "VS Code / Copilot". The VS Code extension serves GitHub Copilot only; Claude Code has its own plugin system.

That's it — no extra setup needed. The MCP tool descriptions tell your agent when to recall and retro.

Upgrade

Cross-platform sharing

All clients read and write the same ~/.memex/cards/ directory. Sync across devices with git:

> Prerequisite: Auto-create requires GitHub CLI (gh auth login). Or pass your own git remote URL to skip this, including GitLab and self-hosted GitLab remotes.

memex sync --init                # auto-creates private memex-cards repo on GitHub
memex sync --init <repo-url>     # or specify your own repo URL (no gh/glab CLI needed)
memex sync on                    # enable auto-sync after every write
memex sync                       # manual sync
memex sync off                   # disable auto-sync

For GitLab, create an empty private repository first, then pass its SSH or HTTPS remote URL. See the GitLab sync guide for examples.

Browse your memory

memex serve

Opens a visual timeline of all your cards at localhost:3939. Includes a graph view to explore bidirectional links.

If you've set up sync, memex serve opens memra.vercel.app — a web UI with Timeline, Graph view, and Share card. Pass --local to force the local UI instead (useful offline, or when you'd rather not send queries to a third-party web app):

memex serve --local

CLI reference

memex search [query]          # search cards (ranked), or guidance / --list
memex read <slug>             # read a card
memex write <slug>            # write a card (content via stdin)
memex links [slug]            # link graph stats, or one card's links
memex backlinks <slug>        # cards linking to <slug> via [[wiki-links]]
memex link <from> <to> <ctx>  # append an outbound [[wiki-link]] with context
memex archive <slug>          # move a card to the archive
memex organize                # analyze network: orphans, hubs, conflicts
memex serve                   # visual timeline UI (web)
memex sync                    # sync via git (--init / --status / on|off)
memex import [source]         # import memories from other tools (openclaw, ...)
memex mcp                     # start MCP server (stdio)
memex mcp-config              # configure MCP for Claude Code / other clients
memex doctor                  # check memex health and configuration
memex migrate                 # migrate configuration (e.g. --enable-nested)
memex flomo ...               # flomo integration: config / push / import

How it works

Based on Niklas Luhmann's Zettelkasten method — the system behind 70 books from 90,000 handwritten cards:

• Atomic notes — one idea per card
• Own words — forces understanding (the Feynman method)
• Links in context — "this relates to [[X]] because..." not just tags
• Keyword index — curated entry points to the card network

Cards are stored as markdown in ~/.memex/cards/. Open them in Obsidian, edit with vim, grep from terminal. Your memory is never locked in.