Claude Desktop MCP - Claude-Mem

Availability: Claude-mem MCP tools work with Claude Desktop on macOS and Windows.

Overview

Claude Desktop can access your claude-mem memory database through MCP tools. This allows you to search past sessions, decisions, and observations directly from Claude Desktop conversations.

Prerequisites

Before configuring MCP tools, ensure:

claude-mem is installed and the worker service is running
MCP server is configured in Claude Desktop (uses the mcp-search MCP server)

Verify Worker is Running

WORKER_PORT=$(jq -r .CLAUDE_MEM_WORKER_PORT ~/.claude-mem/settings.json)
curl http://127.0.0.1:$WORKER_PORT/api/health
# Should return: {"status":"ok"}

Installation

Step 1: Configure MCP Server

The skill requires the mcp-search MCP server. Add this to your Claude Desktop configuration:

macOS
Windows

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-search": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack/plugin/scripts/mcp-server.cjs"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Edit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-search": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "C:\\Users\\YOUR_USERNAME\\.claude\\plugins\\marketplaces\\thedotmack\\plugin\\scripts\\mcp-server.cjs"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_USERNAME with your actual username. Restart Claude Desktop after editing the configuration.

Step 2: Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop for the MCP server configuration to take effect.

Usage

Once installed, the skill auto-activates when you ask about past work:

"What did we do last session?"
"Did we fix this bug before?"
"How did we implement authentication?"
"What decisions did we make about the API?"
"Show me changes to worker-service.ts"

Available MCP Tools

The skill provides three core MCP tools following a 3-layer workflow pattern:

Tool	Description
`search`	Search memory index. Returns compact results with IDs for filtering
`timeline`	Get chronological context around a query or observation ID
`get_observations`	Fetch full observation details by ID (use after filtering with search/timeline)

Token-Efficient Workflow

Search → Get index with IDs (~50-100 tokens/result)
Timeline → Get context around interesting results
Get Observations → Fetch full details ONLY for filtered IDs

This 3-layer approach provides ~10x token savings compared to fetching full details upfront.

Troubleshooting

Skill Not Appearing

Verify the zip file was properly installed
Check Claude Desktop’s skill installation logs
Restart Claude Desktop

MCP Server Connection Failed

Verify the worker is running: curl http://127.0.0.1:$WORKER_PORT/api/health
Check the MCP server path in configuration
Look for errors in Claude Desktop logs

macOS
Windows

# View Claude Desktop logs
tail -f ~/Library/Logs/Claude/claude.log

Check %APPDATA%\Claude\logs\

Search Returns No Results

Ensure claude-mem has recorded sessions (check http://127.0.0.1:$WORKER_PORT)
Verify the database exists: ls ~/.claude-mem/claude-mem.db
Test the API directly: curl "http://127.0.0.1:$WORKER_PORT/api/search?query=test"

Search Tools

Complete search API reference

Platform Integration

Build custom integrations

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Verify Worker is Running

​Installation

​Step 1: Configure MCP Server

​Step 2: Restart Claude Desktop

​Usage

​Available MCP Tools

​Token-Efficient Workflow

​Troubleshooting

​Skill Not Appearing

​MCP Server Connection Failed

​Search Returns No Results

​Related

Search Tools

Platform Integration

Overview

Prerequisites

Verify Worker is Running

Installation

Step 1: Configure MCP Server

Step 2: Restart Claude Desktop

Usage

Available MCP Tools

Token-Efficient Workflow

Troubleshooting

Skill Not Appearing

MCP Server Connection Failed

Search Returns No Results

Related