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Availability: The mem-search skill works with Claude Desktop on macOS and Windows.

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Overview

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

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Prerequisites

Before installing the skill, ensure:
  1. claude-mem is installed and the worker service is running
  2. MCP server is configured in Claude Desktop (the skill uses the mem-search MCP server)

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Verify Worker is Running

curl http://localhost:37777/api/health
# Should return: {"status":"ok"}

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Installation

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Step 1: Download the Skill

Download the skill package from the repository:

mem-search.zip

Download the mem-search skill for Claude Desktop
 Or build from source: 
npm run build  # Generates plugin/skills/mem-search.zip

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Step 2: Install in Claude Desktop

  1. Open Claude Desktop
  2. Go to Settings (gear icon)
  3. Navigate to Skills
  4. Click Install Skill or drag the mem-search.zip file
  5. Confirm installation

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Step 3: Configure MCP Server

The skill requires the mem-search MCP server. Add this to your Claude Desktop configuration:
Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mem-search": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/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.

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Step 4: Restart Claude Desktop

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

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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"

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Available MCP Tools

The skill provides access to these MCP tools:
ToolDescription
searchUnified search across observations, sessions, and prompts
timelineGet chronological context around a query or observation ID
get_observationFetch a single observation by ID
get_observationsFetch multiple observations efficiently
get_sessionFetch session summary by ID
get_promptFetch user prompt by ID
get_recent_contextGet recent timeline items
get_context_timelineGet timeline around a specific observation
helpLoad detailed usage instructions

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Troubleshooting

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Skill Not Appearing

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

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MCP Server Connection Failed

  1. Verify the worker is running: curl http://localhost:37777/api/health
  2. Check the MCP server path in configuration
  3. Look for errors in Claude Desktop logs
# View Claude Desktop logs
tail -f ~/Library/Logs/Claude/claude.log

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Search Returns No Results

  1. Ensure claude-mem has recorded sessions (check http://localhost:37777)
  2. Verify the database exists: ls ~/.claude-mem/claude-mem.db
  3. Test the API directly: curl "http://localhost:37777/api/search?query=test"

Search Tools

Complete search API reference

Platform Integration

Build custom integrations