Skip to main content
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:
  1. claude-mem is installed and the worker service is running
  2. MCP server is configured in Claude Desktop (uses the mcp-search MCP server)

​
Verify Worker is Running

curl http://localhost:37777/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:
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"
      ]
    }
  }
}
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:
ToolDescription
searchSearch memory index. Returns compact results with IDs for filtering
timelineGet chronological context around a query or observation ID
get_observationsFetch full observation details by ID (use after filtering with search/timeline)

​
Token-Efficient Workflow

  1. Search → Get index with IDs (~50-100 tokens/result)
  2. Timeline → Get context around interesting results
  3. 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

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

​
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

​
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