Memory Operating System for LLM Agents — persistent, smart, local-first memory
Project description
MemOS — Memory Operating System for AI Agents
Persistent, structured, self-maintaining memory for any LLM agent. Local-first. Framework-agnostic. Connects via MCP to Claude Code, OpenClaw, Cursor, or any HTTP client.
What's new in v1.1.0
- Security hardening — WebSocket auth, CORS defaults, Pydantic request schemas on all endpoints
- Canvas force-graph dashboard — clustering, depth filter, time-lapse slider, KG edges
- Modular frontend — monolithic 1768L split into 12 JS modules
- 1710 tests — modernized with shared fixtures, freezegun, tmp_path
- Zero ruff errors — 506 lint errors fixed, full formatting pass
- CI: Python 3.11 / 3.12 / 3.13 + coverage via Codecov
See CHANGELOG.md for full history.
Installation
pip install memos-os
With local semantic recall (no external services):
pip install "memos-os[local]" # sentence-transformers, backend="local"
With vector backend (recommended for production):
pip install "memos-os[chroma]" # ChromaDB + Ollama embeddings
pip install "memos-os[qdrant]" # Qdrant
pip install "memos-os[all]" # all backends
Quick start
# Store a memory
memos learn "FastAPI is better than Flask for async workloads" --tags python,backend
# Search semantically
memos recall "which web framework should I use?"
# Start the REST API + dashboard
memos serve --port 8100
# → http://localhost:8100/dashboard
Golden path
The full lifecycle from storing a memory to maintaining it over time.
from memos import MemOS
from memos.context import ContextStack
from memos.kg_bridge import KGBridge
mem = MemOS(backend="chroma", embed_host="http://localhost:11434")
cs = ContextStack(mem)
bridge = KGBridge(mem)
# 1. Learn — store memories with tags and importance
mem.learn("User prefers dark mode in all apps", tags=["preference", "ui"], importance=0.8)
mem.learn("Deploy with Docker on ARM64 homelab", tags=["devops", "docker"], importance=0.6)
mem.learn("Alice leads the backend team", tags=["team", "people"], importance=0.7)
# 2. Recall — semantic search
results = mem.recall("who handles the server side?", top=3)
for r in results:
print(f"[{r.score:.2f}] {r.item.content}")
# [0.91] Alice leads the backend team (tags: team, people)
# 3. context_for — targeted context for a specific LLM call
ctx = cs.context_for("how should I deploy this app?", max_chars=1500, top=5)
# Returns a string with identity + relevant memories:
# === RELEVANT MEMORIES (2 results for: 'how should I deploy this app?') ===
# [0.87] Deploy with Docker on ARM64 homelab (tags: devops, docker)
# 4. wake_up — inject at session start
prompt_fragment = cs.wake_up(max_chars=2000, l1_top=15, include_stats=True)
# Returns L0 identity + L1 top-importance memories as a string
# ready to paste into a system prompt
# 5. Reinforce and decay — keep memories healthy over time
# Boost a memory that keeps being useful
results = mem.recall("deployment strategy", top=1)
if results:
mem._decay.reinforce(results[0].item, strength=0.1)
mem._store.upsert(results[0].item, namespace=mem._namespace)
# Decay stale memories (preview first)
items = mem._store.list_all(namespace=mem._namespace)
report = mem._decay.run_decay(items, dry_run=True)
print(f"{report.decayed}/{report.total} memories would decay")
# When ready: run_decay(items, dry_run=False)
Python SDK
from memos import MemOS
# In-memory (zero dependencies, great for testing)
mem = MemOS()
# JSON persistence
mem = MemOS(backend="json", persist_path="~/.memos/store.json")
# Local-first semantic recall, no Ollama/Chroma required
mem = MemOS(backend="local", persist_path="~/.memos/store.json")
# ChromaDB with local Ollama embeddings
mem = MemOS(backend="chroma", embed_host="http://localhost:11434")
# Qdrant
mem = MemOS(backend="qdrant", qdrant_path="/data/memos")
# Store
mem.learn("User prefers dark mode", tags=["preference", "ui"], importance=0.8)
# Recall
results = mem.recall("what does the user like?", top=5)
for r in results:
print(f"[{r.score:.2f}] {r.item.content}")
# Forget
mem.forget("memory-id") # by id
mem.delete_tag("old-project") # all memories with this tag
mem.prune(threshold=0.2) # decay-based cleanup
# Stats
s = mem.stats()
# MemoryStats(total_memories=142, avg_relevance=0.71, decay_candidates=8)
Which recall API should I use?
| Function | Best for | Returns | When NOT to use |
|---|---|---|---|
mem.recall() |
General search, browsing results | list[RecallResult] with scores |
You need a ready-made prompt string |
memory_search (MCP) |
Same as recall(), but over MCP |
JSON via MCP protocol | You're using the Python SDK directly |
context_for() |
Augmenting a single LLM call | str (identity + top results) |
You need structured data to process |
recall_enriched() |
Answers needing entity context | dict with memories + KG facts |
No KG data exists or entity resolution isn't needed |
from memos.context import ContextStack
from memos.kg_bridge import KGBridge
cs = ContextStack(mem)
bridge = KGBridge(mem)
# recall() — structured results you iterate over
results = mem.recall("docker deployment", top=5)
for r in results:
print(r.item.content, r.score)
# context_for() — one string, ready for a system prompt
ctx = cs.context_for("docker deployment", max_chars=1000, top=5)
# recall_enriched() — memories + knowledge graph facts in one dict
enriched = bridge.recall_enriched("who is Alice?", top=5, min_score=0.3)
print(enriched["facts"]) # KG triples about Alice
print(enriched["memory_count"])
MCP — connect any agent
MemOS exposes a universal MCP endpoint. Any agent that speaks MCP can use it without any code changes.
HTTP (recommended)
Claude Code — add to ~/.claude.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"memos": { "type": "http", "url": "http://localhost:8100/mcp" }
}
}
OpenClaw — add to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:
{
"mcp": {
"servers": {
"memos": { "type": "http", "url": "http://localhost:8100/mcp" }
}
}
}
Any MCP client — POST http://localhost:8100/mcp with JSON-RPC 2.0 body.
Discovery: GET http://localhost:8100/.well-known/mcp.json
Stdio (Claude Code local)
{
"mcpServers": {
"memos": { "command": "memos", "args": ["mcp-stdio"] }
}
}
Or run standalone: memos mcp-serve --port 8200
Available MCP tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
memory_search |
Semantic search — query, top_k, tags |
memory_save |
Store a memory — content, tags, importance |
memory_forget |
Delete by id or tag |
memory_stats |
Counts, avg importance, decay candidates |
memory_wake_up |
Identity + top memories ready to inject at session start |
memory_context_for |
Context optimised for a specific query |
memory_decay |
Run decay cycle (dry-run by default) |
memory_reinforce |
Boost a memory's importance score |
kg_add_fact |
Add a temporal triple to the Knowledge Graph |
kg_query_entity |
All active facts for an entity |
kg_timeline |
Chronological fact history for an entity |
memory_recall_enriched |
Memories + KG facts in one call |
REST API
Start the server: memos serve --port 8100
Interactive docs: http://localhost:8100/docs
POST /api/v1/learn Store a memory
POST /api/v1/learn/batch Bulk store
POST /api/v1/recall Semantic search
GET /api/v1/recall/stream SSE streaming recall
GET /api/v1/search Keyword search
GET /api/v1/stats Memory statistics
GET /api/v1/tags List all tags
DELETE /api/v1/tags/{tag} Delete tag from all memories
DELETE /api/v1/memory/{id} Delete a memory
POST /api/v1/prune Decay-based cleanup
GET /api/v1/graph Knowledge graph (nodes + edges for D3.js)
GET /api/v1/export/parquet Download .parquet backup
POST /mcp MCP JSON-RPC endpoint
GET /.well-known/mcp.json MCP discovery
GET /dashboard Second Brain UI
GET /health Health check
Configuration
All options can be set via environment variables:
MEMOS_BACKEND=chroma # memory | json | chroma | qdrant | pinecone
MEMOS_NAMESPACE=default # memory namespace (one per agent)
MEMOS_PERSIST_PATH=~/.memos/ # path for json/sqlite storage
# ChromaDB
MEMOS_CHROMA_URL=http://chroma:8000
MEMOS_EMBED_HOST=http://localhost:11434 # Ollama — bypasses server-side ONNX
MEMOS_EMBED_MODEL=nomic-embed-text
# Qdrant
MEMOS_QDRANT_HOST=localhost
MEMOS_QDRANT_PORT=6333
# Pinecone
MEMOS_PINECONE_API_KEY=***
MEMOS_PINECONE_INDEX=agent-memories
Docker
Single container (JSON backend, no dependencies):
docker run -p 8100:8000 \
-e MEMOS_BACKEND=json \
-v memos-data:/root/.memos \
ghcr.io/mars375/memos:latest
Full stack with ChromaDB + Ollama embeddings:
git clone https://github.com/Mars375/memos
cd memos
docker compose up -d
Import conversations
Mine your existing conversations into MemOS:
# Auto-detect format
memos mine conversations.json
# Supported formats
memos mine export.json --format claude # Claude Projects export
memos mine conversations.json --format chatgpt # ChatGPT export
memos mine messages.json --format discord
memos mine result.json --format telegram # Telegram Desktop export
memos mine channel.jsonl --format slack
memos mine ~/.openclaw/workspace-labs/ --format openclaw
# Options
memos mine ~/notes/ --dry-run --tags project-x --chunk-size 600 --namespace agent-alice
Python API:
from memos.ingest.miner import Miner
miner = Miner(mem, chunk_size=800, chunk_overlap=100)
result = miner.mine_auto("conversations/") # auto-detect
# MineResult(imported=127, dupes=12, empty=3, errors=0)
Knowledge Graph
Store and query temporal facts between entities:
memos kg-add "Alice" "works-at" "Acme Corp" --from 2024-01-01
memos kg-query Alice
memos kg-path Alice Carol --max-hops 3
memos kg-neighbors Alice --depth 2
memos kg-timeline Alice
from memos.knowledge_graph import KnowledgeGraph
kg = KnowledgeGraph()
kg.add_fact("Alice", "works-at", "Acme Corp", valid_from="2024-01-01")
facts = kg.query("Alice")
paths = kg.find_paths("Alice", "Carol", max_hops=3)
Living Wiki
Compile memories into entity-based markdown pages with backlinks:
memos wiki-living update # scan memories, create/update entity pages
memos wiki-living read Alice # print Alice's page
memos wiki-living search "python" # search across all pages
memos wiki-living lint # find orphans, contradictions, empty pages
Memory decay
Memories age automatically. Important ones persist; stale ones fade.
memos decay --dry-run # preview what would decay
memos decay --apply # apply decay
memos prune --threshold 0.1 # delete memories below importance threshold
Versioning and time-travel
Every write is versioned. Query the past, diff changes, roll back.
memos history <memory-id>
memos diff <memory-id> --latest
memos rollback <memory-id> --version 1 --yes
memos recall-at "user preferences" --at 2d # as of 2 days ago
memos snapshot-at 1w # all memories 1 week ago
Multi-namespace (multi-agent)
Each agent gets its own isolated namespace:
memos --namespace agent-alice learn "Alice's memory"
memos --namespace agent-bob learn "Bob's memory"
memos --namespace agent-alice recall "what do I know?"
Development
git clone https://github.com/Mars375/memos
cd memos
pip install -e ".[dev]"
# Lint
ruff check src/ tests/
ruff format src/ tests/
# Tests (Python 3.11 / 3.12 / 3.13)
pytest -q --tb=short # 1710 tests
pytest tests/test_core.py # specific module
Architecture
MemOS is built around three core layers:
- Capture — Mine conversations and events into structured memory units via the CLI, SDK, or MCP.
- Engine — Storage, recall, decay, reinforcement, versioning, and knowledge graph. Pluggable backends (in-memory, JSON, ChromaDB, Qdrant, Pinecone).
- Knowledge Surface — Living wiki, graph view, and context packs (
wake_up,context_for,recall_enriched) that serve the right context at the right time.
See ROADMAP.md for planned features and PRD.md for product requirements.
License
MIT — Mars375
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