Basic memory: MCP server, setup and security

What Basic memory does

According to its repository: “Local-first AI memory: a semantic knowledge graph of Markdown files that humans and LLMs both read and write, with optional cloud sync and team workspaces.”

An MCP server gives an AI agent extra tools it calls during the conversation: the agent reads their description, decides to use them and gets the result back. Basic memory is listed under Memory and knowledge, a category of 250 servers in the directory, where it ranks #6 by stars.

Topics declared by the repository: claude, open-source, python, obsidian, obsidian-md, knowledge-management.

Installing and connecting Basic memory

Distribution modes declared in the official MCP registry:

• PyPI package (Python, started with uvx or pip)

Like any MCP server, you declare it in your client's configuration (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Codex…): a name, the command that starts it or its URL, and any environment variables. The client then starts it and lists its tools. Project language: Python. Listed systems: macOS, Windows, Linux.

Security: what to check

An MCP server runs code with the rights you give it, and the model reads its tool descriptions: a malicious or compromised server can hijack the agent. Read the code, or pick a maintained and widely used server, before connecting it.

None of the risk signals we track (system access, secrets, missing licence, abandonment) applies to Basic memory. That does not replace reading the code.

Good practice: grant only the rights needed (least privilege), require human approval for irreversible actions, and run the AI agent security check.

Project activity and maintenance

Created on December 2, 2024, the basicmachines-co/basic-memory repository has 4,336 stars and 335 forks, with 87 open issues. It has more stars than 97% of the servers in the directory. It received changes this month. Version published in the registry: 0.24.1 (October 23, 2026).

Stars measure attention, not quality: a recent, heavily promoted project can collect them fast, while a useful but niche server will have few.