Claude Historian
MCP server that lets you search your Claude Code conversation history to find past solutions, track file changes, and learn from previous work.
What is Claude Historian?
Claude Historian is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to mcp server that lets you search your claude code conversation history to find past solutions, track file changes, and learn from previous work.
MCP server that lets you search your Claude Code conversation history to find past solutions, track file changes, and learn from previous work.
This server falls under the Knowledge & Memory category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- MCP server that lets you search your Claude Code conversatio
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
NPM
npx -y claude-historian-mcpManual Installation
npx -y claude-historian-mcpConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Claude Historian
Claude Historian is an MCP server that indexes and searches your local Claude Code conversation history stored in ~/.claude/conversations/. It lets you find past solutions, locate which files were modified in previous sessions, and retrieve error fixes without re-reading full transcripts. Developers who work in Claude Code daily use it to avoid re-solving the same problems and to carry context from old sessions into new ones.
Prerequisites
- Node.js 18 or later installed
- Claude Code (CLI) installed and actively used, with conversation history in ~/.claude/conversations/
- An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop or Claude Code
- npx available on your PATH (bundled with Node.js)
Verify conversation history exists
Claude Historian reads from ~/.claude/conversations/. Confirm the directory exists and contains JSONL files from your past Claude Code sessions before setting up the server.
ls ~/.claude/conversations/Add the server to Claude Code
Use the claude mcp add command to register the server. This is the recommended one-step installation — no npm install is needed as the package has zero external dependencies beyond the MCP SDK.
claude mcp add claude-historian-mcp -- npx claude-historian-mcpAlternatively, add to your MCP config file
If you prefer a manual JSON configuration, add the server entry to your mcp.json or claude_desktop_config.json. No environment variables are required.
{
"mcpServers": {
"claude-historian-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["claude-historian-mcp"],
"env": {}
}
}
}Restart your MCP client
After adding the server configuration, restart Claude Desktop or reload Claude Code so it picks up the new MCP server entry.
Search your conversation history
Use the search tool with a query and optional scope to find past sessions. Supported scopes include: conversations, files, errors, plans, config, tasks, sessions, tools, similar, memories, and all.
Inspect a specific session
Use the inspect tool with a session UUID (or 'latest' as a shortcut) to retrieve an intelligent summary. The focus parameter narrows results to files, tools, or solutions.
Claude Historian Examples
Client configuration
Add claude-historian-mcp to your Claude Desktop or Claude Code MCP config. No API keys or environment variables are needed.
{
"mcpServers": {
"claude-historian-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["claude-historian-mcp"],
"env": {}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Ask Claude to search your conversation history using natural language queries or scoped lookups.
- "Search my conversation history for how I fixed the docker auth error"
- "Find all sessions where I modified package.json"
- "Show me recent errors containing ENOENT and how they were resolved"
- "Inspect the latest Claude Code session and summarize which files changed"
- "Search for any previous plans related to database migrations"Troubleshooting Claude Historian
Server finds no results even though you have past sessions
Confirm your Claude Code conversation history lives in ~/.claude/conversations/ and that JSONL files are present. The server reads this path automatically without any configuration.
npx claude-historian-mcp hangs or fails to start
Ensure Node.js 18+ is installed and that npx is available. Run npx claude-historian-mcp directly in a terminal to see any startup errors before adding it to your MCP client.
search returns results from unrelated projects
Use the project parameter in the search tool to filter results to a specific project path, or narrow results with the scope parameter (e.g., scope='files') to reduce noise.
Frequently Asked Questions about Claude Historian
What is Claude Historian?
Claude Historian is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that mcp server that lets you search your claude code conversation history to find past solutions, track file changes, and learn from previous work. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Claude Historian?
Install via npm with the command: npx -y claude-historian-mcp. Then add the server configuration to your AI client's JSON config file (e.g., claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json).
Which AI clients work with Claude Historian?
Claude Historian works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Claude Historian free to use?
Yes, Claude Historian is open source and available under the MIT License license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
Claude Historian Alternatives — Similar Knowledge & Memory Servers
Looking for alternatives to Claude Historian? Here are other popular knowledge & memory servers you can use with Claude, Cursor, and VS Code.
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Browse More Knowledge & Memory MCP Servers
Explore all knowledge & memory servers available in the MCPgee directory. Each server includes setup guides for Claude, Cursor, and VS Code.
Set Up Claude Historian in Your Editor
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Quick Config Preview
Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json
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