Forgetful
Opensource Memory for Agents
What is Forgetful?
Forgetful is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to opensource memory for agents
Opensource Memory for Agents
This server falls under the Knowledge & Memory category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Opensource Memory for Agents
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx forgetfulConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Forgetful
Forgetful is an open-source persistent memory server for AI agents that stores and retrieves memories, entities, documents, code artifacts, and procedural skills across sessions. It uses local semantic embeddings (BAAI/bge-small-en-v1.5) and a knowledge graph to surface relevant context without sending data to the cloud. Developers use it to give Claude and other agents a long-term memory that accumulates across every conversation, enabling continuous learning and context retention.
Prerequisites
- Python 3.10+ and the uv package manager installed
- An MCP client such as Claude Desktop or Cursor
- SQLite (default) or a running PostgreSQL instance for persistence
- No external API keys required — embeddings run fully locally
Install Forgetful via uvx
The fastest way to run Forgetful is with uvx, which installs and executes the PyPI package forgetful-ai without a manual virtual environment.
uvx forgetful-aiConfigure environment variables
Create a .env file (or export variables) to tune memory behaviour. Key settings include the token budget for memory retrieval, the embedding model, the number of auto-links created between related memories, and the backend database.
MEMORY_TOKEN_BUDGET=8000
EMBEDDING_MODEL=BAAI/bge-small-en-v1.5
MEMORY_NUM_AUTO_LINK=3
SERVER_PORT=8020
MAX_GRAPH_LIMIT=2000
DATABASE=sqlite
SQLITE_PATH=./forgetful.dbAdd Forgetful to your MCP client config
Open claude_desktop_config.json (or your client's equivalent) and add a server entry. Forgetful exposes an HTTP SSE transport on the configured port.
{
"mcpServers": {
"forgetful": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["forgetful-ai"],
"env": {
"SERVER_PORT": "8020",
"DATABASE": "sqlite",
"SQLITE_PATH": "./forgetful.db"
}
}
}
}Verify the server starts
Start the server manually once to confirm it loads the embedding model and opens the database without errors. The console should print the port it is listening on.
uvx forgetful-aiExplore tool categories in your AI client
Forgetful exposes 42 tools across seven categories: Memory (create, query, update, link), Project, Entity (people and organizations), Code Artifact, Document, Skill, and User. The meta-tool pattern means you will see three primary tool entries that dispatch to the full set.
Forgetful Examples
Client configuration
Minimal claude_desktop_config.json entry using uvx with SQLite storage.
{
"mcpServers": {
"forgetful": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["forgetful-ai"],
"env": {
"SERVER_PORT": "8020",
"MEMORY_TOKEN_BUDGET": "8000",
"DATABASE": "sqlite",
"SQLITE_PATH": "/Users/you/.forgetful/db.sqlite"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example prompts that exercise Forgetful's memory, entity, and skill tools.
- "Remember that my preferred coding style is functional, no classes unless necessary."
- "What do you remember about the architecture decisions we made for the payments service?"
- "Save a skill called 'deploy-prod' with these steps: run tests, build Docker image, push to registry, apply Helm chart."
- "Create an entity for Alice Johnson, senior engineer at Acme Corp, and link her to the payments project."
- "Show me all memories related to our database schema from the last month."Troubleshooting Forgetful
Embedding model download is slow or fails on first start
Forgetful downloads BAAI/bge-small-en-v1.5 from HuggingFace on first run. Ensure you have internet access during initial startup. Subsequent starts use the cached model. Set HF_HOME to a writable directory if the default cache path causes permission errors.
Server exits immediately with a database error
Check that SQLITE_PATH points to a directory that exists and is writable, or that POSTGRES_* credentials are correct if using PostgreSQL. Run `uvx forgetful-ai` in the terminal first to see the full error before relying on the MCP client log.
MCP client shows no Forgetful tools after adding config
Confirm SERVER_PORT is not blocked by a firewall and that no other process is using the same port. Restart Claude Desktop fully (not just reload) after editing claude_desktop_config.json.
Frequently Asked Questions about Forgetful
What is Forgetful?
Forgetful is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that opensource memory for agents It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Forgetful?
Follow the installation instructions on the Forgetful GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with Forgetful?
Forgetful works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Forgetful free to use?
Yes, Forgetful is open source and available under the MIT license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
Forgetful Alternatives — Similar Knowledge & Memory Servers
Looking for alternatives to Forgetful? Here are other popular knowledge & memory servers you can use with Claude, Cursor, and VS Code.
MemPalace
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Kratos
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Context Mode
★ 15.4kAn MCP server that preserves LLM context by intercepting large data outputs and returning only concise summaries or relevant sections. It enables efficient sandboxed code execution, file processing, and documentation indexing across multiple programm
Memu
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MemOS
★ 9.3kMemOS (Memory Operating System) is a memory management operating system designed for AI applications. Its goal is: to enable your AI system to have long-term memory like a human, not only remembering what users have said but also actively invoking, u
Everos
★ 5.4kBuild, evaluate, and integrate long-term memory for self-evolving agents.
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