Vestige
Cognitive memory for AI agents — FSRS-6 spaced repetition, 29 brain modules, 3D dashboard, single 22MB Rust binary. MCP server for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Xcode, JetBrains.
What is Vestige?
Vestige is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to cognitive memory for ai agents — fsrs-6 spaced repetition, 29 brain modules, 3d dashboard, single 22mb rust binary. mcp server for claude, cursor, vs code, xcode, jetbrains.
Cognitive memory for AI agents — FSRS-6 spaced repetition, 29 brain modules, 3D dashboard, single 22MB Rust binary. MCP server for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Xcode, JetBrains.
This server falls under the Knowledge & Memory category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Cognitive memory for AI agents — FSRS-6 spaced repetition, 2
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
NPM
npx -y vestige-mcp-serverManual Installation
npx -y vestige-mcp-serverConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Vestige
Vestige is a cognitive memory MCP server that gives AI agents long-term memory using FSRS-6 spaced repetition, 30 neuroscience-inspired brain modules, and a local vector database backed by SQLite. Distributed as a single ~20MB Rust binary, it integrates with Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Xcode, and JetBrains through MCP, storing and retrieving memories with a 7-stage cognitive search pipeline that includes HyDE expansion, semantic matching, reranking, and spreading activation. Developers and researchers use it to make AI assistants remember coding preferences, project decisions, prior conversations, and personal knowledge across sessions — with optional SQLCipher encryption and a 3D dashboard for exploring the memory graph.
Prerequisites
- Node.js 18+ with npm (for the npx install method)
- OR Rust 1.91+ (for building from source)
- On macOS Intel: Homebrew and onnxruntime (brew install onnxruntime)
- An MCP-capable client such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or Cursor
Install the Vestige MCP server
Install vestige-mcp-server globally via npm. This downloads the pre-built Rust binary automatically.
npm install -g vestige-mcp-server@latest
# Verify installation
vestige-mcp --versionRegister with Claude Code (quickest method)
Add Vestige to Claude Code as a user-scoped MCP server in one command.
claude mcp add vestige vestige-mcp -s userAdd to Claude Desktop configuration
For Claude Desktop, add the server to your claude_desktop_config.json. No API keys or environment variables are required for basic usage.
{
"mcpServers": {
"vestige": {
"command": "vestige-mcp",
"args": [],
"env": {}
}
}
}Enable the 3D dashboard (optional)
Set the VESTIGE_DASHBOARD_ENABLED environment variable to launch the SvelteKit-based 3D memory visualization dashboard on port 3927.
export VESTIGE_DASHBOARD_ENABLED=true
# Then open http://localhost:3927Configure embedding model (optional)
Vestige defaults to Nomic Embed v1.5. Switch to the Qwen3 embedding model for higher quality at the cost of larger model size.
export VESTIGE_EMBEDDING_MODEL=qwen3-0.6bUpdate and maintain memories
Use the vestige CLI for maintenance tasks including viewing stats, running consolidation, exporting memories for backup, and restoring from archive.
vestige stats # View memory statistics
vestige health # Check system health
vestige consolidate # Run FSRS-6 decay cycle manually
vestige dashboard # Open 3D memory graphVestige Examples
Client configuration
Claude Desktop JSON configuration for the Vestige MCP server with optional dashboard enabled.
{
"mcpServers": {
"vestige": {
"command": "vestige-mcp",
"args": [],
"env": {
"VESTIGE_DASHBOARD_ENABLED": "false",
"VESTIGE_EMBEDDING_MODEL": "nomic-embed-v1.5"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example prompts to exercise Vestige's memory capabilities once connected to Claude.
- "Remember that I prefer functional programming patterns over object-oriented design"
- "What are my coding preferences and architectural decisions for this project?"
- "Store this architectural decision: we are using PostgreSQL over MongoDB for this project"
- "Find memories related to how we handle authentication in our codebase"
- "Run memory consolidation and tell me what insights emerged from the dream cycle"Troubleshooting Vestige
Installation fails on macOS Intel (x86_64) with ONNX runtime errors
macOS Intel requires the ONNX runtime installed via Homebrew. Run `brew install onnxruntime` and then set `export ORT_DYLIB_PATH="$(brew --prefix onnxruntime)/lib/libonnxruntime.dylib"` before starting vestige-mcp.
Memories are not persisting between sessions
Ensure that FASTEMBED_CACHE_PATH points to a stable directory that is not cleaned between sessions. By default, Vestige stores data in a system-appropriate app data directory; verify this path with `vestige stats` and confirm it is not inside a temp directory.
vestige-mcp binary not found after npm install
Confirm the global npm bin directory is in your PATH (`npm bin -g`). Alternatively, run `vestige update` to fetch and place the latest binary, or install directly to /usr/local/bin with `vestige update --install-dir /usr/local/bin`.
Frequently Asked Questions about Vestige
What is Vestige?
Vestige is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that cognitive memory for ai agents — fsrs-6 spaced repetition, 29 brain modules, 3d dashboard, single 22mb rust binary. mcp server for claude, cursor, vs code, xcode, jetbrains. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Vestige?
Install via npm with the command: npx -y vestige-mcp-server. 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 Vestige?
Vestige works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Vestige free to use?
Yes, Vestige is open source and available under the AGPL-3.0 license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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