local-memo

Local-only MCP server for saving and restoring conversation context across AI agent sessions. No cloud, no accounts — just JSON files on disk.

Inspired by Upstash Memo, but fully local.

Why?

Memo is a great idea — save your conversation context, get a short ID, restore it later in a different session or agent. But there's no reason that data needs to leave your machine. This version replaces the cloud API + Redis with plain files in ~/.local-memo/.

Install

Claude Code

claude mcp add local-memo -- npx local-memo

Or from a local clone:

claude mcp add local-memo -- node /path/to/local-memo/dist/index.js

Claude Desktop / Cursor

Add to your MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "local-memo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["local-memo"]
    }
  }
}

Usage

Save context

Ask your AI agent to save the current conversation context. It will call memo_set and return a short ID:

> Please save our conversation context

Context saved locally.
ID: 4tJ630XqhCV5gQelx98pu
Expires: 2025-01-30T14:38:51.278Z (1440 minutes)

Restore context

In a new session, give the agent the ID:

> Restore memo 4tJ630XqhCV5gQelx98pu

List saved memos

> List my saved memos

Delete a memo

> Delete memo 4tJ630XqhCV5gQelx98pu

Tools

Tool	Description
memo_set	Save structured context (goal, completed tasks, pending tasks, decisions, files, extra context). Returns an ID.
memo_get	Restore context by ID. Returns formatted markdown.
memo_list	List all unexpired memos with their IDs and goals.
memo_delete	Delete a memo by ID.

Options

Flag	Default	Description
--ttl-mins	1440 (24h)	How long memos live before expiring
--dir	~/.local-memo	Storage directory

Example with 7-day TTL:

claude mcp add local-memo -- npx local-memo --ttl-mins 10080

Storage

Memos are plain JSON files in ~/.local-memo/memos/:

{
  "id": "4tJ630XqhCV5gQelx98pu",
  "createdAt": "2025-01-29T14:38:51.278Z",
  "expiresAt": "2025-01-30T14:38:51.278Z",
  "ttlMins": 1440,
  "context": {
    "goal": "Build a local memo system",
    "completed": ["Designed schema", "Wrote MCP server"],
    "pending": ["Test it"],
    "decisions": ["Use filesystem instead of Redis"],
    "files": ["index.ts", "package.json"],
    "context": "Extra notes here"
  }
}

Back them up, sync them, grep them — they're just files.

License

MIT