basic-memory
by basicmachines-co
Basic Memory stores your notes as plain Markdown files that AI assistants such as Claude, Cursor and ChatGPT can read, write and search through MCP. It gives your AI a lasting memory, so you don't have to re-explain your projects in every conversation.
- Stars
- 4.4k
- Licence
- AGPL-3.0
- Runs on
- Your computer
- Setup
- Moderate
- Language
- Python
- Age
- 693 days
What you can do with it
- Give Claude, Cursor or Codex a persistent memory of your projects, decisions and preferences
- Keep a linked knowledge base of Markdown notes that you and your AI both edit, including in Obsidian
- Search your notes by meaning as well as keywords
Make money with it
A freelancer could offer set-up of AI-assisted knowledge bases and workflows for small businesses as a paid service.
An idea, not financial advice. Check the licence before charging for anything built on it.
Ways a business could use it
- Keep client briefs, processes and past decisions in one store so your AI assistant doesn't need re-briefing, saving time on repeat work
- Build a shared team knowledge base that staff and AI tools both draw on, replacing scattered documents
Can you use it commercially?
Free to use. Anything you distribute that includes it must be open-sourced under the same licence. Running it as an online service also counts, so a hosted version must offer its source.
Not legal advice. Read the project's licence file before building a product on it.
Getting it running
Install with the uv Python tool using "uv tool install basic-memory --prerelease=allow", then connect it to your AI client; a paid hosted version is also available.
Follow the official instructions in the project README.
Things to check
- AGPL-3.0 licence has obligations if you offer a modified version as a network service
- Needs an AI client that supports MCP, which may carry its own subscription costs
- Current version depends on a pre-release of FastMCP
- Hosted cloud version costs $15 a month
Who's talking about it
Checked 27 Oct 2026. Summary drafted by AI from the project's README.
