Devtoolwatch BoardClaude-Mem review
Claude-Mem is a persistent memory plugin that captures coding agent sessions, compresses them with AI, and injects relevant context into future sessions.
TL;DR
Claude-Mem is a memory system built for Claude Code that also works with Codex, OpenCode, OpenClaw and other agents. Claude-Mem captures tool usage, writes semantic summaries, and recalls them in later sessions. It is for developers who want agents to keep project knowledge between sessions, and it uses layered search to limit token use.
- 107.8kGitHub stars
- +5.4knew stars, week of Oct 25
- ~34.4kdownloads a week, +73% vs 4-week avg
- #18in Coding agents this week
Claude-Mem at a glance
- Category
- Coding agents
- Maintained by
- Alex Newman (individual, @thedotmack on GitHub)
- License
- Apache 2.0
- Language
- TypeScript, JavaScript, Python
- Repository
- github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem
- Website
- claude-mem.ai
- npm package
- claude-mem 15.0.1
- Latest release
- v15.0.1 on GitHub, Oct 20, 2026
- First published
- Aug 31, 2025
What Claude-Mem does
- Claude-Mem captures tool usage observations during agent sessions and generates semantic summaries for future sessions.
- Claude-Mem injects relevant context from previous sessions into new sessions automatically.
- Claude-Mem provides MCP search tools: search, timeline, and get_observations, used in a layered workflow that fetches full details only for selected IDs.
- Claude-Mem uses Smart search by default, where the agent reasons about relevance between steps. A faster dumb_search does deterministic title matching.
- Claude-Mem offers a local My Work view of requests given to agents, with cards, list and per-agent views.
- Claude-Mem lets you exclude sensitive content from storage using privacy tags.
- Claude-Mem supports an optional TeamBrain shared workspace where each person chooses what to share.
How it works
Claude-Mem registers lifecycle hooks such as SessionStart, PostToolUse and SessionEnd, each running a claude-mem hook command. A local worker service managed by Bun provides an HTTP API, web viewer and search endpoints. Data is stored in SQLite with FTS5, and Chroma adds hybrid semantic and keyword search. Settings live in ~/.claude-mem/settings.json.
How to install and start using Claude-Mem
With npx
npx claude-mem installFor OpenCode
npx claude-mem install --ide opencodeOn an OpenClaw gateway
curl -fsSL https://install.cmem.ai/openclaw.sh | bashRequirements
- Node.js 20.12.0 or higher (README states 20.0.0 or higher).
- Bun 1.1.31 or higher, auto-installed if missing.
- uv Python package manager for vector search, auto-installed if missing.
- Claude Code latest version with plugin support, or another supported harness.
First steps
- Run the installer, then sign in through the browser or pass an explicit --provider flag to skip sign-in.
- Choose a memory provider: the claude-mem observer, your own OpenRouter or Gemini key, or your Anthropic plan.
- Restart Claude Code. Context from previous sessions will appear in new sessions automatically.
- Open the worker URL printed on startup to view My Work, or /viewer for memory, sessions and settings.
Who Claude-Mem is for
- Claude Code users who want project knowledge to carry over between sessions.
- Developers using several agents such as Codex, OpenCode or Gemini who want shared memory.
- Teams wanting shared plans and decisions through the optional TeamBrain workspace.
Limitations to know
- Claude-Mem's npm install -g installs only the SDK/library and does not register plugin hooks or the worker service.
- Claude-Mem's hosted CMEM Pro observer costs $30/month after a 30 day trial; memory otherwise falls back to your Anthropic plan.
- Claude-Mem recalls synced notes in ChatGPT, but ChatGPT conversations are not automatically captured.
- Claude-Mem's effect on token use depends on your workload and provider.
Is Claude-Mem growing? Usage data
In the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, Claude-Mem ranked #31 on the Devtoolwatch Board and #18 in Coding agents, with a momentum score of 82 out of 100. Its main package had about 34.4k downloads that week, +73% against its own 4-week average.
Show the weekly numbers
| Week of | New stars |
|---|---|
| Aug 9, 2026 | 794 |
| Aug 16, 2026 | 766 |
| Aug 23, 2026 | 1.1k |
| Aug 30, 2026 | 785 |
| Sep 6, 2026 | 555 |
| Sep 13, 2026 | 605 |
| Sep 20, 2026 | 539 |
| Sep 27, 2026 | 1.1k |
| Oct 4, 2026 | 3.8k |
| Oct 11, 2026 | 2.2k |
| Oct 18, 2026 | 1.5k |
| Oct 25, 2026 | 5.4k |
The Board ranks tools by four signals each week: new stars, new stars for the repo's size, added downloads and download growth beyond the market. How the ranking works.
Claude-Mem alternatives
Other AI coding agents on the Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum:
| Rank | Tool | Stars | Downloads/wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | CindyCindy is an open-source AI agent app for desktop and mobile that combines Claude Code, Codex and Pi across your connected devices. | 8.8k | – |
| #2 | OpenMausBotOpenMausBot is an open-source desktop chat app where each contact is a local Claude, Codex, or Grok CLI agent with its own computer. | 9.6k | – |
| #3 | OrcaOrca is a desktop agent development environment for running Claude Code, Codex, and other CLI coding agents in parallel, each in its own… | 111.7k | – |
| #4 | OpenBotOpenBot is an open-source, self-hosted template for AI coworkers that each get their own browser, files and granted tools, with every… | 9.1k | – |
| #5 | Agent ReachAgent Reach is a Python CLI that lets AI agents search and read platforms such as Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, GitHub, Bilibili and… | 107.2k | – |
| #6 | Skill RecorderSkill Recorder is a desktop app that records your on-screen work session and turns it into a reusable agent Skill or Automation. | 5.6k | – |
Recent Claude-Mem releases
Claude-Mem FAQ
Is Claude-Mem free and open source?
Yes. Claude-Mem's source code is on GitHub (thedotmack/claude-mem) under the Apache 2.0 license, so you can use it for free. Its website also links to a pricing page (https://claude-mem.ai/pricing) for any paid plans.
How do I install Claude-Mem?
Run npx claude-mem install. It needs Node.js >=20.12.0. The install section above has the other options from the project's README.
Is Claude-Mem still maintained?
Yes. The thedotmack/claude-mem repository was last updated on Oct 21, 2026, and the latest release, v15.0.1 on GitHub, came out on Oct 20, 2026.
How popular is Claude-Mem?
Claude-Mem has 107.8k GitHub stars as of Nov 1, 2026. It gained 5.4k new stars in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, against a 12-week average of 1.6k a week. Its main package had about 34.4k downloads that week, +73% against its own 4-week average. That made it #18 among AI coding agents on the Devtoolwatch Board.
Claude-Mem vs Graphify: how do they compare?
Claude-Mem and Graphify are both tracked by Devtoolwatch. Claude-Mem has 107.8k GitHub stars and Graphify has 140k. In the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, Claude-Mem's main package had 34.4k downloads and Graphify's had 480.7k. Graphify is an AI coding assistant skill that turns a codebase, with its docs, PDFs, images and videos, into a queryable knowledge graph. Graphify review.
Claude-Mem vs MemPalace: how do they compare?
Claude-Mem and MemPalace are both tracked by Devtoolwatch. Claude-Mem has 107.8k GitHub stars and MemPalace has 60.2k. In the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, Claude-Mem's main package had 34.4k downloads and MemPalace's had 15.1k. MemPalace review.
What are the best alternatives to Claude-Mem?
Other AI coding agents on the Devtoolwatch Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum: Cindy (#1), OpenMausBot (#2), Orca (#3), OpenBot (#4), Agent Reach (#5). The alternatives table above has their numbers.
How does Claude-Mem work?
Claude-Mem uses lifecycle hooks to capture tool usage during sessions, compresses it into summaries with AI, stores them in SQLite, and injects relevant context into later sessions. A local Bun-managed worker serves search and a web viewer.
Does Claude-Mem increase token usage?
Claude-Mem's layered search returns a compact index first and fetches full details only for selected IDs, which the README says gives about 10x token savings. Hosted observation moves memory generation off your agent's subscription. The homepage says the effect depends on workload and provider.
Does Claude-Mem work with Codex?
Claude-Mem works with Codex. The installer for T3 Code supports Codex and Claude Code providers, and the repo lists Codex among supported agents.
Is Claude-Mem safe for sensitive code?
Claude-Mem lets you exclude sensitive content from storage with privacy tags. Local storage uses a SQLite database, and cloud sync to cmem.ai is an additional layer.
Sources
Claude-Mem README badge
Maintainers can show the tool's weekly Board rank in their README:
[](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/thedotmack-claude-mem/)How this page is made: Devtoolwatch writes each review from the project's README, releases, package metadata and website, with an AI model, then checks every claim against the source it cites and drops what the sources don't support. The numbers come from Devtoolwatch's daily GitHub snapshots, GitHub's stargazer history, and the npm and PyPI download APIs. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].