Memory Bank▌

by movibe
Memory Bank: A TypeScript server for persistent, markdown-based project memory management and session context tracking a
TypeScript-based server for tracking project context across sessions, enabling persistent knowledge sharing through modular, markdown-based memory management with support for multiple development modes.
best for
- / Software developers managing complex multi-phase projects
- / Teams needing structured development workflow tracking
- / Project planning with complexity-based approach
capabilities
- / Initialize projects with complexity assessment
- / Generate detailed implementation plans
- / Design architecture with multiple options analysis
- / Execute phase-based implementation tracking
- / Reflect on completed projects and archive results
- / Maintain persistent project state across workflow phases
what it does
Provides a structured 5-mode workflow system (VAN, PLAN, CREATIVE, IMPLEMENT, REFLECT+ARCHIVE) for managing software development projects with persistent state tracking across all phases.
about
Memory Bank is a community-built MCP server published by movibe that provides AI assistants with tools and capabilities via the Model Context Protocol. Memory Bank: A TypeScript server for persistent, markdown-based project memory management and session context tracking a It is categorized under ai ml, developer tools. This server exposes 15 tools that AI clients can invoke during conversations and coding sessions.
how to install
You can install Memory Bank in your AI client of choice. Use the install panel on this page to get one-click setup for Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code, and other MCP-compatible clients. This server runs locally on your machine via the stdio transport.
license
MIT
Memory Bank is released under the MIT license. This is a permissive open-source license, meaning you can freely use, modify, and distribute the software.
readme
Memory Bank MCP 🧠
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for managing Memory Banks, allowing AI assistants to store and retrieve information across sessions.
<a href="https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/riei9a6dhx"> <img width="380" height="200" src="https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/riei9a6dhx/badge" alt="Memory Bank MCP server" /> </a>Overview 📋
Memory Bank Server provides a set of tools and resources for AI assistants to interact with Memory Banks. Memory Banks are structured repositories of information that help maintain context and track progress across multiple sessions.
Features ✨
- Memory Bank Management: Initialize, find, and manage Memory Banks
- File Operations: Read and write files in Memory Banks
- Progress Tracking: Track progress and update Memory Bank files
- Decision Logging: Log important decisions with context and alternatives
- Active Context Management: Maintain and update active context information
- Mode Support: Detect and use .clinerules files for mode-specific behavior
- UMB Command: Update Memory Bank files temporarily with the UMB command
- Robust Error Handling: Gracefully handle errors and continue operation when possible
- Status Prefix System: Immediate visibility into Memory Bank operational state
Directory Structure 📁
By default, Memory Bank uses a memory-bank directory in the root of your project. When you specify a project path using the --path option, the Memory Bank will be created or accessed at <project_path>/memory-bank.
You can customize the name of the Memory Bank folder using the --folder option. For example, if you set --folder custom-memory, the Memory Bank will be created or accessed at <project_path>/custom-memory.
For more details on customizing the folder name, see Custom Memory Bank Folder Name.
Recent Improvements 🛠️
- Customizable Folder Name: You can now specify a custom folder name for the Memory Bank
- Consistent Directory Structure: Memory Bank now always uses the configured folder name in the project root
- Enhanced Initialization: Memory Bank now works even when .clinerules files don't exist
- Better Path Handling: Improved handling of absolute and relative paths
- Improved Directory Detection: Better detection of existing memory-bank directories
- More Robust Error Handling: Graceful handling of errors related to .clinerules files
For more details, see Memory Bank Bug Fixes.
Installation 🚀
# Install from npm
npm install @movibe/memory-bank-mcp
# Or install globally
npm install -g @movibe/memory-bank-mcp
# Or run directly with npx (no installation required)
npx @movibe/memory-bank-mcp
Usage with npx 💻
You can run Memory Bank MCP directly without installation using npx:
# Run with default settings
npx @movibe/memory-bank-mcp
# Run with specific mode
npx @movibe/memory-bank-mcp --mode code
# Run with custom project path
npx @movibe/memory-bank-mcp --path /path/to/project
# Run with custom folder name
npx @movibe/memory-bank-mcp --folder custom-memory-bank
# Show help
npx @movibe/memory-bank-mcp --help
For more detailed information about using npx, see npx-usage.md.
Configuring in Cursor 🖱️
Cursor is an AI-powered code editor that supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP). To configure Memory Bank MCP in Cursor:
-
Use Memory Bank MCP with npx:
No need to install the package globally. You can use npx directly:
# Verify npx is working correctly npx @movibe/memory-bank-mcp --help -
Open Cursor Settings:
- Go to Settings (⚙️) > Extensions > MCP
- Click on "Add MCP Server"
-
Configure the MCP Server:
- Name: Memory Bank MCP
- Command: npx
- Arguments:
@movibe/memory-bank-mcp --mode code(or other mode as needed)
-
Save and Activate:
- Click "Save"
- Enable the MCP server by toggling it on
-
Verify Connection:
- Open a project in Cursor
- The Memory Bank MCP should now be active and available in your AI interactions
For detailed instructions and advanced usage with Cursor, see cursor-integration.md.
Using with Cursor 🤖
Once configured, you can interact with Memory Bank MCP in Cursor through AI commands:
- Initialize a Memory Bank:
/mcp memory-bank-mcp initialize_memory_bank path=./memory-bank - Track Progress:
/mcp memory-bank-mcp track_progress action="Feature Implementation" description="Implemented feature X" - Log Decision:
/mcp memory-bank-mcp log_decision title="API Design" context="..." decision="..." - Switch Mode:
/mcp memory-bank-mcp switch_mode mode=code
MCP Modes and Their Usage 🔄
Memory Bank MCP supports different operational modes to optimize AI interactions for specific tasks:
Available Modes
-
Code Mode 👨💻
- Focus: Code implementation and development
- Usage:
npx @movibe/memory-bank-mcp --mode code - Best for: Writing, refactoring, and optimizing code
-
Architect Mode 🏗️
- Focus: System design and architecture
- Usage:
npx @movibe/memory-bank-mcp --mode architect - Best for: Planning project structure, designing components, and making architectural decisions
-
Ask Mode ❓
- Focus: Answering questions and providing information
- Usage:
npx @movibe/memory-bank-mcp --mode ask - Best for: Getting explanations, clarifications, and information
-
Debug Mode 🐛
- Focus: Troubleshooting and problem-solving
- Usage:
npx @movibe/memory-bank-mcp --mode debug - Best for: Finding and fixing bugs, analyzing issues
-
Test Mode ✅
- Focus: Testing and quality assurance
- Usage:
npx @movibe/memory-bank-mcp --mode test - Best for: Writing tests, test-driven development
Switching Modes
You can switch modes in several ways:
-
When starting the server:
npx @movibe/memory-bank-mcp --mode architect -
During a session:
memory-bank-mcp switch_mode mode=debug -
In Cursor:
/mcp memory-bank-mcp switch_mode mode=test -
Using .clinerules files: Create a
.clinerules-[mode]file in your project to automatically switch to that mode when the file is detected.
How Memory Bank MCP Works 🧠
Memory Bank MCP is built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which enables AI assistants to interact with external tools and resources. Here's how it works:
Core Components 🧩
-
Memory Bank: A structured repository of information stored as markdown files:
product-context.md: Overall project information and goalsactive-context.md: Current state, ongoing tasks, and next stepsprogress.md: History of project updates and milestonesdecision-log.md: Record of important decisions with context and rationalesystem-patterns.md: Architecture and code patterns used in the project
-
MCP Server: Provides tools and resources for AI assistants to interact with Memory Banks:
- Runs as a standalone process
- Communicates with AI assistants through the MCP protocol
- Provides a set of tools for managing Memory Banks
-
Mode System: Supports different operational modes:
code: Focus on code implementationask: Focus on answering questionsarchitect: Focus on system designdebug: Focus on debugging issuestest: Focus on testing
Data Flow 🔄
- Initialization: The AI assistant connects to the MCP server and initializes a Memory Bank
- Tool Calls: The AI assistant calls tools provided by the MCP server to read/write Memory Bank files
- Context Maintenance: The Memory Bank maintains context across sessions, allowing the AI to recall previous decisions and progress
Memory Bank Structure 📂
Memory Banks use a standardized structure to organize information:
- Product Context: Project overview, objectives, technologies, and architecture
- Active Context: Current state, ongoing tasks, known issues, and next steps
- Progress: Chronological record of project updates and milestones
- Decision Log: Record of important decisions with context, alternatives, and consequences
- System Patterns: Architecture patterns, code patterns, and documentation patterns
Advanced Features 🚀
- UMB Command: Temporarily update Memory Bank files during a session without committing changes
- Mode Detection: Automatically detect and switch modes based on user input
- File Migration: Tools for migrating between different file naming conventions
- Language Standardization: All Memory Bank files are generated in English for consistency
Versioning 📌
This project follows Semantic Versioning and uses Conventional Commits for commit messages. The version is automatically bumped and a changelog is generated based on commit messages when changes are merged into the main branch.
- Major version is bumped when there are breaking changes (commit messages with
BREAKING CHANGEor!:) - Minor version is bumped when new features are added (commit messages with
feat:orfeat(scope):) - Patch version is bumped for all other changes (bug fixes, documentation, etc.)
For the complete history of changes, see the CHANGELOG.md file.
Usage 📝
As a Command Line Tool 💻
# Initialize a Memory Bank
memory-
---
FAQ
- What is the Memory Bank MCP server?
- Memory Bank is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server profile on explainx.ai. MCP lets AI hosts (e.g. Claude Desktop, Cursor) call tools and resources through a standard interface; this page summarizes categories, install hints, and community ratings.
- How do MCP servers relate to agent skills?
- Skills are reusable instruction packages (often SKILL.md); MCP servers expose live capabilities. Teams frequently combine both—skills for workflows, MCP for APIs and data. See explainx.ai/skills and explainx.ai/mcp-servers for parallel directories.
- How are reviews shown for Memory Bank?
- This profile displays 10 aggregated ratings (sample rows for discoverability plus signed-in user reviews). Average score is about 4.5 out of 5—verify behavior in your own environment before production use.
Ratings
4.5★★★★★10 reviews- ★★★★★Shikha Mishra· Oct 10, 2024
Memory Bank is among the better-indexed MCP projects we tried; the explainx.ai summary tracks the official description.
- ★★★★★Piyush G· Sep 9, 2024
We evaluated Memory Bank against two servers with overlapping tools; this profile had the clearer scope statement.
- ★★★★★Chaitanya Patil· Aug 8, 2024
Useful MCP listing: Memory Bank is the kind of server we cite when onboarding engineers to host + tool permissions.
- ★★★★★Sakshi Patil· Jul 7, 2024
Memory Bank reduced integration guesswork — categories and install configs on the listing matched the upstream repo.
- ★★★★★Ganesh Mohane· Jun 6, 2024
I recommend Memory Bank for teams standardizing on MCP; the explainx.ai page compares cleanly with sibling servers.
- ★★★★★Oshnikdeep· May 5, 2024
Strong directory entry: Memory Bank surfaces stars and publisher context so we could sanity-check maintenance before adopting.
- ★★★★★Dhruvi Jain· Apr 4, 2024
Memory Bank has been reliable for tool-calling workflows; the MCP profile page is a good permalink for internal docs.
- ★★★★★Rahul Santra· Mar 3, 2024
According to our notes, Memory Bank benefits from clear Model Context Protocol framing — fewer ambiguous “AI plugin” claims.
- ★★★★★Pratham Ware· Feb 2, 2024
We wired Memory Bank into a staging workspace; the listing’s GitHub and npm pointers saved time versus hunting across READMEs.
- ★★★★★Yash Thakker· Jan 1, 2024
Memory Bank is a well-scoped MCP server in the explainx.ai directory — install snippets and categories matched our Claude Code setup.