Memory Bank MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation for remote memory bank management, inspired by Cline Memory Bank.

Overview

The Memory Bank MCP Server transforms traditional file-based memory banks into a centralized service that:

Provides remote access to memory bank files via MCP protocol
Enables multi-project memory bank management
Maintains consistent file structure and validation
Ensures proper isolation between project memory banks

Features

Multi-Project Support
- Project-specific directories
- File structure enforcement
- Path traversal prevention
- Project listing capabilities
- File listing per project
Remote Accessibility
- Full MCP protocol implementation
- Type-safe operations
- Proper error handling
- Security through project isolation
Core Operations
- Read/write/update memory bank files
- List available projects
- List files within projects
- Project existence validation
- Safe read-only operations

Installation

To install Memory Bank Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @alioshr/memory-bank-mcp --client claude

This will set up the MCP server configuration automatically. Alternatively, you can configure the server manually as described in the Configuration section below.

Quick Start

Configure the MCP server in your settings (see Configuration section below)
Start using the memory bank tools in your AI assistant

Configuration

The memory bank MCP server needs to be configured in your Cline MCP settings file. The location depends on your setup:

For Cline extension: ~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
For Roo Code VS Code extension: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/rooveterinaryinc.roo-cline/settings/mcp_settings.json
For Claude desktop app: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add the following configuration to your MCP settings:

{
  "allpepper-memory-bank": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "@allpepper/memory-bank-mcp"],
    "env": {
      "MEMORY_BANK_ROOT": "<path-to-bank>"
    },
    "disabled": false,
    "autoApprove": [
      "memory_bank_read",
      "memory_bank_write",
      "memory_bank_update",
      "list_projects",
      "list_project_files"
    ]
  }
}

Configuration Details

MEMORY_BANK_ROOT: Directory where project memory banks will be stored (e.g., /path/to/memory-bank)
disabled: Set to false to enable the server
autoApprove: List of operations that don't require explicit user approval:
- memory_bank_read: Read memory bank files
- memory_bank_write: Create new memory bank files
- memory_bank_update: Update existing memory bank files
- list_projects: List available projects
- list_project_files: List files within a project

For Cursor

For Cursor, open the settings -> features -> add MCP server -> add the following:

env MEMORY_BANK_ROOT=<path-to-bank> npx -y @allpepper/memory-bank-mcp@latest

Custom IA instructions

This section contains the instructions that should be pasted on the AI custom instructions, either for Cline, Claude or Cursor, or any other MCP client. You should copy and paste these rules. For reference, see custom-instructions.md which contains these rules.

Development

Basic development commands:

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Run tests
npm run test

# Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:watch

# Run the server directly with ts-node for quick testing
npm run dev

Running with Docker

Build the Docker image:
```
docker build -t memory-bank-mcp:local .
```

Run the Docker container for testing:

docker run -i --rm \
  -e MEMORY_BANK_ROOT="/mnt/memory_bank" \
  -v /path/to/memory-bank:/mnt/memory_bank \
  --entrypoint /bin/sh \
  memory-bank-mcp:local \
  -c "ls -la /mnt/memory_bank"

Add MCP configuration, example for Roo Code:

"allpepper-memory-bank": {
  "command": "docker",
  "args": [
    "run", "-i", "--rm",
    "-e", 
    "MEMORY_BANK_ROOT",
    "-v", 
    "/path/to/memory-bank:/mnt/memory_bank",
    "memory-bank-mcp:local"
  ],
  "env": {
    "MEMORY_BANK_ROOT": "/mnt/memory_bank"
  },
  "disabled": false,
  "alwaysAllow": [
    "list_projects",
    "list_project_files",
    "memory_bank_read",
    "memory_bank_update",
    "memory_bank_write"
  ]
}

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

Use TypeScript for all new code
Maintain type safety across the codebase
Add tests for new features
Update documentation as needed
Follow existing code style and patterns

Testing

Write unit tests for new features
Include multi-project scenario tests
Test error cases thoroughly
Validate type constraints
Mock filesystem operations appropriately

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

This project implements the memory bank concept originally documented in the Cline Memory Bank, extending it with remote capabilities and multi-project support.

Memory Bank