codebase-memory-mcp (DeusData) vs Graphiti MCP Server (Zep)
codebase-memory-mcp (DeusData) vs Graphiti MCP Server (Zep): side-by-side comparison of two claude code memory mechanisms systems — architecture, taxonomy, license, pricing, MCP/A2A support, and direct edges.
Cost & capability
| codebase-memory-mcp (DeusData) | Graphiti MCP Server (Zep) | |
|---|---|---|
| Capability band | competent | competent |
| Capability composite | 45 | 50 |
| Cost tier | free | mid |
| $/Mtok input | 0 | — |
| $/Mtok output | 0 | — |
| Use cases | Code Generation Focused, Long Running Session, Offline Capable, Analytical Summarization | Code Generation Focused, Long Running Session, Multi Agent Coordination, Analytical Summarization |
Where they differ (15)
Rows where both sides have data and the values disagree — the shortlist of dimensions that actually distinguish these two systems.
| codebase-memory-mcp (DeusData) | Graphiti MCP Server (Zep) | |
|---|---|---|
| Capability composite | 45 | 50 |
| Cost tier | free | mid |
| Use cases | Code Generation Focused, Long Running Session, Offline Capable, Analytical Summarization | Code Generation Focused, Long Running Session, Multi Agent Coordination, Analytical Summarization |
| Type | Tree-sitter knowledge-graph MCP for code | Temporal KG with bi-temporal edges |
| Created | 2026 (active 2026 release cadence; latest v0.6.1 2026-05-04) | 2024-08 |
| Latest release | v0.11.0 (2026-09-15) | v0.31.2 (2026-10-20) |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| GitHub | DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp — ~43.3k stars, last release 2026-09 | getzep/graphiti — ~31.9k stars, last commit 2026-10 |
| Pricing | free / open source (MIT); no paid tier | free tier: 2500 messages/mo + 2.5MB graph data; paid: $1.25/1000 messages + $2.50/MB extra; Enterprise custom |
| Backend storage | SQLite (WAL mode) at ~/.cache/codebase-memory-mcp/ | Neo4j |
| Deployment | Local — single static binary (macOS arm64/amd64; Linux arm64/amd64; Windows amd64) | cloud (Zep managed) or self-hosted via Graphiti OSS + Neo4j/local graph DB |
| API surface | MCP (stdio) — 14 tools incl. index_repository / search_graph / trace_call_path / query_graph (Cypher-like) / get_architecture / detect_changes / manage_adr / search_code / get_code_snippet / ingest_traces / list_projects / delete_project / index_status / get_graph_schema | MCP (stdio/HTTP) |
| MCP | native (first-party MCP server) | native (first-party) |
| Optimised for | structural code knowledge graphs (token-efficient; 99.2% reduction vs grep) + sub-ms queries + 155-language tree-sitter coverage | Claude-Code-native + MCP-portable memory |
| Anti-fit | not for non-code memory; not for natural-language conversation memory; SEMANTICALLY_RELATED edges require optional embedding pipeline | not for non-Claude-Code clients (some are MCP-portable) |
At a glance
| codebase-memory-mcp (DeusData) | Graphiti MCP Server (Zep) | |
|---|---|---|
| Section | Claude Code memory mechanisms | Claude Code memory mechanisms |
| Tier | T1 | T1 |
| Type | Tree-sitter knowledge-graph MCP for code | Temporal KG with bi-temporal edges |
| Created | 2026 (active 2026 release cadence; latest v0.6.1 2026-05-04) | 2024-08 |
| Latest release | v0.11.0 (2026-09-15) | v0.31.2 (2026-10-20) |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| GitHub | DeusData/codebase-memory-mcp — ~43.3k stars, last release 2026-09 | getzep/graphiti — ~31.9k stars, last commit 2026-10 |
| Pricing | free / open source (MIT); no paid tier | free tier: 2500 messages/mo + 2.5MB graph data; paid: $1.25/1000 messages + $2.50/MB extra; Enterprise custom |
| Funding | searched not found | — |
| Backend storage | SQLite (WAL mode) at ~/.cache/codebase-memory-mcp/ | Neo4j |
| Deployment | Local — single static binary (macOS arm64/amd64; Linux arm64/amd64; Windows amd64) | cloud (Zep managed) or self-hosted via Graphiti OSS + Neo4j/local graph DB |
| API surface | MCP (stdio) — 14 tools incl. index_repository / search_graph / trace_call_path / query_graph (Cypher-like) / get_architecture / detect_changes / manage_adr / search_code / get_code_snippet / ingest_traces / list_projects / delete_project / index_status / get_graph_schema | MCP (stdio/HTTP) |
| Embedding | — | multiple supported |
| Multi-tenancy | — | namespace |
| MCP | native (first-party MCP server) | native (first-party) |
| A2A | not supported | not supported |
| OpenTelemetry | searched not found | searched not found |
| Optimised for | structural code knowledge graphs (token-efficient; 99.2% reduction vs grep) + sub-ms queries + 155-language tree-sitter coverage | Claude-Code-native + MCP-portable memory |
| Anti-fit | not for non-code memory; not for natural-language conversation memory; SEMANTICALLY_RELATED edges require optional embedding pipeline | not for non-Claude-Code clients (some are MCP-portable) |
Taxonomy
| Axis | codebase-memory-mcp (DeusData) | Graphiti MCP Server (Zep) |
|---|---|---|
| storage | graph | graph |
| retrieval | structural-query | graph-traversal |
| persistence | project-bound | long-term |
| update | replacement | append-only |
| unit | fact | episode |
| governance | user-controllable | auditable |
| conflict | deterministic-overwrite | bi-temporal |
Pros & cons
codebase-memory-mcp (DeusData)
Pros: Single-binary zero-deps deployment; 155-language tree-sitter coverage; structural queries replace grep at 120x fewer tokens; SLSA-3 + Sigstore + VirusTotal; team-shared graph artifact format; preprint with reproduction-friendly evaluation.
Cons: Preprint not peer-reviewed; founders/company opaque (DeusData has no disclosed principals); no managed/cloud option; SEMANTICALLY_RELATED edges depend on optional embedding pipeline.
Graphiti MCP Server (Zep)
Pros: MCP exposure of Graphiti's bi-temporal KG gives any agent contradiction-aware memory; first-party vendor support.
Cons: KG memory is heavier than vector for the same data; MCP setup more involved than installing an embedded SDK.