engram
https://github.com/Gentleman-Programming/engram
SQLite + FTS5; agent decides what to save (not firehose capture). Single Go binary, no CGO, no Node/Python/Docker dependencies. HTTP API + MCP + CLI + TUI; optional cloud sync with local-source-of-truth.
Active · Verified 2026-10-23 · fresh as of 2026-10-23 · 43 cited facts, 1 with a third-party source · 1 recorded change · Suggest a correction
At a glance
- Type
- Static Go binary, agent-agnostic repo fix
- Tier
- T2
- Section
- Claude Code memory mechanisms
- Latest release
- v3.5.2 (2026-10-21) repo fix
- Pricing
- free / open source (MIT) repo fix
- Funding
- not applicable — not commercial fix
- Freshness
- 2026-10-23 fix
- Layer
- agent-infra repo fix
- Licensing
- open-source repo fix
- Protocols
- mcp-server repo fix
- Developer activity
- OpenRank 22.93 (12-mo avg 7.89) · 189 participants — 2026-09 third-party fix
Memory taxonomy
- storage
- relational
- retrieval
- exact-match
- persistence
- long-term
- update
- agent-controlled
- unit
- fact
- governance
- user-controllable
- conflict
- append
When to use
Optimised for: Claude-Code-native + MCP-portable memory
Anti-fit: not for non-Claude-Code clients (some are MCP-portable)
Pros & cons
Pros
Static Go binary, agent-agnostic — works across Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex without runtime deps.
Cons
Smaller community; SQLite + FTS5 backend lacks vector recall vs other options.
Claims & capabilities
Works across Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex, Cursor, Windsurf with no runtime deps.
Technical surface
- API surface
- searched not found
- Backend storage
- searched not found
- Deployment
- local — single Go binary with SQLite/FTS5; MCP stdio, works with any MCP agent
- Embedding model
- searched not found
- Multi-tenancy
- searched not found
- MCP
- native (first-party)
- A2A
- not supported
- OpenTelemetry
- no
Alternatives to engram → live options ranked by shared design, licence, hosting and MCP support
Similar systems
Other claude code memory mechanisms in the catalog, ranked by inbound references.
- Official MCP Memory server T1
Knowledge-graph-based persistent memory MCP server — the canonical reference implementation. npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory ; configurable via MEMORY_FILE_PATH .
- Claude Code auto-memory T1
Persistent file-based memory at ~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/ with a MEMORY.md index plus typed memory files (user / feedback / project / reference). Loaded into context across sessions.
- claude-brain T2
Claude Code plugin packaging of Memvid (see Dedicated memory layers). Wraps the Memvid .mv2 single-file store as a slash-command-installable plugin so per-project memory becomes a git-committable file inside the repo.
- Claude-CursorMemoryMCP T2
FastAPI server. RBAC + API-key auth, encryption, backup/recovery, embedding pipeline with deduplication. Only server in this list with role-based access control over pgvector.
- claude-mem T1
Hooks into Claude Code's session lifecycle; compresses tool outputs into ~500-token observations via Claude's agent SDK. SQLite + FTS5 with optional Chroma vector. "Endless Mode" compresses in-flight to extend session length. Captures what the agent did , not just what the user typed.
- claude-supermemory T2
Wraps Supermemory cloud API. Team memory shared across project members, separate from personal memories. Auto-capture on session end; per-repo config.
Sources (42 cited facts, 1 third-party)
Each fact links to the page it came from; the badge says who published it (how to read sources).
- What it is Static Go binary, agent-agnostic repo
- What it does & what's distinct SQLite + FTS5; agent decides what to save (not firehose capture). Single Go binary, no C… repo
- Claims / benefits Works across Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex, Cursor, Windsurf with no runtime deps. repo
- Modalities text repo
- Created 2026-02 repo
- Latest release v3.5.2 (2026-10-21) repo
- License MIT repo
- GitHub Gentleman-Programming/engram — ~6.7k stars, last commit 2026-10 repo
- Pricing free / open source (MIT) repo
- Deployment local — single Go binary with SQLite/FTS5; MCP stdio, works with any MCP agent repo
- Founders / pedigree Gentleman-Programming (open-source; no institutional affiliation) repo
- Memory volume / scale no scale claim — SQLite + FTS5 per user repo
- Tombstoning hard-delete supported repo
- Schema evolution schema with migration repo
- Contradiction handling always append (no resolution) repo
- Forgetting policy user-controlled forget repo
- MCP support native (first-party) repo
- A2A support not supported repo
- OTel no repo
- Webhooks / events no repo
- Import / export JSON local store repo
- Validated verticals coding agents only - Claude Code users (horizontal SWE) repo
- Time to running <10min (plugin / MCP install) repo
- Anti-fit not for non-Claude-Code clients (some are MCP-portable) repo
- Optimised for Claude-Code-native + MCP-portable memory repo
- Adjacent infrastructure requires Claude Code or MCP client; BYO storage repo
- Pros Static Go binary, agent-agnostic — works across Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex without r… repo
- Cons Smaller community; SQLite + FTS5 backend lacks vector recall vs other options. repo
- Project & sources GitHub Gentleman-Programming/engram repo
- commit-trajectory [{"ym":"2026-02","cum":76},{"ym":"2026-03","cum":151},{"ym":"2026-04","cum":239},{"ym":"… repo
- cost-input-usd-per-mtok 0 repo
- cost-output-usd-per-mtok 0 repo
- cost-tier free repo
- cost-pricing-model free-tier repo
- cost-last-verified 2026-06-29 repo
- architecture-deployment-locus local repo
- licensing-bucket open-source repo
- positioning-platform-vs-product product repo
- taxonomy-three-layer-rollup agent-infra repo
- developer-activity-opendigger {"activity":404.49,"as_of":"2026-09","openrank_12mo":7.89,"openrank_current":22.93,"part… third-party
- sdk-languages go repo
- protocol-support mcp-server repo
What changed
Changes to this record's lifecycle, licence, release, pricing and hosting facts, from the catalog's git history. Subscribe (Atom)
Related systems
References (2)
- Anthropic Claude (foundation models) depends on at runtime — adjacent-infrastructure cell: requires Claude Code or MCP client; BYO storage
- Model Context Protocol (MCP spec) depends on at runtime — adjacent-infrastructure cell: requires Claude Code or MCP client; BYO storage