ZenBrain Memory MCP server
ai.zensation · Updated
Agent memory: working, episodic, semantic, procedural and core layers. Local SQLite, no account.
At a glance
ZenBrain Memory is an MCP server in the AI & Memory category. It runs locally over stdio via `npx -y @zensation/mcp`, and declares no required credentials. It scores A (84/100) on the MCP Skills Hub health score as of Oct 28, 2026.
One-click install
Opens your editor and pre-fills the config. Your editor will ask before adding it.
How to install ZenBrain Memory in your AI client
Setup for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex, Windsurf, Cline and VS Code — copy-paste ready.
How to install ZenBrain Memory in Claude CodeAnthropic's agentic CLI
Add the server
bashclaude mcp add zenbrain -- npx -y @zensation/mcpVerify it's connected
bashclaude mcp listSharing it with your team?
Add `--scope project` to write it to .mcp.json in the repository root, which you can commit (with the secrets left as environment variables).
Use it in a session
Ask Claude to use the tools this server exposes. It discovers them automatically.
How to install ZenBrain Memory in Claude DesktopDesktop app (MCP config)
Open your MCP config
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Add this server
json{ "mcpServers": { "zenbrain": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@zensation/mcp" ] } } }Restart Claude Desktop
The tools appear under the 🔌 menu once the app reloads.
How to install ZenBrain Memory in CursorAI-first code editor
Create / edit .cursor/mcp.json in your project
json{ "mcpServers": { "zenbrain": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@zensation/mcp" ] } } }Enable it
Cursor Settings → MCP → toggle the server on. Tools become available to the Composer/Agent.
How to install ZenBrain Memory in Codex CLIOpenAI coding agent
Add to ~/.codex/config.toml
toml[mcp_servers.zenbrain] command = "npx" args = ["-y", "@zensation/mcp"]Run Codex
Codex loads MCP servers from config.toml on startup and exposes their tools to the agent.
How to install ZenBrain Memory in WindsurfCodeium's agentic IDE
Edit ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json
json{ "mcpServers": { "zenbrain": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@zensation/mcp" ] } } }Reload
Windsurf → Cascade → refresh MCP servers. Cascade can now call the tools.
How to install ZenBrain Memory in ClineVS Code autonomous agent
Open Cline → MCP Servers → Configure
Adds to cline_mcp_settings.json.
Add the server
json{ "mcpServers": { "zenbrain": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@zensation/mcp" ] } } }
How to install ZenBrain Memory in VS CodeCopilot / MCP support
Create .vscode/mcp.json
json{ "servers": { "zenbrain": { "type": "stdio", "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@zensation/mcp" ] } } }Start it
VS Code shows a ▶ Start action above the server entry. Agent mode (Copilot Chat) can then use the tools.
What does ZenBrain Memory need from you?
Configuration only — Declares config values but no credentials.
ZENBRAIN_DBoptionalEnvironment variablePath to the SQLite file that holds the memory. A leading ~/ means your home directory; a relative path depends on where the client starts the server (some start it in /), so give an absolute or ~/ path. Use ':memory:' for a store that is d…
ZENBRAIN_CONTEXTSoptionalEnvironment variableComma-separated context domains, passed to the cross-context layer. No tool uses that layer yet, so the value currently has no effect.
Pass secrets through your shell environment rather than committing them into a config file.
What tools does ZenBrain Memory expose?
This server runs as a local package. We only query remote servers for their tool list — asking this one would mean executing it, so its tools are listed in the documentation below.
What the code can do
Read from the published package source — never executed. Parsed 2 of 2 source files.
This server can read and write files, read your environment variables and read system information.
How it was published
- Published by a verified CI identity (github trusted publishing) rather than a personal token.
- Has a provenance attestation tying this artifact to the commit it was built from.
- 1 npm maintainer — a single point of compromise · last published by GitHub Actions.
Maintainer of this package and think something here is wrong? Tell us and we'll correct it.
Before you install
Signals gathered from the source repo and package registry — not a safety verdict.
What it can reach
- Runs code on your machine — Executes as a local process with your user's permissions, including filesystem access.
- Downloads at launch — The package is fetched from its registry each run unless you pin a version.
- Last commit 4 days ago — Actively maintained.
- 27 GitHub stars — Community adoption signal.
- 124 weekly downloads — Regularly installed by other developers.
Client compatibility
Health score
A · 84Maintenance, adoption, transparency and packaging — not a safety audit. How this is calculated
- Maintenance30%100%
Last commit 4 days ago.
- Adoption20%46%
27 stars, 124 weekly downloads.
- Transparency20%75%
3/4: ✓ public source repo, ✓ declared license, ✓ documentation, ✗ discoverable tool list.
- Provenance15%100%
Package and registry entry point at the same repository.
- Packaging15%100%
Publishes a pinned version (0.3.0).
Documentation
Full READMEZenBrain <strong>The neuroscience-inspired memory system for AI agents.</strong> 7 memory layers and a library of 20 neuroscience-inspired algorithm modules: FSRS, Hebbian learning, sleep replay, emotional tagging, plus 10 advanced research modules (vmPFC-FSRS, two-factor Hebbian, simulation-selection sleep, Fiedler-value KG health, IB budget, Hopfield STM, ...).Pure TypeScript. No third-party dependencies in algorithms and core. 945 tests. Extracted from a production AI platform.
<sub><strong>Status:</strong> pre-1.0, semver — the public API can still change before <code>1.0</code>. 945 tests green in CI: 933 on each of Node 22, 24 and 26, and 12 more against PostgreSQL with pgvector · the current version of every package published to npm with build provenance · every change recorded in the CHANGELOG · issues and pull requests are answered; replications and counter-results are especially welcome.</sub>
<sub><strong>Self-hosted:</strong> the library makes no network calls of its own. Memory lives in SQLite or PostgreSQL that you operate; an embedding model or an LLM is optional and your choice.</sub>
<strong>▶ Try the live playground in your browser</strong> — runs this published code, no install required.
<details> <summary><strong>📄 Paper & Citation</strong> — ZenBrain: A Neuroscience-Inspired 7-Layer Memory Architecture for Autonomous AI Systems</summary>
- arXiv preprint (cs.AI): arxiv.org/abs/2604.23878
- Open-access archive (Zenodo / CERN): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19353663
- ORCID: 0009-0001-1793-012X
- License: CC BY 4.0 (paper) · Apache-2.0 (code)
@misc{bering2026zenbrain,
title = {ZenBrain: A Neuroscience-Inspired 7-Layer Memory Architecture for Autonomous AI Systems},
author = {Bering, Alexander},
year = {2026},
eprint = {2604.23878},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
primaryClass = {cs.AI},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.19353663},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.23878}
}Feedback, replications, and counter-results are explicitly welcome — please open an issue or reach out via research@zensation.ai.
</details>
Your AI forgets everything after every conversation. ZenBrain gives it a memory that lasts across sessions, split into layers the way human memory is, and ships the mechanisms memory research describes (spaced repetition, emotional tagging, Hebbian strengthening, forgetting curves, sleep replay) as tested functions. Which of them run on their own and which you call yourself is in one table.
Architecture vs. this package. ZenBrain's architecture is 15 neuroscience-inspired mechanisms — 9 foundational algorithms + 6 Predictive Memory Architecture (PMA) components (paper). The six PMA components are proprietary: they ran in the ZenAI production system and are not in these packages, which contain the hooks they plug into. This open-source package ships the algorithm library: 10 core algorithms + 10 advanced research modules (20 modules), zero-dependency.
Benchmark: LongMemEval-500
Excerpt — the full document is on GitHub.
Alternatives to ZenBrain Memory
- inspeximus: agent memory with provenance, GDPR erasure and a tamper-evident audit trailB · 77Self-correcting agent memory: recall, supersede, revert, forget, GDPR erasure, audit receipts.
- Memory KernelB · 70Local-first memory for AI agents: SQLite FTS5, deterministic recall, no vector DB, no cloud.
- mcp-memory-rsB · 64Local-first agent memory: versioned JSON categories, BM25 search, per-device ACL, fleet sync.
- MCP MemoryB · 71Local persistent memory for AI agents: SQLite + FTS5 (BM25) lexical search, zero external infra.
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Shows its health grade, and links readers to install steps for every client.
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