The Problem

You told Claude your project uses Zustand, not Redux. You explained your auth middleware to Cursor. You spent weeks building up context across your AI tools.

Next session? Gone. New machine? Gone. Switch tools? Gone.

How memoir fixes it

memoir is a persistent memory layer that runs via MCP inside your AI tools. Your AI can search, read, and save memories automatically — across sessions, tools, and machines.

you: how does auth work in this project?

  memoir_recall("auth setup architecture")
  Found 3 memories matching "auth"

claude: Based on your previous sessions: this project uses JWT auth
  with refresh tokens, the middleware is in src/middleware/auth.ts,
  and you chose Zustand over Redux for auth state (decided March 12).

No re-explaining. memoir remembered.

Architecture

graph LR
    A[Claude Code] --> M[memoir MCP]
    B[Cursor] --> M
    C[Gemini CLI] --> M
    D[Windsurf] --> M
    E[+ 7 more] --> M

    M --> R[recall / remember / list / read]
    R --> S[(Local Memory Store)]

    S --> P[memoir push]
    P --> G[GitHub / Cloud]
    G --> Q[memoir restore]
    Q --> S2[(New Machine)]

memoir runs as a local MCP server inside your AI tools. Your AI can search, save, and recall memories automatically. Push to sync across machines.

Quick Start

# Install
npm install -g memoir-cli

# Setup
memoir init

Add MCP to your AI tools

Claude Code — add to ~/.mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "memoir": { "command": "memoir-mcp" }
  }
}

Cursor — add to .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "memoir": { "command": "memoir-mcp" }
  }
}

That's it. Your AI tools now have 6 memory abilities:

MCP Tool	What it does
memoir_recall	Search across all your AI memories
memoir_remember	Save context for future sessions
memoir_list	Browse all memory files by tool
memoir_read	Read a specific memory in full
memoir_status	See which AI tools are detected
memoir_profiles	Switch between work/personal

What Gets Synced

memoir syncs three layers that no other tool connects:

Layer 1: AI Memory (via MCP + CLI)

Configs, instructions, and project knowledge across 11 tools — searchable and writable from inside any AI conversation.

Tool	What gets synced
Claude Code	~/.claude/ settings, memory, CLAUDE.md files
Gemini CLI	~/.gemini/ config, GEMINI.md files
ChatGPT	CHATGPT.md custom instructions
OpenAI Codex	~/.codex/ config, AGENTS.md
Cursor	Settings, keybindings, .cursorrules
GitHub Copilot	Config, copilot-instructions.md
Windsurf	Settings, keybindings, .windsurfrules
Zed	Settings, keymap, tasks
Cline	Settings, .clinerules
Continue.dev	Config, .continuerules
Aider	.aider.conf.yml, system prompt

Layer 2: Session State

What you were doing — not just what your AI knows, but the active context.

• Last coding session captured automatically
• What files you changed, what errors you hit, what decisions you made
• Injected into your AI on restore so it picks up mid-conversation
• Secrets auto-redacted (API keys, tokens, passwords stripped before sync)

Layer 3: Workspace

Your actual projects — code, files, everything.

• Git projects: Remote URLs saved, auto-cloned on restore
• Non-git projects: Bundled as compressed archives, unpacked on restore
• Uncommitted work: Saved as patches, applied after clone
• Zero git commands needed — memoir handles it all

Key Features

Cross-tool memory

Tell Claude something once. Cursor knows it too. memoir is the shared memory layer between all your AI tools.

Translate between AI tools

memoir migrate --from chatgpt --to claude
# AI-powered — rewrites conventions, not copy-paste

memoir migrate --from chatgpt --to all
# Translate to every tool at once

Cross-machine sync

# On your main machine
memoir push

# On any other machine
memoir restore -y
# ✔ AI memory restored (Claude, Gemini, Cursor, 11 tools)
# ✔ 44 projects cloned & unpacked
# ✔ Uncommitted changes applied
# ✔ Session context injected — AI picks up mid-conversation

E2E Encryption

memoir encrypt    # toggle encryption on/off
memoir push       # prompted for passphrase, AES-256-GCM encrypted

Your backup is encrypted before it leaves your machine. Secret scanning auto-redacts API keys, tokens, and passwords.

Profiles (personal / work)

memoir profile create work
memoir push --profile work
memoir profile switch personal

Cloud sync

memoir login
memoir cloud push      # encrypted cloud backup
memoir cloud restore   # restore from any version

Cross-platform (Mac / Windows / Linux)

Paths remap automatically between platforms. Push from Mac, restore on Windows. It just works.

All Commands

Command	What it does
memoir init	Setup wizard — GitHub or local storage
memoir push	Back up AI memory + workspace + session
memoir restore	Restore everything on a new machine
memoir mcp	Start MCP server for editor integration
memoir status	Show detected AI tools
memoir doctor	Diagnose issues, scan for secrets
memoir view	Preview what's in your backup
memoir diff	Show changes since last backup
memoir migrate	Translate memory between tools via AI
memoir snapshot	Capture current coding session
memoir resume	Pick up where you left off
memoir encrypt	Toggle E2E encryption
memoir profile	Manage profiles (personal/work)
memoir cloud push	Back up to memoir cloud
memoir cloud restore	Restore from memoir cloud
memoir history	View cloud backup versions
memoir login	Sign in to memoir cloud
memoir share	Create encrypted shareable link
memoir upgrade	View plans and upgrade
memoir update	Self-update to latest version

How memoir compares

Feature	memoir	dotfiles managers	ai-rulez	memories.sh
MCP memory layer	6 tools	No	No	No
AI memory sync	11 tools	No	18 tools	3 tools
Cross-tool recall	Yes	No	No	No
Workspace sync	Yes	No	No	No
Session handoff	Yes	No	No	No
AI-powered migration	Yes	No	No	No
E2E encryption	Yes	No	No	No
Secret scanning	Yes	Some	No	No
Cross-platform remap	Yes	Some	No	No
Cloud backup	Yes	No	No	Yes ($15/mo)
Profiles	Yes	No	No	No
Free & open source	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

Common Workflows

Your AI remembers across sessions

# Monday — you explain your auth setup to Claude
# ...Claude calls memoir_remember to save the decision

# Thursday — new conversation
you: "add a protected route"
# Claude calls memoir_recall, finds your auth architecture
# No re-explaining needed

New machine setup

npm install -g memoir-cli && memoir init && memoir restore -y
# Done. Everything's back.

Switching AI tools

memoir migrate --from chatgpt --to claude
# Your custom instructions become a proper CLAUDE.md

Team onboarding

# Senior dev pushes team config
memoir push --profile team

# New hire runs one command
memoir restore --profile team
# Every project cloned. Every AI tool configured. Day one productive.

Security

• E2E encryption — AES-256-GCM with scrypt key derivation
• Secret scanning — 20+ patterns detect API keys, tokens, passwords, connection strings
• Auto-redaction — secrets stripped from session handoffs before sync
• No credentials synced — .env files, auth tokens, and API keys are never included
• Passphrase verified — wrong passphrase caught before decrypt attempt
• Local MCP server — runs on your machine, no data sent to external services

Requirements

• Node.js >= 18
• Git (for workspace sync)
• Works on macOS, Windows, Linux

Contributing

Contributions welcome — especially new tool adapters and MCP improvements.

1. Fork the repo
2. Create your branch (git checkout -b feature/my-feature)
3. Commit and push
4. Open a PR

Links

• Website: memoir.sh
• npm: memoir-cli
• Blog: memoir.sh/blog
• Issues: GitHub Issues

License

MIT