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Mem0 for Claude Code

integrations/claude-code-plugin/README.md

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Mem0 for Claude Code

Persistent cross-session memory for Claude Code, plus a Sonnet sidekick agent for delegated work.

Claude Code forgets everything between sessions. This plugin fixes that: hooks capture session details locally, a background worker turns them into Mem0 memories, and Claude automatically gets the relevant ones back at the start of later sessions.

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.10+ and Git.
  • A Claude Code version that supports plugin agents, worktree isolation for agents, and the SubagentStart, SubagentStop, and PostToolUseFailure hook events.
  • A Mem0 Platform API key (starts with m0-).

Install

bash
export MEM0_API_KEY='your-mem0-api-key'
claude plugin marketplace add mem0ai/mem0
claude plugin install mem0@mem0-plugins --scope user --config api_key="$MEM0_API_KEY"
unset MEM0_API_KEY

Restart Claude Code (or run /reload-plugins), then open a Git repository and work normally.

To update:

bash
claude plugin marketplace update mem0-plugins
claude plugin update mem0@mem0-plugins --scope user

To remove:

bash
claude plugin uninstall mem0@mem0-plugins

For local development, load the current checkout directly:

bash
claude --plugin-dir .

How it works

Memory

  1. Capture. Hooks save the main agent's activity locally: user messages, Claude's answers, changed file paths, and short test/build results. No model calls, no blocking. Sidekick output is excluded.

  2. Flush. After every five completed exchanges, a detached background worker sends that batch to Mem0. Large exchanges flush sooner. Ending or compacting the session flushes anything remaining. If idle, an auto-flush runs after five minutes (configurable with MEM0_CODE_IDLE_FLUSH_SECONDS). The worker survives Claude Code exiting.

  3. Extract. Each flush sends a single add call with agent_id (the project identity), user_id (you), app_id (the repository), and run_id (the session). Mem0 classifies each extracted memory as either:

    • Shared project memory (agent_id): one namespace per repo, scoped by app_id. Stores conventions, decisions, constraints, working commands, and failed commands with their fixes. Everyone on the repo reads and writes the same pool. Never carries a user_id. Directory information is stored in metadata for directory-scoped searches.
    • Personal memory (user_id): your preferred tools, style, habits, and anything you asked to be remembered. Scoped to the repo by app_id. Private to you.
  4. Recall. On the next session's first prompt, the plugin searches automatically and supplies up to five relevant memories. No model is called to write the query.

After that first search, Claude can call search_memories with a specific question, and you can run /mem0:search yourself. Explicit searches return up to 3 results by default (configurable to 20), capped at 4,000 characters.

Sonnet sidekick agent

mem0:sidekick is a Sonnet coding agent that runs in a separate Git worktree. It can investigate, implement, test, debug, or review something instead of the main (Opus/Fable) session doing the same work, reducing cost when the main agent doesn't need to repeat it.

The main agent reviews the result. Corrections go back to the same sidekick so it keeps what it learned. Changes stay in the sidekick's worktree until the main agent reviews and copies them over.

Mem0 never blocks normal Claude Code work when a hook fails. It does not proxy Claude traffic, rewrite tool output, edit CLAUDE.md, force Claude to use the sidekick, or change how Claude implements the user's request.

Use

Work in Claude Code normally. Memory is captured and recalled automatically.

text
/mem0:search Why does the ODS serializer keep dates timezone-naive?
/mem0:search What parser failures were fixed? --top-k 5 --category problems_and_fixes
/mem0:search Do I prefer pnpm or npm? --scope mine

To use the sidekick:

text
Ask Mem0's sidekick to investigate and implement this in its separate worktree.
Review its result and send any corrections back to the same sidekick.

By default the worktree branches from the repo's default branch. Set worktree.baseRef to "head" in your Claude settings to branch from the current commit instead. Uncommitted changes are not copied into the sidekick's worktree.

Commands

CommandWhat it does
/mem0:searchSearch memories from earlier sessions. Accepts --top-k <n>, --category <name>, and --scope <repo|dir|mine>.
/mem0:statusCheck config, capture state, pending flushes, and API key validity.
/mem0:forgetDelete your memories for this repo (shared project memory stays unless you pass --include-project-memory).
/mem0:pausePause memory capture.
/mem0:resumeResume capture after a pause.
/mem0:rememberTell Claude to capture something specific in its reply.

Categories for --category: project_knowledge, decisions_and_constraints, workflows, problems_and_fixes, results.

Search scope

ScopeWhat you get
repo (default)All project memory across every subdirectory, plus your preferences
dirProject memory from the current directory (and children), plus your preferences
mineYour personal preferences only

Set the default with the search_scope setting or MEM0_CODE_SEARCH_SCOPE. Pass --run-id <session-id> to see only what one specific session recorded.

Settings

SettingDefaultWhat it controls
api_keyrequiredMem0 Platform API key
user_idlocal account nameUser ID for memory storage. Resolved from: setting, MEM0_CODE_USER_ID, MEM0_USER_ID, MEM0_RESOLVED_USER_ID, $USER, %USERNAME%, then default. Set explicitly to share across machines.
top_k3Max memories per explicit search (1 to 20)
max_context_chars4000Max characters returned per search (1,000 to 10,000)
search_scoperepoDefault scope: repo, dir, or mine

What is stored and sent

Local data lives in ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}:

  • api-key: the configured Mem0 key (readable only by the local user)
  • evidence.sqlite3: session details and records of memory creation/search
  • pending/: sessions waiting to be sent to Mem0 (retried after interruption)
  • flush-worker.log: whether memory creation succeeded
  • plugin-errors.log: hook errors (no credentials)
  • telemetry.jsonl / telemetry-identity.json: anonymous usage events

Mem0 receives each block of user messages, Claude's answers, the sidekick's answer, and changed file paths. Complete files and general tool output stay on your machine. Values that look like credentials are redacted before anything is sent.

Telemetry

Anonymous usage events (which hook ran, timing, result counts, failure types) so Mem0 can identify what's used and what's breaking. Repo and session IDs are hashed before leaving your machine. Prompts, memory text, file paths, tool output, and API keys are never sent.

Turn it off:

bash
export MEM0_TELEMETRY=false

Five-minute memory test

Run this in a Git repository after installing:

  1. Tell Claude:

    text
    Remember for future work that this repository's acceptance marker is cobalt-orchid-731.
    
  2. End the session. Start a new one in the same repo and run:

    text
    /mem0:search What is the acceptance marker?
    
  3. Check that the result contains cobalt-orchid-731.

Memory creation runs in the background. If the first search is empty, wait a moment and try again.

Upgrading from 0.2.x

Breaking update. Memories carry over, most local config does not.

  • Memories carry over. Same user and repo scoping, including ~/.mem0/project_map.json.
  • Old memories searchable, not by category. Category filters only work on new memories.
  • Commands replaced. Old commands replaced by /mem0:search, /mem0:status, /mem0:forget, /mem0:pause, /mem0:resume, /mem0:remember.
  • MCP server replaced. Nine read/write tools replaced by the single read-only search_memories tool.
  • ~/.mem0/settings.json ignored. All keys stop applying: auto_save, auto_search, search_limit, confidence_threshold, retention_session_days, global_search, debug.
  • Per-project mem0.md files ignored.
  • Most MEM0_* env vars ignored. Only MEM0_API_KEY, MEM0_USER_ID, MEM0_RESOLVED_USER_ID, and MEM0_PROJECT_ID are still read. Run /mem0:status to see what is active.

Troubleshooting

ProblemFix
Missing keyReinstall with --config api_key="$MEM0_API_KEY" while the var is set.
401 UnauthorizedAPI key is invalid or expired. Run /mem0:status.
No memory after ending a sessionExtraction runs in the background. Wait a moment, then search again.
Sidekick won't startMust be in a Git repo with a Claude Code version supporting plugin agents and worktrees.
Remove the pluginclaude plugin uninstall mem0@mem0-plugins

Development checks

Run from integrations/claude-code-plugin/:

bash
python3 -m pytest tests -q
python3 -m ruff check .
claude plugin validate --strict .