Mem0 Plugin for Claude Code, Claude Cowork, Cursor & Codex

Add persistent memory to your AI workflows. Store, retrieve, and manage memories across sessions using the Mem0 Platform. Works with Claude Code (CLI), Claude Cowork (desktop app), Cursor, and Codex.

Quick path for agents

If you're an AI agent setting up Mem0 autonomously (no human dashboard signup available), run:

mem0 init --agent --json

This mints an evaluation API key in <5 seconds — no email, no OTP, no browser. The key is written to your config and exported as MEM0_API_KEY for the current shell. Use it immediately against the Mem0 Platform or the MCP server. The human owner can later run mem0 init --email <their-email> to claim ownership: memories transfer, the same API key keeps working, and the agent isn't disrupted.

Humans setting up Mem0 by hand should continue with Step 1 below.

Step 1: Set your API key

You must complete this step before installing the plugin.

1. Sign up at app.mem0.ai if you haven't already

2. Go to app.mem0.ai/dashboard/api-keys

3. Click Create API Key and copy the key (starts with m0-)

4. Add it to your shell profile:

   bashCopy

   # For zsh (default on macOS)
   echo 'export MEM0_API_KEY="m0-your-api-key"' >> ~/.zshrc
   source ~/.zshrc
   
   # For bash
   echo 'export MEM0_API_KEY="m0-your-api-key"' >> ~/.bashrc
   source ~/.bashrc
   

5. Confirm it's set:

   bashCopy

   echo $MEM0_API_KEY
   # Should print: m0-your-api-key
   

Step 2: Install the plugin

Choose one of the options below. All require MEM0_API_KEY to be set first (see above).

Claude Code (CLI) / Claude Cowork (Desktop)

Claude Code and Claude Cowork share the same plugin system.

CLI:

/plugin marketplace add mem0ai/mem0
/plugin install mem0@mem0-plugins

Cowork desktop app: Open the Cowork tab, click Customize in the sidebar, click Browse plugins, and install Mem0.

This installs the full plugin including the MCP server, lifecycle hooks (automatic memory capture), and the Mem0 SDK skill.

Codex

Option A — Direct MCP (fastest, MCP only):

Codex reads MCP servers from ~/.codex/config.toml as TOML. Add:

[mcp_servers.mem0]
url = "https://mcp.mem0.ai/mcp"
bearer_token_env_var = "MEM0_API_KEY"

Export MEM0_API_KEY in your shell and restart Codex. codex mcp add only supports stdio servers, so HTTP servers like Mem0's must be added via config.toml directly (or via the Plugins → Connect to a custom MCP → Streamable HTTP UI in the Codex app).

Option B — Sideload the plugin (full experience: MCP + skills + opt-in hooks):

Clone the repo and register the bundled marketplace with one CLI call:

git clone https://github.com/mem0ai/mem0.git ~/codex-plugins/mem0-source
codex plugin marketplace add ~/codex-plugins/mem0-source

This points Codex at the repo's .agents/plugins/marketplace.json, which references mem0-plugin/ as the local source. Restart Codex, run /plugins, and install Mem0 from the Mem0 Plugins marketplace.

Don't combine with Option A. The plugin manifest auto-registers mem0 as an MCP server via mem0-plugin/.codex-mcp.json — adding a manual [mcp_servers.mem0] block would duplicate the registration.

Optional — enable lifecycle hooks. Codex doesn't auto-wire hooks from plugin manifests; it only reads ~/.codex/hooks.json (or <repo>/.codex/hooks.json) (docs). Run the bundled installer once to merge Mem0's entries:

python3 ~/codex-plugins/mem0-source/mem0-plugin/scripts/install_codex_hooks.py

This merges three entries into ~/.codex/hooks.json with absolute paths pointing into your clone:

Re-running the installer is idempotent (replaces the Mem0 entries rather than duplicating) and preserves any other hooks you have. To remove: python3 .../install_codex_hooks.py --uninstall. If you move or delete the clone directory, re-run the installer from the new location — the hooks file stores absolute paths.

Codex hooks also require the codex_hooks feature flag in ~/.codex/config.toml:

[features]
codex_hooks = true

The installer prints a reminder if the flag isn't set. Restart Codex after editing the config.

Managing the plugin:

codex plugin marketplace upgrade               # pull latest plugin versions
codex plugin marketplace remove mem0-plugins   # unregister the marketplace

Cursor

Already have mem0 configured as an MCP server? Remove the existing entry from your Cursor MCP settings before installing to avoid duplicate tools.

Option A — One-click deeplink (installs MCP server only):

Install Mem0 MCP in Cursor

Option B — Manual configuration (MCP server only):

Add the following to your .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mem0": {
      "url": "https://mcp.mem0.ai/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Token ${env:MEM0_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Option C — Cursor Marketplace (full plugin with hooks and skills):

Install from the Cursor Marketplace for the complete experience including lifecycle hooks and the Mem0 SDK skill.

Post-Installation: Run /mem0:onboard

After installing, start a new session and run:

/mem0:onboard

This runs the setup wizard which:

1. Verifies your API key and MCP connection
2. Detects and imports project files (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, .cursorrules)
3. Installs coding-optimized memory categories
4. Shows your identity (user ID, project scope, branch)

The onboarding is idempotent — safe to re-run anytime. On first session in a new project (0 memories), Claude is prompted to run it automatically.

Verify it works

After onboarding, confirm everything is connected:

1. Run /mem0:health to check connectivity
2. Run /mem0:stats to see memory counts
3. Try /mem0:remember "we use TypeScript" then /mem0:tour to see it stored

Available Skills

The plugin includes 17 skills accessible via /mem0: commands:

What's included

• MCP Server — Connects to the Mem0 remote MCP server (mcp.mem0.ai), providing tools to add, search, update, and delete memories. No local dependencies required.
• Lifecycle Hooks — Automatic memory capture at key points. Claude Code and Cursor wire hooks up natively when the plugin is installed (session start, context compaction, task completion, session end). Codex hooks are opt-in via a one-time installer (scripts/install_codex_hooks.py) that writes entries into ~/.codex/hooks.json for SessionStart, UserPromptSubmit, and Stop.
• Mem0 SDK Skill — Guides the AI on how to integrate the Mem0 SDK (Python & TypeScript) into your applications.

Updating the plugin

When the plugin updates (new version pulled from the marketplace, or a fresh local install), the MCP server connection in your existing Claude Code / Cursor / Codex session is left holding a stale handle and stops responding. Restart your client to reconnect:

• Claude Code: run /restart in the prompt, or close and reopen the CLI.
• Cursor: quit and relaunch.
• Codex: restart the editor session.

Your MEM0_API_KEY doesn't need to be re-entered — the auth header is re-read from your environment on the new session. The plugin's MCP config uses ${MEM0_API_KEY} interpolation at session start, not at install time, so as long as the env var is set persistently (in your shell profile or ~/.claude/settings.json env block), reconnection is automatic on restart.

If reconnection still fails after a restart, check that MEM0_API_KEY is reachable in the new shell (echo $MEM0_API_KEY) and confirm you're using a key that starts with m0- (from https://app.mem0.ai/dashboard/api-keys, not a legacy token).

Optional: tune categories for coding workflows

mem0 auto-tags every memory with one or more categories from a project-level list. The default list is consumer-oriented (food, hobbies, music …) — useful for chat assistants, less so for code. A one-shot script in this plugin replaces it with a coding-focused taxonomy:

# Dry-run first -- prints current vs proposed, no changes:
python mem0-plugin/scripts/setup_coding_categories.py

# Actually write:
python mem0-plugin/scripts/setup_coding_categories.py --apply

Requires the mem0ai Python SDK (pip install mem0ai) and MEM0_API_KEY set. New memories will then auto-tag against architecture_decisions, anti_patterns, task_learnings, tooling_setup, bug_fixes, coding_conventions, user_preferences. Re-run with a different list any time; project.update(custom_categories=[...]) always replaces.

MCP Tools

Once installed, the following tools are available:

License

Apache-2.0