Magnemo vs Basic Memory

Your memory lives on your computer, in plain files you can open.

IN THE TREE: test_the_network_line_passes_on_the_package_and_fails_on_a_planted_import · test_free_tier_stdlib_only

Both, local-first. "All knowledge is represented in standard Markdown files and the database serves as a secondary index." Default folder "~/basic-memory"; SQLite index locally. Cloud: "We host (Tigris S3)".

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The only write verb. Lands in _staging/ as a memory candidate; never touches canon.

IN THE TREE: test_lists_exactly_four_tools · test_promotion_is_not_a_tool · test_the_author_is_the_seat_and_a_keyholder_claim_is_refused

Both. "AI and humans write to the same files; sync keeps them in step." Assistants write via MCP write_note.

[2][5]

Agent writes NEVER reach canonical stores directly — staging only, always.

IN THE TREE: test_staging_is_the_only_note_write_path · test_retrieve_excludes_staged

No built-in approval. AI guide: "Capture important decisions, findings, and context as notes with write_note during the conversation — don't wait to be asked." Any prompt depends on the client (README: Codex asks for destructive operations).

[2][6]

Every note is markdown with provenance frontmatter (author, written, source, status, reviewed_by, supersedes, strength).

IN THE TREE: test_stage_lands_in_staging_with_provenance_and_salience · test_paperless_and_malformed_notes_refused · governance.promote

Frontmatter fields in their example: title, type, tags, permalink, created, modified. "You can add any fields you want"; author is one they name. Per-edit author and source lineage: not stated in their docs (read 2026-10-02); history comes from git or cloud file history.

[7][4]

Anything that speaks MCP over stdio mounts the same way.

IN THE TREE: test_connect_and_list_over_stdio

Clients: Claude, Claude Code, Codex, ChatGPT, Gemini CLI, Cursor, VS Code, Obsidian. Export: "Export to local Markdown any time — same files, same format, same wikilinks."

[8][2]

Python 3.11+, zero dependencies, Apache-2.0.

IN THE TREE: LICENSE

AGPL-3.0

[1][2]