Content
<p align="center">
<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/memlinkdotdev/cli/main/public/memlink.png" alt="Memlink Logo" width="200" />
</p>
<h1 align="center">Memlink</h1>
<p align="center">
<strong>Universal Memory for AI Agents</strong><br/>
Self-hosted · Fast · Organized
</p>
---
Memlink is a self-hosted MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that gives AI agents persistent, organized memory. One memory, one URL, any agent connects.
## Installation
[](#npm)
[](#pnpm)
[](#yarn)
[](#bun)
### npm
```bash
npm install -g @memlink/cli
```
### pnpm
```bash
pnpm install -g @memlink/cli
```
### Yarn
```bash
yarn global add @memlink/cli
```
### bun
```bash
bun install -g @memlink/cli
```
### From source
```bash
git clone https://github.com/memlinkdotdev/cli.git
cd memlink
bun install
npm run build
```
## Quick Start
```bash
memlink # Show system overview
memlink init my-project # Create a memory
memlink serve # Start MCP server
```
## Commands
| Command | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| `memlink` | System overview: server, memories, entries, size |
| `memlink init <name>` | Create a memory (alias: `create`). `--serve` auto-start server |
| `memlink delete <name\|id>` | Permanently delete a memory |
| `memlink ls` | List all memories (name, ID, size) |
| `memlink show <name\|id>` | Show full memory as Markdown + export to formats |
| `memlink serve` | Start MCP server. `--port`, `--host`, `--cors`, `--read-only`, `--daemon`, `--transport`, `--memory`, `--watch` |
| `memlink stop` | Stop the daemon server |
| `memlink status` | Check daemon server status |
| `memlink connect <name\|id>` | Show MCP config JSON + agent setup instructions |
| `memlink info <name\|id>` | Show memory details (name, ID, URL, stats) |
| `memlink export <name\|id>` | Export memory to configured formats (md/txt/html/json) |
| `memlink import <name\|id> <file>` | Import entries from a JSON file |
| `memlink config` | View or modify config (`get`, `set`) |
| `memlink skill` | Install agent skill. `--global` or `-g` for all projects |
| `memlink bug` | Open GitHub issue with pre-filled template |
| `memlink changelog` | Open changelog in browser (`localhost:4444/changelogs`) |
## Documentation
Full documentation in [/docs](/docs):
| Document | Description |
|----------|-------------|
| [Installation](/docs/installation.md) | npm, pnpm, yarn, bun, from source |
| [Quick Start](/docs/quickstart.md) | Get running in 2 minutes |
| [CLI Reference](/docs/cli.md) | All commands and flags |
| [MCP Server](/docs/server.md) | Server configuration, auth, transports |
| [MCP Tools](/docs/mcp-tools.md) | All MCP tool details |
| [Agent Setup](/docs/agent-setup.md) | Connect Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, etc. |
| [Skill](/docs/skill.md) | Agent skill installation |
| [Backups](/docs/backups.md) | Backup and restore |
| [Architecture](/docs/architecture.md) | How it works |
### Global flags
| Flag | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `-v, --version` | Show version with runtime info |
| `-h, --help` | Show help with examples and env vars |
## Environment Variables
| Variable | Description | Default |
|----------|-------------|---------|
| `MEMLINK_DIR` | Data directory | `~/.memlink` |
| `MEMLINK_PORT` / `PORT` | Server port | `4444` |
| `MEMLINK_HOST` / `HOST` | Server host | `localhost` |
## Architecture
```
~/.memlink/
├── settings.json # Global config (memories, port, host)
├── .serve.pid # Daemon PID (hidden)
│
└── test-memory/ # Per-memory directory
├── .lock # Write lock (hidden)
├── index.json # Index (titles only, no content)
├── 1.json # Entry 1
├── 2.json # Entry 2
│
└── .backups/ # Auto-backups on every write
└── 1_1717112345.json
```
Agents connect via MCP:
```
http://localhost:4444/mcp?id=MEMORY_ID
```
## MCP Tools
| Tool | Description | Params |
|------|-------------|--------|
| `memory_read` | Read index or specific entry | `id?`, `title?`, `full?` |
| `memory_edit` | Create or update an entry | `title`, `content`, `tags?` |
| `memory_search` | Search by query | `query` |
| `memory_sync` | Memory stats | — |
## Robustness
- **Atomic writes**: files written to `.tmp` then renamed — no corruption on crash
- **Auto-backups**: every edit creates a backup in `.backups/`
- **File lock**: concurrent writes serialized via `.lock` with 10s TTL + retry
- **TTY detection**: ASCII art and clipboard disabled in non-TTY (CI, Docker, pipes)
- **Safe clipboard**: clipboard failures handled silently
## Development
```bash
bun install # Install deps
npm run build # Build + type check
npm run dev:server # Server with hot reload
npm run dev:cli # CLI dev mode
npm run test # Run tests
npm run lint # ESLint
npm run format # Prettier
```
## Project Structure
```
src/
├── cli/index.ts # CLI entrypoint (commands)
├── cli/output.ts # Output formatting, colors, branding, skill template
├── server/index.ts # MCP server (Express + @modelcontextprotocol/sdk)
├── server/changelogs.ts # Changelog HTML renderer
├── core/
│ ├── storage.ts # Index+N.json CRUD, auto-backups, migration (new)
│ ├── lock.ts # .lock with TTL + withLock helper (new)
│ ├── memory.ts # Legacy CRUD, CLI helpers, config
│ └── types.ts # Types, constants, getMemlinkDir
tests/
├── memory.test.ts # Core memory unit tests
├── server.test.ts # MCP server integration tests
└── unit.test.ts # Additional unit tests
```
## CI/CD
```
bun test → bun run build → bun run format:check → bun run lint
```
Releases trigger on `v*` tags via PRs to `main` from `beta`. Publish manually: `npm publish --access public`.
## License
MIT License. See [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details.
