AI

Installation

Installation Guide

Quick Start

Option 1: npx (Recommended)

Install and configure Claude-Mem with a single command:
npx claude-mem install
The interactive installer will:
  • Detect your installed IDEs (Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, etc.)
  • Copy plugin files to the correct locations
  • Register the plugin with Claude Code
  • Install all dependencies (including Bun and uv)
  • Auto-start the worker service

Option 2: Plugin Marketplace

Install Claude-Mem directly from the plugin marketplace inside Claude Code:
/plugin marketplace add thedotmack/claude-mem
/plugin install claude-mem
Both methods will automatically configure hooks and start the worker service. Start a new Claude Code session and you’ll see context from previous sessions automatically loaded.

Important: Claude-Mem is published on npm, but running npm install -g claude-mem installs the SDK/library only. It does not register plugin hooks or start the worker service. Always install via npx claude-mem install or the /plugin commands above.

System Requirements

  • Node.js: 18.0.0 or higher
  • Claude Code: Latest version with plugin support
  • Bun: JavaScript runtime and process manager (auto-installed if missing)
  • SQLite 3: For persistent storage (bundled)

Advanced Installation

For development or testing, you can clone and build from source:

Clone and Build

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem.git
cd claude-mem

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build hooks and worker service
npm run build

# Worker service will auto-start on first Claude Code session
# Or manually start with:
npm run worker:start

# Verify worker is running
npm run worker:status

Post-Installation Verification

1. Automatic Dependency Installation

Dependencies are installed automatically during plugin installation. The SessionStart hook also ensures dependencies are up-to-date on each session start (this is fast and idempotent). Works cross-platform on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

2. Verify Plugin Installation

Check that hooks are configured in Claude Code:
cat plugin/hooks/hooks.json

3. Data Directory Location

Data is stored in `~/.claude-mem/`:
  • Database: ~/.claude-mem/claude-mem.db
  • PID file: ~/.claude-mem/.worker.pid
  • Port file: ~/.claude-mem/.worker.port
  • Logs: ~/.claude-mem/logs/worker-YYYY-MM-DD.log
  • Settings: ~/.claude-mem/settings.json Override with environment variable:
export CLAUDE_MEM_DATA_DIR=/custom/path

4. Check Worker Logs

npm run worker:logs

5. Test Context Retrieval

npm run test:context

Upgrading

Upgrades are automatic when updating via the plugin marketplace. Key changes in recent versions: **v7.1.0**: PM2 replaced with native Bun process management. Migration is automatic on first hook trigger. **v7.0.0+**: 11 configuration settings, dual-tag privacy system. **v5.4.0+**: Skill-based search replaces MCP tools, saving ~2,250 tokens per session. See [CHANGELOG](https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md) for complete version history.

Next Steps