Cairn Remembers — Claude Code MCP server: setup guide
Keeps architectural choices, project notes, and discussion context inside a local SQLite vault. Helps AI agents retain background knowledge across restarts.
claude mcp add cairn-remembers -- uvx cairn-remembersWhat Cairn Remembers does
Cairn supplies coding assistants with persistent storage directly on your machine. Every entry sits in an SQLite database at ~/.cairn/. The engine uses an append-only log, marking obsolete entries as void rather than erasing them from history.
Integration splits into two distinct paths: passive session capture and interactive vault queries via MCP tools. The package requires Python 3.11 or higher. You can run the server directly through uvx without manual cloning.
Installing the complete package with dashboard features on Linux demands attention. If you omit the CPU-specific PyTorch repository flag during pip setup, the installer fetches an unnecessary multi-gigabyte CUDA package.
What it helps with
- share decisions and design rationale across separate chat sessions
- keep project history in a private local file without cloud sync
- track abandoned approaches and previous dead ends
- retain work state between different coding assistants
Example prompts for the agent
- Check Cairn notes to see why we rejected JWT tokens for session auth
- Save our conclusion about database indexing into Cairn memory
- Search previous sessions in Cairn for unfinished tasks in the API module
How to install Cairn Remembers
Platform CLI
claude mcp add cairn-remembers -- uvx cairn-remembersuvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from cairn-remembers <command>
Platform CLI
codex mcp add cairn-remembers -- uvx cairn-remembersuvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from cairn-remembers <command>
Config file
{
"mcpServers": {
"cairn-remembers": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"cairn-remembers"
]
}
}
}uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from cairn-remembers <command>
Config file
{
"servers": {
"cairn-remembers": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"cairn-remembers"
]
}
}
}uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from cairn-remembers <command>
Platform CLI
gemini mcp add cairn-remembers uvx cairn-remembersuvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from cairn-remembers <command>
Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to add an MCP server to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI and more
Questions about Cairn Remembers
How do I install Cairn Remembers in Claude Code?
Run claude mcp add cairn-remembers -- uvx cairn-remembers in your terminal. To enable automatic background capture of conversations, also run python -X utf8 -m cairn setup.
Where does Cairn save collected context?
All recorded notes remain inside a single SQLite file at ~/.cairn/. The server transmits no telemetry and works without external accounts.
What should Linux users know before running pip install?
Run pip install torch --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cpu before installing cairn-remembers[all]. Otherwise, pip pulls a massive GPU build of PyTorch.
