Basic Memory MCP Server: Markdown Notes Your AI Remembers

• Creates a note

  Creates a Markdown note in a project, or replaces one if you allow overwriting. It can add observations and relations so the note joins your knowledge graph.

  Try: “Save a note called Q3 plan with these decisions.”

  Write · bm_write

• Reads a note

  Reads a note or file by path, link, memory:// address or exact title. It can return just one section or a range of lines of a long note.

  Try: “Read my note on the auth design.”

  Read · bm_read

• Changes part of a note

  Edits an existing note by appending, prepending, replacing text or a section, inserting near a heading, or updating its frontmatter.

  Try: “Add a Decisions section to the Q3 plan note.”

  Write · bm_edit

• Moves or renames a note

  Moves or renames a note or a folder within the same project. It refuses to move across projects.

  Try: “Move the old roadmap note into the archive folder.”

  Write · bm_move

• Deletes a note or folder

  Deletes one note, or a whole folder when recursive is set. It cannot be undone, and an expected checksum guards against deleting a note that changed.

  Try: “Delete the draft note called scratch.”

  Delete · bm_delete

• Searches your notes

  Searches a project ranked by relevance, by keywords, meaning or both. It can filter by frontmatter, note type and date, and return matching lines.

  Try: “Find notes where we talked about rate limits.”

  Read · bm_search

• Lists a folder

  Lists the subfolders and files of one project folder with title, date and ID, with optional glob and sort.

  Try: “List what is in my meetings folder.”

  Read · bm_list

• Finds files recursively

  Finds files by name pattern or by frontmatter values across a project, and can return only chosen frontmatter fields.

  Try: “Find all notes with status active.”

  Read · bm_find

• Follows links between notes

  Starts at a note and follows its observations and relations up to five hops, so the assistant can recall connected context. It can return the graph without note bodies.

  Try: “Pull the context around the billing redesign note.”

  Read · bm_context

• Lists, creates or reviews projects

  Lists your projects, creates a new one at a path, or shows what changed recently in a project.

  Try: “What changed in my work project this week?”

  Write · bm_project

• Opt-in: removes a project

  Off by default, so the default install has 12 tools. Once you set BASIC_MEMORY_ENABLE_PROJECT_DELETE to true, it removes a project from Basic Memory. The files stay on disk unless you also ask to delete the notes.

  Try: “Remove the old-experiments project but keep the files.”

  Delete · bm_project_delete

• Validates note structure

  Checks notes against a schema, infers a schema from existing notes, or reports drift between notes and their schema.

  Try: “Check that all my meeting notes follow the meeting schema.”

  Read · bm_schema

• Reads the built-in manual

  Reads Basic Memory's own manual pages, including the contract for each tool, or searches them for a word.

  Try: “Look up how bm_search handles filters.”

  Read · bm_man

Watch out for

• It can delete notes and whole folders

  The delete tool removes a note or, with the recursive option, every file under a folder, and the tool says it cannot be undone. Back up your notes folder. github.com

• It can overwrite and rewrite notes

  The write and edit tools change note files, and write replaces a note only when overwriting is allowed. Ask the assistant to read a note before editing it. github.com

• Project deletion is off by default

  A tool that removes whole projects is hidden unless you set BASIC_MEMORY_ENABLE_PROJECT_DELETE to true. Leave it unset. github.com

• Installed copies update themselves

  The README says command-line installs check for updates every 24 hours and apply them silently, except uvx runs. Set auto_update to false in the config file to stop this. github.com

• Anonymous usage events exist

  The README says it sends minimal events about cloud promos and logins, and no note content. Set BASIC_MEMORY_NO_PROMOS=1 to turn this off. github.com

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