Hindsight MemPalace MCP Server

Self-hosted long-term memory for AI agents over MCP — hierarchical recall backed by pgvector

Local serverstdio

What is the Hindsight MemPalace MCP server?

Self-hosted long-term memory for AI agents over MCP — hierarchical recall backed by pgvector. That is what the hindsight mempalace mcp server brings to an AI assistant: the same capability, reachable through the Model Context Protocol rather than a separate app or dashboard.

The short version

API available at http://localhost:5100. Drop-in replacement for vanilla Hindsight — same API, same clients, new brain.

The tools it exposes

The server publishes 9 tools. What each one is for:

  • memory_retain — Save a memory with automatic room/hall classification
  • memory_recall — Scoped semantic search with room/hall/layer filters
  • memory_reflect — Deep reasoning — synthesize facts, find patterns, answer with citations
  • memory_compress — Create closet summaries from accumulated facts
  • memory_bridge — Cross-bank tunnels between related memories
  • Embeddings — Ships with BAAI/bge-small-en-v1.5 (384-dim) — fast, CPU-friendly, baked into the image so first run needs no network download. It's
  • Tools — The Tools tool exposed by this server
  • Setup — The Setup tool exposed by this server
  • Layers — The Layers tool exposed by this server

What it needs from you

Configuration is passed through the environment: HINDSIGHT_URL, MEMPALACE_BANK. Treat anything key-shaped as a real credential — scope it to the minimum the server needs, and rotate it if it ever lands in a shared config.

Getting it running

The server ships on npm as HINDSIGHT_URL, so your MCP client can launch it on demand — there is no separate build step. Add the server block to your client's configuration, restart it, and the tools register themselves.

How it compares

Among the knowledge and memory options, the useful question is rarely "what can it do" but "what does it cost you to run" — permissions, credentials, and how much of your context its toolset consumes. Hindsight MemPalace's toolset — memory_retain, memory_recall, memory_reflect and 6 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by holetron; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

This entry was verified against Hindsight MemPalace's own documentation before publication; SyncDev keeps the directory reviewed rather than auto-generated.

Things to watch

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • With 9 tools registered it takes up a noticeable share of the context window; turn it off in projects that never touch Hindsight MemPalace.
  • Missing credentials fail quietly in some clients — if no tools show up, check the environment block first.
  • Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
memory_retainSave a memory with automatic room/hall classification
memory_recallScoped semantic search with room/hall/layer filters
memory_reflectDeep reasoning — synthesize facts, find patterns, answer with citations
memory_compressCreate closet summaries from accumulated facts
memory_bridgeCross-bank tunnels between related memories
EmbeddingsShips with BAAI/bge-small-en-v1.5 (384-dim) — fast, CPU-friendly, baked into the image so first run needs no network download. It's **English-optimized**; recall quality on other languages degrades.
ToolsThe Tools tool exposed by this server.
SetupThe Setup tool exposed by this server.
LayersThe Layers tool exposed by this server.

How to install the Hindsight MemPalace MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hindsight-mempalace": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "HINDSIGHT_URL"],
      "env": {
        "HINDSIGHT_URL": "your-value",
        "MEMPALACE_BANK": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.

Configuration

VariableDescriptionRequired
HINDSIGHT_URLEndpoint or connection string the server talks to.Yes
MEMPALACE_BANKConfiguration value read at startup.Optional

Example prompts to try

  • Use Hindsight MemPalace to memory retain.
  • Use Hindsight MemPalace to memory recall.
  • Use Hindsight MemPalace to memory reflect.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Hindsight MemPalace to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 9 tools (memory_retain, memory_recall, memory_reflect, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Hindsight MemPalace directly.