--- title: "claude-mem vs cognee" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/thedotmack-claude-mem-vs-topoteretes-cognee" tools: ["thedotmack-claude-mem", "topoteretes-cognee"] --- # claude-mem vs cognee Neutral, constraint-first comparison with live GitHub stats. | | [claude-mem](/tools/thedotmack-claude-mem.md) | [cognee](/tools/topoteretes-cognee.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Persistent Context Across Sessions for Every Agent | The Open-Source AI Memory Platform for Agents | | Stars | 86,377 | 27,329 | | Forks | 7,473 | 2,546 | | Open issues | 235 | 630 | | Language | JavaScript | Python | | Adopt for | Claude-Mem offers persistent context compression across sessions for multiple AI agents including Claude Code, OpenClaw, and Codex. It captures interactions during sessions, compresses the context using AI, and reintrodu | Cognee is an open-source AI memory platform that provides persistent long-term memory for AI agents using a self-hosted knowledge graph engine. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Claude-Mem is released under the Apache-2.0 license. | Apache-2.0 | | Categories | AI Agents, Data & Retrieval | AI Agents, Vector Databases | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [claude-mem](/tools/thedotmack-claude-mem.md) | [cognee](/tools/topoteretes-cognee.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Open issues (now) | 235 | 630 | | Owner type | User | Organization | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/thedotmack-claude-mem/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/topoteretes-cognee/trust.md) | **Typed relationship:** claude-mem _(alternative)_ cognee Both tools provide persistent memory solutions for AI agents, making them alternatives in solving the same problem. ## Decision facts: claude-mem - **Pricing:** freemium - The software itself is free to use due to its open-source nature, but there may be costs associated with the infrastructure it runs on or optional advanced services. - **Adopt for:** Claude-Mem offers persistent context compression across sessions for multiple AI agents including Claude Code, OpenClaw, and Codex. It captures interactions during sessions, compresses the context using AI, and reintrodu - **License detail:** Claude-Mem is released under the Apache-2.0 license. ## Decision facts: cognee - **Requirements:** Requires environment configuration to ingest data in any format and build a self-hosted knowledge graph. - **Adopt for:** Cognee is an open-source AI memory platform that provides persistent long-term memory for AI agents using a self-hosted knowledge graph engine. ## Choose when ### Choose claude-mem if… - claude-mem is primarily JavaScript; cognee is Python. - Pricing: The software itself is free to use due to its open-source nature, but there may be costs associated with the infrastructure it runs on or optional advanced services.. - Both tools provide persistent memory solutions for AI agents, making them alternatives in solving the same problem. - Tags unique to claude-mem: embeddings, artificial-intelligence, chromadb, ai-memory. - Also covers Data & Retrieval. - claude-mem ships an MCP server manifest. - - Use Claude-Mem when you need to maintain a consistent and detailed memory of interactions over time with agents such as Claude Code or OpenClaw. ### Choose cognee if… - cognee is primarily Python; claude-mem is JavaScript. - Requirements: Requires environment configuration to ingest data in any format and build a self-hosted knowledge graph.. - Both tools provide persistent memory solutions for AI agents, making them alternatives in solving the same problem. - Tags unique to cognee: vector-database, knowledge-graph, agent-memory. - Also covers Vector Databases. - You need to integrate robust, persistent long-term memory capabilities into your AI agents across multiple sessions. ## When NOT to use claude-mem - - Avoid using Claude-Mem if your application does not require persistent context storage between sessions or has a preference for manual control over interaction history management. - - Not recommended for users who are only interested in short-term interactions and do not need the feature of compressing session content for future sessions. ## When NOT to use cognee - If you seek immediate deployment without the need for setting up or managing a self-hosted service, as Cognee requires a managed environment to operate. - You are looking for a fully managed service with minimal operational overhead, since Cognee is an open-source platform requiring setup and maintenance. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between claude-mem and cognee? claude-mem: Persistent Context Across Sessions for Every Agent. cognee: The Open-Source AI Memory Platform for Agents. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose claude-mem over cognee? Choose claude-mem over cognee when claude-mem is primarily JavaScript; cognee is Python; Pricing: The software itself is free to use due to its open-source nature, but there may be costs associated with the infrastructure it runs on or optional advanced services.; Both tools provide persistent memory solutions for AI agents, making them alternatives in solving the same problem; Tags unique to claude-mem: embeddings, artificial-intelligence, chromadb, ai-memory; Also covers Data & Retrieval; claude-mem ships an MCP server manifest; - Use Claude-Mem when you need to maintain a consistent and detailed memory of interactions over time with agents such as Claude Code or OpenClaw. ### When should I choose cognee over claude-mem? Choose cognee over claude-mem when cognee is primarily Python; claude-mem is JavaScript; Requirements: Requires environment configuration to ingest data in any format and build a self-hosted knowledge graph.; Both tools provide persistent memory solutions for AI agents, making them alternatives in solving the same problem; Tags unique to cognee: vector-database, knowledge-graph, agent-memory; Also covers Vector Databases; You need to integrate robust, persistent long-term memory capabilities into your AI agents across multiple sessions. ### When should I avoid claude-mem? - Avoid using Claude-Mem if your application does not require persistent context storage between sessions or has a preference for manual control over interaction history management. - Not recommended for users who are only interested in short-term interactions and do not need the feature of compressing session content for future sessions. ### When should I avoid cognee? If you seek immediate deployment without the need for setting up or managing a self-hosted service, as Cognee requires a managed environment to operate. You are looking for a fully managed service with minimal operational overhead, since Cognee is an open-source platform requiring setup and maintenance. ### Is claude-mem or cognee more popular on GitHub? claude-mem has more GitHub stars (86,377 vs 27,329). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are claude-mem and cognee open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (claude-mem: Apache-2.0, cognee: Apache-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to claude-mem or cognee? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at /tools/thedotmack-claude-mem/alternatives and /tools/topoteretes-cognee/alternatives (/tools/thedotmack-claude-mem/alternatives.md, /tools/topoteretes-cognee/alternatives.md), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes. ### Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison? Yes. The markdown twin at /compare/thedotmack-claude-mem-vs-topoteretes-cognee.md mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, claude-mem or cognee? claude-mem: Very active. cognee: Very active. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance. ### Where are the full trust reports for claude-mem and cognee? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: claude-mem: /tools/thedotmack-claude-mem/trust; cognee: /tools/topoteretes-cognee/trust. --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=thedotmack-claude-mem`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=thedotmack-claude-mem) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_