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Quickstart Guide

Get a fully functional AI memory system in one command. No 26-step manual setup.

See It In Action

Terminal

3 Steps — That's It

1
Install
pip install neural-memory
Python 3.11+, works on Windows, Linux, macOS.
2
Set Up Everything
nmem init --full
Config, brain, MCP, hooks, embeddings, dedup — all automatic.
3
Restart Your IDE
Restart Claude Code, Cursor, or your MCP client.
Your brain is live. Start talking.

What You Get

46 MCP tools
11 diagnostic checks
3 auto-installed hooks
Semantic search via embeddings
Duplicate detection

Verify Your Setup

Run nmem doctor to see if everything is healthy:

Terminal

Something wrong? Run nmem doctor --fix to auto-remediate hooks, dedup, and embedding issues.

Core Features

🧠
Remember
Store memories with type, priority, and tags. Rich context creates strong neural connections.
nmem_remember("chose Redis over Memcached because...")
🔍
Recall
Retrieve by meaning, not keywords. Spreading activation finds related memories across your graph.
nmem_recall("caching strategy")
🩺
Doctor
11 diagnostic checks. Auto-fix with --fix. Know exactly what's configured and what's missing.
📄
Knowledge Surface
A .nm file loaded every session — working memory. Depth-aware routing skips the database when the surface is sufficient.

What --full Does (Under The Hood)

Step What Why
Config Creates ~/.neuralmemory/config.toml Central settings for brain, embedding, dedup
Brain Creates default.db SQLite database Your memory graph lives here
MCP Registers in Claude Code + Cursor AI tools can use your brain
Hooks Installs PreCompact, Stop, PostToolUse Captures memories automatically
Embeddings Auto-detects best provider Semantic search (find by meaning)
Dedup Enables duplicate detection Prevents memory bloat
Maintenance Generates maintenance.sh/.ps1 Scheduled decay + consolidation

Without --full, run nmem init for the basics, then nmem setup embeddings separately.

Power User Features

Cognitive Reasoning

Build and test hypotheses across sessions:

nmem_hypothesize("Redis is better than Memcached for our read pattern")
nmem_evidence("mem_id", "supports", confidence=0.8)
nmem_predict("Latency will drop 40% after Redis migration", deadline="2026-04-01")
nmem_verify("prediction_id", outcome="correct")

Cloud Sync

Sync your brain across devices:

nmem sync push    # Upload to sync hub
nmem sync pull    # Download from sync hub

Background Maintenance

Keep your brain healthy automatically:

nmem serve -p 8765    # Start API server with auto-consolidation

Or use the generated maintenance script:

# Linux/macOS — add to crontab
crontab -e
0 3 * * * ~/.neuralmemory/maintenance.sh

# Windows — run via Task Scheduler
~\.neuralmemory\maintenance.ps1

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