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Engram: AI memory you can edit in Obsidian MCP Server

io.github.engram-app/engram

Shared memory for Claude and ChatGPT—edit your notes in Obsidian, your AI reads and writes them.

What is the Engram: AI memory you can edit in Obsidian MCP server?

Engram is an MCP server that provides shared memory between AI assistants and users through plain markdown notes. Your notes sync in real-time across Obsidian, a web app, and any MCP client, with semantic and keyword search capabilities. It's self-hostable, source-available, and built on Elixir/Phoenix.

Engram bridges your personal knowledge base with AI assistants by storing shared memory as plain markdown files. You edit notes in Obsidian or the web app; Claude, ChatGPT, and other MCP clients read and write to the same vault. It supports semantic search, real-time sync, and self-hosting with optional S3 storage and advanced embeddings.

How to install Engram: AI memory you can edit in Obsidian

Copy-paste configuration for popular MCP clients.

transport: http

Config generated by PluginBench — verify against the source before use.

~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "engram": {
      "url": "https://mcp.engram.page"
    }
  }
}

Tools & capabilities

Tools this server exposes to the agent.

Read notes — Retrieve and search notes from your vault using semantic and keyword search
Write notes — Create and edit notes that persist in your markdown vault
Sync vault — Real-time synchronization between Obsidian, web app, and MCP clients
Search (semantic + keyword) — Find notes using both semantic similarity and keyword matching

Use cases

Store conversation context and facts that Claude can reference across sessions
Build a personal knowledge base that both you and your AI assistants can read and edit
Maintain project notes, research, or decision logs that stay synchronized across tools
Use Obsidian as your primary editor while giving Claude direct access to your vault
Self-host your memory system on your own infrastructure for privacy

Engram: AI memory you can edit in Obsidian MCP server FAQ

What is Engram?

Engram is a shared memory system for AI assistants and users. Your notes are plain markdown stored in a vault; you edit them in Obsidian or a web app, and Claude, ChatGPT, or any MCP client can read and write to the same files.

Is Engram free?

Engram is dual-licensed. It's free under PolyForm Small Business 1.0.0 for organizations under $1M USD prior-year revenue and fewer than 100 employees. Larger organizations require a commercial license.

How do I use Engram with Claude or Cursor?

Connect the remote MCP server at https://mcp.engram.page, or self-host using Docker Compose. See the MCP setup docs at engram.page/docs/mcp/ for detailed configuration.

Do I need to self-host Engram?

No. You can use the remote server at https://mcp.engram.page, or self-host via Docker Compose for full control and privacy. Self-hosting requires filling in three environment secrets.

Can I use Engram with Obsidian?

Yes. Install the Engram Obsidian Sync plugin (github.com/engram-app/Engram-obsidian) to sync your entire vault in real-time between Obsidian and the Engram server.

What search features does Engram support?

Engram supports both semantic search (using embeddings) and keyword search. You can optionally switch to Voyage AI embeddings for better semantic results.

README (reference)

Source of truth, from the repository.

Engram

MCP-native · semantic + keyword search · real-time sync · self-hostable · source-available · Elixir/Phoenix

Quickstart · Self-host · MCP · API · Architecture · Plugin · Discord

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Your notes stay plain markdown that you and your AI assistants both read and write. Pairs with the Engram Obsidian Sync plugin to sync your whole vault.

Self-Host (Docker Compose)

Don't want to run the commands yourself? Open the Quickstart docs, select the whole page, and paste it into your AI assistant — it's written top-to-bottom as imperatives the AI can execute in order.

Otherwise:

git clone https://github.com/engram-app/Engram.git
cd Engram
cp .env.example .env       # then fill in the three secrets at the top
docker compose up -d

App at http://localhost:4000. Migrations run on boot. Only port 4000 is host-exposed; everything else stays on the private Docker network.

Large vaults? Enable MinIO for S3-style attachments: docker compose --profile s3 up -d — see storage docs.

Better embeddings? Switch to Voyage AI in .env — see embeddings docs.

Full self-host documentation

Topic	Link
Quickstart	https://engram.page/docs/self-host/quickstart/
Environment vars	https://engram.page/docs/self-host/environment-variables/
Encryption & keys	https://engram.page/docs/self-host/encryption/
Backup & restore	https://engram.page/docs/self-host/backup-restore/
Upgrades	https://engram.page/docs/self-host/upgrade/
Troubleshooting	https://engram.page/docs/self-host/troubleshooting/
Architecture	https://engram.page/docs/self-host/architecture/
MCP setup	https://engram.page/docs/mcp/
HTTP API	https://engram.page/docs/api/

Community

Questions, ideas, or bug reports? Join us on Discord.

Contributing

Local dev setup, tests, and PR rules: see CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

Dual-licensed:

PolyForm Small Business 1.0.0 — free for organizations under $1M USD prior-year revenue and < 100 employees + contractors.
Commercial License — required for larger orgs. See LICENSE-COMMERCIAL.md or email support@engram.page.

External contributions sign the Engram CLA. See CONTRIBUTING.md.

Security

See SECURITY.md for vulnerability disclosure. Self-host LAN deployments are out of scope of our published SLA — security depends on the operator's network and infra.

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