Central Intelligence vs Nautilus Compass

A side-by-side look at the Central Intelligence and Nautilus Compass MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.

Central Intelligence logoCentral IntelligenceKnowledge & Memory · Local subprocess (stdio)Persistent memory for AI agents. Five tools (remember, recall, context, forget, share) with semantic search via vector embeddings and agent/user/org scoping. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and any MCP client.51GoodAuth: api key requiredNautilus Compass logoNautilus CompassKnowledge & Memory · Local subprocess (stdio)Drift-aware cross-agent memory · MCP/A2A · LongMemEval-S 56.6% · 1/15 Zep cost47FairAuth: not declared

Verdict: choose Central Intelligence for knowledge & memory work as a local process; choose Nautilus Compass for knowledge & memory as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.

Which MCP server should you choose?

Central Intelligence logoChoose Central Intelligence when

  • You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
  • You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
  • Its auth model fits you: API key required.
  • You have the keys it needs: CI_API_KEY.
Explore Central Intelligence

Nautilus Compass logoChoose Nautilus Compass when

  • You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
  • You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
Explore Nautilus Compass

Feature & specification comparison

Rows where the two servers differ are marked.

SpecCentral Intelligence logoCentral IntelligenceNautilus Compass logoNautilus Compass
CategoryKnowledge & MemoryKnowledge & Memory
Quality signal51/100 · Good47/100 · Fair
Install commandConfirmedConfirmed
TransportLocal subprocess (stdio)Local subprocess (stdio)
AuthAPI key requiredNot declared
PricingFreemiumNot declared
Required env varsCI_API_KEYNone listed
Verified ownerCommunity listingCommunity listing
GitHub stars31,256
Directory activity 3 views 0 installs 0 upvotes 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes
ToolsNot listedNot listed

Tools & capabilities

Central Intelligence tools

No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.

Nautilus Compass tools

No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.

Ready-to-paste client configs

Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.

Central Intelligence

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alekseimarchenko-central-intelligence": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "central-intelligence-local"
      ],
      "env": {
        "CI_API_KEY": "YOUR_CI_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Nautilus Compass

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nautilus-compass": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "nautilus-compass"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Frequently asked questions

Central Intelligence is categorized under Knowledge & Memory and uses a local stdio subprocess. Nautilus Compass belongs to Knowledge & Memory and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Central Intelligence for knowledge & memory work and Nautilus Compass for knowledge & memory.

Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.

Central Intelligence is listed as freemium — a free tier with paid plans. Auth: api key required. Nautilus Compass has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.

Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add alekseimarchenko-central-intelligence and nautilus-compass as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.

On AllMCPs, Central Intelligence has a quality signal of 51/100 (Good) with 3 views, 0 installs and 3 GitHub stars. Nautilus Compass has 47/100 (Fair) with 1 views, 0 installs and 1,256 GitHub stars.