Contextforge MCP vs Penfield MCP

In-depth architectural comparison of the Contextforge MCP and Penfield MCP MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Contextforge MCP when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: API Key required (Freemium).
• You have access to required keys: CONTEXTFORGE_API_KEY.
• Primary tools included: memory_ingest, memory_query, memory_list_items.

Explore Contextforge MCP Details

Choose Penfield MCP when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: OAuth 2.0 (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: Persistent memory across sessions, Hybrid BM25, vector, and graph search, Knowledge graph with 24 relationship types.

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Contextforge MCP alfredoizdev Knowledge & Memory	Penfield MCP penfieldlabs Knowledge & Memory
Summary	Persistent memory for Claude Code, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot via MCP. Semantic search, Git commit/PR sync, project-based organization, team collaboration. Free tier available. npx contextforge-mcp	Penfield: persistent memory with hybrid search (BM25 + vector + graph), 24 relationship types for knowledge graphs, context checkpoints for cognitive handoff, artifact storage, and personality system. Works across Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and any MCP client.
Category & Scope

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alfredoizdev-contextforge-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "contextforge-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "CONTEXTFORGE_API_KEY": "YOUR_CONTEXTFORGE_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "penfieldlabs-penfield-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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