Agentcairn vs Cogvault
A side-by-side look at the Agentcairn and Cogvault MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
C
CogvaultKnowledge & Memory · Local subprocess (stdio)Local hybrid-search memory for AI agents over plain Markdown. Multi-tenant, offline, no LLM.40FairAuth: not declaredVerdict: choose Agentcairn for knowledge & memory work as a local process; choose Cogvault 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?
Choose Agentcairn when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
search, recall, build_context.
CChoose Cogvault when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | C Cogvault | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge & Memory | Knowledge & Memory |
| Quality signal | 63/100 · Good | 40/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | No auth required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Free | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 65 | 1 |
| Directory activity | 3 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 5 | Not listed |
| Full listing | View Agentcairn | View Cogvault |
Tools & capabilities
Agentcairn tools 5
searchHybrid search over memory; returns a compact id+snippet index. Reranks by default (set CAIRN_RERANK=0 to disable, or pass rerank=false). Recall prefers your current project's memories (boosted, non-lossy): pass `project` (a repo name) to target another project, else the server's working directory is used. `scope="project"` hard-limits results to that project.recallSearch then hydrate the top-k notes' full text. Reranks by default (set CAIRN_RERANK=0 to disable, or pass rerank=false). Recall prefers your current project's memories (boosted, non-lossy): pass `project` (a repo name) to target another project, else the server's working directory is used. `scope="project"` hard-limits results to that project.build_contextReturn a note plus its 1-hop linked neighbors.recentList the most-recently-modified notes.rememberPersist a distilled memory (redacted, non-lossy) into the vault.
Cogvault 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.
Agentcairn
{
"mcpServers": {
"ccf-agentcairn": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"agentcairn"
]
}
}
}
Cogvault
{
"mcpServers": {
"cogvault": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"cogvault"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Agentcairn is categorized under Knowledge & Memory and uses a local stdio subprocess. Cogvault belongs to Knowledge & Memory and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Agentcairn for knowledge & memory work and Cogvault 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.
Agentcairn is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. Cogvault 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 ccf-agentcairn and cogvault as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Agentcairn has a quality signal of 63/100 (Good) with 3 views, 0 installs and 65 GitHub stars. Cogvault has 40/100 (Fair) with 0 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars.