AgentRecall vs Cognee
A side-by-side look at the AgentRecall and Cognee MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose AgentRecall for knowledge & memory work as a local process; choose Cognee for knowledge & memory. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose AgentRecall 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
session_start, remember, recall.
Choose Cognee when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You have the keys it needs:
LLM_API_KEY. - You want tools like
remember, recall, forget.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge & Memory | Knowledge & Memory |
| Quality signal | 68/100 · Great | 53/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Not confirmed yet |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | — |
| Auth | No auth required | No auth required |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Required env vars | None listed | LLM_API_KEY |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 371 | 32,674 |
| Directory activity | 5 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 5 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 5 | 4 |
| Full listing | View AgentRecall | View Cognee |
Tools & capabilities
AgentRecall tools 5
session_startLoads corrections, insights and `watch_for` warnings for the projectrememberSaves one fact; auto-routes to journal / palace room / corrections / awarenessrecallRanked search across every store (RRF), with `useful` feedback that re-weights future rankingcheckMatches the plan against known corrections; returns `verdict: "blocked"` when one overrides itsession_endWrites the journal, promotes insights, records trajectory, optionally opens/closes a pipeline phase
Cognee tools 4
rememberStore data in memory. Pass `data` for text, or `filename` + `content_base64` to ingest an uploaded file (up to 10 MB). With `session_id`: fast session cache (text only). Without `session_id`: permanent graph memoryrecallSearch memory with auto-routing. Searches session cache first when `session_id` is provided, then falls through to the permanent graphforgetDelete memory by dataset name or id, a single data item by `data_id` (paired with its `dataset_id`, both shown by `recall` with `include_references=True`), or delete all owned memory with `everything=True`cognify_statusCheck the progress of background ingestion started by `remember(background=True)`. Unadvertised by default; discoverable via `search_tools` and callable by name
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.
AgentRecall
{
"mcpServers": {
"goldentrii-agentrecall": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"agent-recall-mcp"
]
}
}
}
Cognee
No confirmed install command for Cognee yet — follow the setup steps linked from its listing page rather than a guessed package name.
Frequently asked questions
AgentRecall is categorized under Knowledge & Memory and uses a local stdio subprocess. Cognee belongs to Knowledge & Memory and uses an install path we have not confirmed yet. Pick AgentRecall for knowledge & memory work and Cognee 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. Cognee has no confirmed install command yet — follow its own setup instructions.
AgentRecall is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. Cognee is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. 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 goldentrii-agentrecall and topoteretes-cognee as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, AgentRecall has a quality signal of 68/100 (Great) with 5 views, 0 installs and 371 GitHub stars. Cognee has 53/100 (Good) with 5 views, 0 installs and 32,674 GitHub stars.