Cognee vs Total Agent Memory
A side-by-side look at the Cognee and Total Agent Memory MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Cognee for knowledge & memory work as a local process; choose Total Agent Memory 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 Cognee 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.
Choose Total Agent Memory when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
TAM_MEMORY_DIR.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge & Memory | Knowledge & Memory |
| Quality signal | 55/100 · Good | 44/100 · 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 | TAM_MEMORY_DIR |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 32,581 | 73 |
| Directory activity | 5 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | Not listed |
| Full listing | View Cognee | View Total Agent Memory |
Tools & capabilities
Cognee tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Total Agent Memory 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.
Cognee
{
"mcpServers": {
"topoteretes-cognee": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"cognee"
]
}
}
}
Total Agent Memory
{
"mcpServers": {
"total-agent-memory": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"total-agent-memory"
],
"env": {
"TAM_MEMORY_DIR": "YOUR_TAM_MEMORY_DIR_HERE"
}
}
}
}