What is the key difference between Cortex Plugin and Vault Cortex?

Cortex Plugin belongs to the Knowledge & Memory category with local stdio execution, while Vault Cortex belongs to the Knowledge & Memory category with local stdio execution.

How do I install Cortex Plugin or Vault Cortex in Claude Desktop or Cursor?

Copy the mcpServers JSON configuration snippet provided on this page into your claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json file and restart your AI client.

Are Cortex Plugin and Vault Cortex free or paid?

Cortex Plugin operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required). Vault Cortex operates under a Free / Open Source model (OAuth 2.0).

Which MCP server has more tools and community activity?

Cortex Plugin lists 6 tools with 2 views and 31 GitHub stars. Vault Cortex lists 6 tools with 2 views and 19 GitHub stars.

Can I use both Cortex Plugin and Vault Cortex together in the same MCP host?

Yes! MCP hosts like Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, and VS Code support configuring multiple servers under the mcpServers object simultaneously.

Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison

Cortex Plugin vs Vault Cortex

In-depth architectural comparison of the Cortex Plugin and Vault Cortex 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.

At a Glance & Executive Verdict

Cortex Plugin

Knowledge & Memory · Local stdio

Quality: 60/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required

Vault Cortex

Knowledge & Memory · Local stdio

Quality: 44/100 (Fair) | Auth: OAuth 2.0

Verdict Summary: Choose Cortex Plugin if you need specialized Knowledge & Memory tools running via a local process. Choose Vault Cortex if your workspace requires Knowledge & Memory integration with local subprocess execution. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Cortex Plugin when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
You have access to required keys: MEMEM_TELEMETRY_SOURCE.
Primary tools included: Event-triggered background miner extracting durable lessons from conversations, Stores memories as markdown files in a local Obsidian vault, Active Memory Slice assembling query-tailored context briefings.

Explore Cortex Plugin Details

Choose Vault Cortex 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).
You have access to required keys: .

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Cortex Plugin TT-Wang Knowledge & Memory	Vault Cortex aliasunder Knowledge & Memory
Summary	Persistent, self-evolving memory plugin for Claude Code. Background miner extracts durable lessons (decisions, conventions, bug fixes) from completed sessions via Claude Haiku, stores them as human-readable markdown in an Obsidian vault, and assembles query-tailored context briefings at session start. Local-first, no cloud, no API keys. Self-healing install via uv bootstrap shim, /cortex-doctor preflight, graceful FTS-only degraded mode when claude CLI missing. MIT.	MCP server for Obsidian vaults — hybrid search, notes & files, memory, tasks, link graph, OAuth-protected.
Category & Scope

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Cortex Plugin Tools (6)

Event-triggered background miner extracting durable lessons from conversations

Stores memories as markdown files in a local Obsidian vault

Active Memory Slice assembling query-tailored context briefings

Path-scoped memory retrieval auto-derived from session file paths

Persistent FTS5 transcript search index for efficient memory lookup

Self-healing install and degraded mode when dependencies are missing

Vault Cortex Tools (6)

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).

Cortex Plugin Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tt-wang-cortex-plugin": {
      "command": "pipx",
      "args": [
        "install",
        "memem"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MEMEM_TELEMETRY_SOURCE": "YOUR_MEMEM_TELEMETRY_SOURCE_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Vault Cortex Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aliasunder-vault-cortex": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "vault-cortex@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "VAULT_CORTEX_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID": "YOUR_VAULT_CORTEX_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID_HERE",
        "VAULT_CORTEX_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET": "YOUR_VAULT_CORTEX_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET_HERE",
        "VAULT_CORTEX_VAULT_PATH": "YOUR_VAULT_CORTEX_VAULT_PATH_HERE",
        "VAULT_CORTEX_SERVER_PORT": "YOUR_VAULT_CORTEX_SERVER_PORT_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Cortex Plugin is categorized under Knowledge & Memory and uses a local stdio subprocess. In contrast, Vault Cortex belongs to Knowledge & Memory using local stdio subprocess. Select Cortex Plugin when you need capabilities focused on knowledge & memory and Vault Cortex when you require tools for knowledge & memory.

More alternatives to Cortex Plugin More alternatives to Vault Cortex Knowledge & Memory category hub Canonical compare URL