Lean Memory vs Vestige

In-depth architectural comparison of the Lean Memory and Vestige 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 Lean Memory 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: LM_DATA_ROOT, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY.
• Primary tools included: Single SQLite file per namespace for isolated memory storage, Hybrid dense (embedding) and sparse (FTS5) search retrieval, Add-only memory history with point-in-time querying.

Explore Lean Memory Details

Choose Vestige 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).
• Primary tools included: Local SQLite storage with no cloud dependency, FSRS-6 spaced repetition scheduling for memory fading, Contradiction detection with claim_contradicts_memory status.

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Lean Memory Wuesteon Knowledge & Memory	Vestige samvallad33 Knowledge & Memory
Summary	Embedded, local-first agent memory in a single SQLite file per namespace (vec0 + FTS5 hybrid retrieval). ADD-only history queryable as-of any past time; offline sleep-time maintenance stages dedupe/summarize/evict proposals a human reviews. No Docker, no server, no cloud key. pip install 'lean-memory[mcp]'	Local-first cognitive memory for AI agents. FSRS-6 scheduling, smart ingest, SQLite storage, portable sync, embedded dashboard, and optional Cognitive Sandwich hooks for Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and other MCP clients.
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": {
    "wuesteon-lean-memory": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "lean-memory"
      ],
      "env": {
        "LM_DATA_ROOT": "YOUR_LM_DATA_ROOT_HERE",
        "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "samvallad33-vestige": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "samvallad33-vestige"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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