Configuration

Configuration

Everything MemAI reads from the environment, and every file it keeps. All of it has a working default — set only what you want to differ.

Environment variables

variable	default	what it does
MEMAI_HOME	~/.memai	where the store and its files live
MEMAI_TOOLS	full	which tool groups the server publishes: core, diagrams, curation, comma-separated. See Tools
MEMAI_ADMIN_AUTOSTART	off	1 lets the MCP server start the dashboard if none is running
MEMAI_ADMIN_PORT	8888	the dashboard's port
MEMAI_ADMIN_HOST	127.0.0.1	the host an autostarted dashboard binds; anything but loopback is refused
MEMAI_ADMIN_BUILD	on	0 stops the dashboard rebuilding its front end on start
MEMAI_UPDATE_CHECK	on	0 stops the request for new releases

Important

Put them where the process that reads them can see them. A host launches the MCP server with the env block of its config entry and nothing else — not your shell's environment. Hooks and the release check run in the host's own environment instead, so MEMAI_UPDATE_CHECK, and MEMAI_HOME for the hooks, belong there.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "memai": {
      "command": "C:\\path\\to\\MemAI\\.venv\\Scripts\\memai-mcp.exe",
      "env": {
        "MEMAI_HOME": "C:\\path\\to\\store",
        "MEMAI_TOOLS": "core,curation",
        "MEMAI_ADMIN_AUTOSTART": "1"
      }
    }
  }
}

JSON needs its backslashes doubled.

Files in MEMAI_HOME

path	what it is
memai.db	the General project
projects/<name>.db	every other project
active	the active project's name; absent means General
backups/	dashboard backups of General; backups/<name>/ for the others
renders/	SVG files written by get_diagram, swept per the retention setting
warden/	per-session state for the hooks: warm-up, warden and task reminder
admin.json	where a running dashboard is listening
update.json	the cached list of releases
update-settings.json	how often releases are checked

None of it is tracked in git: it is your data, created on first run. Copy the .db files to move or back up a store; see Backups and export.

Settings kept in the store

Changed from Maintenance → Reminders in the dashboard and stored in the project itself, so they apply to every session using that project:

setting	default
warden on/off, interval	on, 20 minutes
task reminder on/off, interval	on, 30 minutes
domain casing policy	preserve
rendered-diagram retention	set in Maintenance → Storage