Getting Started

Getting Started

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This page covers all installation paths, configuration for Claude Desktop, Docker usage, and debugging with the MCP Inspector.

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Prerequisites

• Node.js 24 LTS or later
• npm (included with Node.js)
• Claude Desktop (for MCP integration) or any MCP-compatible client

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Installation

Option 1: npm (recommended)

Windows

# Download and install Chocolatey:
powershell -c "irm https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1|iex"

# Download and install Node.js:
choco install nodejs --version="24.14.1"

# Verify the Node.js version:
node -v # Should print a Node.js 24.x version.

# Verify npm version:
npm -v # Should print an npm 11.x version.

# Run the packaged neurodivergent-memory CLI without a global install
npx neurodivergent-memory@latest init-agent-kit

# You will be asked if you want to install the package, Y/n?

Linux/macOS

# Download and install nvm:
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.4/install.sh | bash

# in lieu of restarting the shell
. "$HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh"

# Download and install Node.js:
nvm install 24

# Verify the Node.js version:
node -v # Should print a Node.js 24.x version.

# Verify npm version:
npm -v # Should print an npm 11.x version.

# Run the packaged neurodivergent-memory CLI without a global install
npx neurodivergent-memory@latest init-agent-kit

# You will be asked if you want to install the package, Y/n?

For local development:

git clone https://github.com/jmeyer1980/neurodivergent-memory
cd neurodivergent-memory
npm install
npm run build

For development with auto-rebuild:

npm run watch

Option 2: Docker Hub

docker run --rm -i -e NEURODIVERGENT_MEMORY_DIR=/data -v ndm-data:/data twgbellok/neurodivergent-memory:0.2.0

Option 3: GitHub Container Registry

docker pull ghcr.io/jmeyer1980/neurodivergent-memory:0.2.0
docker run --rm -i -e NEURODIVERGENT_MEMORY_DIR=/data -v ndm-data:/data ghcr.io/jmeyer1980/neurodivergent-memory:0.2.0

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Claude Desktop Configuration

Add the server to your Claude Desktop config file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Using a local build

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "neurodivergent-memory": {
      "command": "/path/to/neurodivergent-memory/build/index.js"
    }
  }
}

Using npx (no install needed)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "neurodivergent-memory": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "neurodivergent-memory@0.2.0"],
      "env": {
        "NEURODIVERGENT_MEMORY_FILE": "C:\\Users\\YOUR_USER\\.neurodivergent-memory\\memories.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using Docker

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "neurodivergent-memory": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e",
        "NEURODIVERGENT_MEMORY_DIR=/data",
        "-v",
        "C:\\Users\\YOUR_USER\\.neurodivergent-memory:/data",
        "twgbellok/neurodivergent-memory:0.2.0"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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Memory Persistence

Memories are persisted using a snapshot plus write-ahead log model:

~/.neurodivergent-memory/memories.json

and:

~/.neurodivergent-memory/memories.json.wal.jsonl

These files are created on first use and restored on server startup. In practice, explicit configuration is better than relying on home-directory defaults, especially when mixing Docker and native npx clients.

Recommended cross-client rule: point every client at the same canonical snapshot path with NEURODIVERGENT_MEMORY_FILE or the same canonical directory with NEURODIVERGENT_MEMORY_DIR.

Docker Upgrade Note

As of v0.2.0 the container runs as the node user. Older mounts targeting /root/.neurodivergent-memory are no longer discovered automatically. Re-mount the same host volume either at /data with NEURODIVERGENT_MEMORY_DIR=/data, or at /home/node/.neurodivergent-memory.

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Debugging with MCP Inspector

Since MCP servers communicate over stdio, standard debugging approaches don't apply. Use the MCP Inspector for interactive debugging:

npm run inspector

The Inspector will print a URL you can open in your browser to:

• Send tool calls interactively
• Inspect responses in real time
• Test search queries, graph traversals, and memory operations
• Verify your Claude Desktop config is working

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Verifying Your Installation

Once connected through Claude Desktop or the Inspector, try these operations to verify everything is working:

1. store_memory — Create a test memory in logical_analysis that says what you did and why you did it
2. search_memories — Search for the content you just stored
3. memory_stats — Confirm the memory count is 1
4. retrieve_memory — Fetch the memory by ID

For the first store_memory call, prefer canonical tags and include a reusable reason in the content itself. A good smoke-test example is a short note that records the action plus the underlying principle, rather than only a bare task log.

All operations should complete in under 100ms.

For a deterministic live readiness check of project_id support, run:

npm run smoke:project-id

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Release Security

• GitHub Actions runs on Node.js 24 LTS for CI and release automation
• npm publishes use OIDC provenance with npm publish --provenance --access public
• Docker images are built with Buildx, published to Docker Hub, and emitted with SBOM and provenance metadata
• GitHub Actions generates artifact attestations for the npm tarball and the pushed container image digest
• Tagged releases upload the npm tarball, checksums, and attestation bundles as release assets

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See also: Architecture · Release-Notes · Experiment-Report