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title Add Persistent Memory to Cursor — Context That Survives Sessions
description Add persistent memory to Cursor with Basic Memory. Your AI assistant remembers your codebase, decisions, and context between sessions.

Cursor's AI-powered development environment integrates natively with Basic Memory through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling persistent context across coding sessions.

Why Add Persistent Memory to Cursor?

Cursor's AI features are powerful, but context resets with every new session. Basic Memory gives Cursor a long-term memory:

  • Project knowledge that persists — Architecture decisions, coding patterns, and conventions carry forward automatically
  • Richer context than built-in memories — Full notes with semantic connections, not just short preference strings
  • Searchable across sessions — Instantly find any past decision, discussion, or code insight
  • Markdown files you control — Your knowledge lives as plain text, editable in Cursor itself

Cloud Setup

Basic Memory Cloud provides hosted MCP access with no local installation required.

::steps

Sign Up

Create your account at app.basicmemory.com

Configure Remote MCP in Cursor

In Cursor, go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config

Select MCP Tools and click Add Custom MCP

Add Basic Memory Cloud configuration:

{
"mcpServers": {
"basic-memory-cloud": {
"url": "https://cloud.basicmemory.com/mcp"
}
}
}

Authenticate

Follow the OAuth flow to grant Cursor access to your Basic Memory account

Verify Setup

In Cursor, ask the AI:

You: "What tools do you have access to?"

You should see Basic Memory tools listed

::

::tip See the Cloud Setup Guide for detailed instructions and troubleshooting. ::

Local Setup

Configure MCP in Cursor

Cursor supports MCP natively! Configure Basic Memory following the Cursor MCP documentation.

Add to Cursor's MCP configuration:

{
"mcpServers": {
"basic-memory": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["basic-memory", "mcp"]
}
}
}

Install Basic Memory (optional)

# Install Basic Memory
uv tool install basic-memory

# Or with pip
pip install basic-memory

Verify Installation

In Cursor, check that Basic Memory tools are available by asking the AI:

You: "What tools do you have access to?"

You should see Basic Memory tools listed, including note creation, search, and project management.

Quick Start

Once configured, you can immediately start using Basic Memory in your Cursor conversations:

You: "Create a Basic Memory project for this codebase in the docs folder"
Cursor: [Creates project configuration and folder structure]

You: "Document our architecture decisions as we make them"
Cursor: [Creates structured notes with observations and relations]

MCP Integration Benefits

::note Cursor's native MCP support enables Basic Memory integration with:

  • Direct tool access in AI conversations
  • Real-time knowledge base queries
  • Persistent context across coding sessions
  • No manual content transfer needed ::

Available Tools

Through MCP, Cursor can access all Basic Memory tools:

  • write_note - Create structured documentation
  • read_note - Access existing knowledge
  • search_notes - Find relevant information
  • edit_note - Update documentation incrementally
  • recent_activity - Check what you've been working on
  • project management - Work with multiple knowledge bases

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

MCP tools not appearing in Cursor

Solutions:

  • Verify Basic Memory is installed: basic-memory --version
  • Check MCP configuration syntax in Cursor settings
  • Restart Cursor after configuration changes
  • Try absolute path to uvx if needed

Tools appear but don't work

Solutions:

  • Check Basic Memory sync status: basic-memory status
  • Verify project directory permissions
  • Ensure uvx can find basic-memory: which basic-memory

Performance issues

Solutions:

  • Large knowledge bases may slow responses
  • Consider splitting into multiple projects
  • Check available disk space

Alternative Integration

If MCP setup doesn't work immediately, you can also:

  • File-Based Editing — Edit Basic Memory notes directly in Cursor with full IDE features
  • CLI Integration — Use Basic Memory CLI tools from Cursor's integrated terminal
  • Parallel Usage — Use Claude Desktop alongside Cursor for knowledge management

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Cursor have memory?

Cursor has a built-in "Memories" feature for storing short preferences, but it's limited to simple rules. Basic Memory provides full knowledge management — searchable notes, semantic connections, and rich context that grows with your project.

How do I add persistent memory to Cursor?

Configure Basic Memory as an MCP server in Cursor's settings. Go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config, add the MCP configuration, and restart Cursor. See the setup guide above for detailed instructions.

Can I use Basic Memory and Cursor's built-in memories together?

Yes. Cursor's built-in memories handle quick preferences and rules. Basic Memory handles everything deeper — architecture decisions, project history, detailed technical context, and cross-session knowledge.

::note Basic Memory also works with: Claude Code · OpenAI Codex · Claude Desktop · VS Code · Obsidian ::

Next Steps

:::card-group ::card

title: Project Documentation icon: i-lucide-folder-kanban to: /how-to/project-documentation

Learn how to document your development projects. ::

::card

title: Note Taking icon: i-lucide-edit to: /how-to/note-taking

Master note-taking techniques for development. ::

::card

title: CLI Reference icon: i-lucide-terminal to: /reference/cli-reference

Master command line tools for development. ::

::card

title: Knowledge Format icon: i-lucide-file-text to: /concepts/knowledge-format

Structure your development documentation. :: :::