claude-mem vs context-mode
claude-mem is much bigger: 107.0k stars against 33.0k. Over the days we have tracked them claude-mem moved +19.7% and context-mode +68.5%, so context-mode is growing faster right now.
They split the axes: claude-mem leads on model freedom and setup ease, context-mode on context depth.
Stars and commit dates come from our own daily tracking. The six axes are read off each project's documentation by our review pipeline, so they describe what a project says about itself, not what we measured in its code.
Where they stand today
Claude-Mem pairs a Claude Code–focused persistent memory with progressive-disclosure search tools and a local worker/web UI to deliver token-efficient, session-persistent context.
- Stars
- 107.0k
- Tracked growth
- +19.7%
- Maturity
- ●●●●●
- Last commit
- 3h ago
- Language
- TypeScript
- License
- Apache-2.0
- Cost to run
- Your API key for model calls; optional cloud backup to cmem.ai
Sandboxes large tool outputs and persistently indexes session events (SQLite FTS5 + BM25) so agents retrieve only relevant fragments, drastically shrinking context usage while preserving continuity across many MCP clients.
- Stars
- 33.0k
- Tracked growth
- +68.5%
- Maturity
- ●●●●●
- Last commit
- 9m ago
- Language
- TypeScript
- License
- NOASSERTION
- Cost to run
- Free, local install
Six axes, head to head
Each axis runs 0 to 5. The label under a score is what that project's own docs claim, not a category average.
| Axis | claude-mem | context-mode |
|---|---|---|
Context depth How much of your codebase it sees before it answers: the open diff, the diff plus related files, or the whole repository. | ●●●●● Related files & memory | ●●●●● Whole-repo analysis |
Noise control How it keeps output volume down — severity thresholds, deduplication, incremental runs over new commits only. | ●●●●● Configurable filters | ●●●●● BM25 & sandboxing |
Customization How far it bends to your team: custom rules, prompts, style guides, per-path config. | ●●●●● Config file & modes | ●●●●● Config files & hooks |
Privacy Whether your code stays on your own infrastructure: fully local, self-hostable, or cloud API only. | ●●●●● Self-hostable (local worker) | ●●●●● Fully local |
Model freedom Whether you can point it at any provider, or it is wired to one. | ●●●●● Bring-your-key (many providers) | ●●●●● Multiple providers |
Setup ease What it takes to get a first useful run out of it. | ●●●●● One-command install | ●●●●● Config + one command |
Which one to pick
Pick claude-mem if…
Easy setup — one-command installer and a local worker that preserves and injects compressed session context into future Claude Code sessions.
- Model freedom: Bring-your-key (many providers) (5/5 against 3/5)
- Setup ease: One-command install (5/5 against 3/5)
Pick context-mode if…
Context-efficient — drastically reduces context bloat and preserves session continuity across IDEs and CLIs via local MCP hooks and searchable session storage.
- Context depth: Whole-repo analysis (5/5 against 3/5)
What people want from each one
Questions people ask
Is claude-mem better than context-mode?
They split the axes: claude-mem leads on model freedom and setup ease, context-mode on context depth. claude-mem is worth picking when easy setup — one-command installer and a local worker that preserves and injects compressed session context into future Claude Code sessions.
Which of claude-mem and context-mode keeps my code private?
claude-mem: Self-hostable (local worker) (4/5). context-mode: Fully local (5/5).
What does each one cost to run?
claude-mem: Your API key for model calls; optional cloud backup to cmem.ai. context-mode: Free, local install.
Full profiles: thedotmack/claude-mem and mksglu/context-mode. Everything else in Memory & context.