Every AI conversation starts from scratch. Close a ChatGPT or Claude session, and everything
discussed — decisions, reasoning, context — vanishes.
This is the problem MemPalace solves.
## What is MemPalace?
MemPalace is an open-source AI memory system created by Milla Jovovich and Ben Sigman. It gives
any LLM persistent, cross-session memory that runs entirely on your local machine.
Install: pip install mempalace
## The Key Insight
Most AI memory systems (Mem0, Zep, Supermemory) use an LLM to extract "key facts" and throw away
the rest. This is lossy compression — the AI decides what matters, and everything else is gone
forever.
MemPalace takes the opposite approach: store everything verbatim, then make it findable.
Nothing is lost. When you need context from 3 months ago, it's there — the full reasoning,
alternatives considered, and nuance.
## Benchmarks
| System | LongMemEval R@5 | Cost | Local |
|--------|----------------|------|-------|
| MemPalace (hybrid) | 100% | Free | Yes |
| MemPalace (raw) | 96.6% | Free | Yes |
| Supermemory | ~99% | Paid | No |
| Mem0 | ~85% | $19-249/mo | No |
| Zep | ~85% | $25/mo+ | No |
MemPalace is the first system to score a perfect 100% on
LongMemEval. The raw mode — requiring zero API keys — still
beats every competitor.
## How It Works
The architecture borrows from the ancient "memory palace" mnemonic technique:
- Wings — top-level containers for projects or people
- Rooms — specific topics within a wing
- Halls — corridors connecting rooms by memory type (facts, events, discoveries)
- Closets — 30x compressed summaries in AAAK lossless format
- Drawers — original verbatim files (never lost)
The system wakes up with just ~170 tokens and pulls deeper memories on demand.
## Getting Started (5 minutes)
bash
pip install mempalace
mempalace init
Connect to Claude Code:
{
"mcpServers": {
"mempalace": {
"command": "mempalace",
"args": ["mcp"]
}
}
}
Full setup guide: mempalace.tech/guides/setup
MemPalace vs Mem0
The two biggest players in AI memory take fundamentally different approaches:
- MemPalace: verbatim storage, local-first, free, 100% benchmark
- Mem0: LLM extraction, cloud-first, $19-249/mo, ~85% benchmark
Mem0 has $24M in funding and enterprise support. MemPalace has higher accuracy and zero cost.
Detailed comparison: mempalace.tech/compare/mempalace-vs-mem0
When to Use What
Choose MemPalace if: you want maximum accuracy, full privacy, zero cost, and local-first
operation.
Choose Mem0 if: you need enterprise SLAs, managed cloud infrastructure, and an established vendor.
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MemPalace is MIT licensed and available on GitHub and PyPI.
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