Contextual runs on your own machine — the client starts it, so there is no endpoint to ping.
Persistent memory for AI coding agents: local-first semantic search, dependency graphs, git history.
Nothing serious here today
Today is the operative word: we check Contextual every 15 minutes and re-read its code on every release. Watch it and you find out the day that stops being true.
Connect this server
This server runs on your own machine — install it with the package manager and the client starts it for you. Package name taken from the official registry entry.
claude mcp add contextual -- uvx contextual-engine{
"mcpServers": {
"contextual": {
"args": [
"contextual-engine"
],
"command": "uvx"
}
}
}[mcp_servers.contextual]
command = "uvx"
args = ["contextual-engine"]{
"mcpServers": {
"contextual": {
"args": [
"contextual-engine"
],
"command": "uvx"
}
}
}{
"mcpServers": {
"contextual": {
"args": [
"contextual-engine"
],
"command": "uvx"
}
}
}This one needs environment variables set before it will start:
CONTEXTUAL_LOG_LEVEL (Python logging level as an integer (e.g. 10=DEBUG, 20=INFO). Defaults to INFO.).
The author declared them in the registry entry; get the values from the project itself.
Alternatives to Contextual
same job, measured the same wayLocal-first persistent memory for AI coding agents.
Persistent memory for AI agents. Semantic search, memory graph, W3C DID identity.
Persistent knowledge-graph memory for AI agents, with local semantic search. No API keys.
Persistent memory for AI coding agents. #1 on LongMemEval. Local-first.
Local-first document management and semantic search for AI coding agents
Local-first persistent memory for coding agents and MCP clients.
Persistent long-term memory for AI agents: semantic search, knowledge graph, and task canvas.
One shared, durable memory for your AI coding agents — local-first, zero-dependency.
Contextual — questions
Answers built from our own checks of this server.