> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Claude Desktop

> Connect Claude Desktop to your Claude Mem database and search past sessions, decisions, and observations from any conversation.

<Note>
  Claude Mem MCP tools work with Claude Desktop on macOS and Windows.
</Note>

Claude Desktop can access your Claude Mem memory database through **MCP tools**. Once configured, you can search past sessions, decisions, and observations directly from any Claude Desktop conversation.

## Prerequisites

Before configuring MCP tools, ensure:

1. **Claude Mem is installed** and the worker service is running.
2. **The MCP server file is present** at `~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack/plugin/scripts/mcp-server.cjs`.

### Verify the worker is running

```bash theme={null}
curl http://localhost:37777/api/health
# Expected response: {"status":"ok"}
```

## Installation

<Steps>
  <Step title="Edit the Claude Desktop configuration file">
    Open the configuration file for your platform:

    <Tabs>
      <Tab title="macOS">
        ```
        ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
        ```

        Add the `mcp-search` server entry:

        ```json theme={null}
        {
          "mcpServers": {
            "mcp-search": {
              "command": "node",
              "args": [
                "/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack/plugin/scripts/mcp-server.cjs"
              ]
            }
          }
        }
        ```
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Windows">
        ```
        %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
        ```

        Add the `mcp-search` server entry:

        ```json theme={null}
        {
          "mcpServers": {
            "mcp-search": {
              "command": "node",
              "args": [
                "C:\\Users\\YOUR_USERNAME\\.claude\\plugins\\marketplaces\\thedotmack\\plugin\\scripts\\mcp-server.cjs"
              ]
            }
          }
        }
        ```
      </Tab>
    </Tabs>

    <Warning>
      Replace `YOUR_USERNAME` with your actual system username.
    </Warning>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Restart Claude Desktop">
    Close and reopen Claude Desktop for the MCP server configuration to take effect.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Searching memory from Claude Desktop

Once installed, you can ask Claude Desktop natural-language questions about your past work:

```text theme={null}
What did we do last session?
Did we fix this bug before?
How did we implement authentication?
What decisions did we make about the API?
Show me changes to worker-service.ts
```

Claude will use the MCP tools to search your memory database and return relevant observations from past Claude Code sessions.

## Available MCP tools

The MCP server provides three tools that follow the same [3-layer workflow](/usage/search-tools) used in Claude Code:

| Tool               | Description                                                                             |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `search`           | Search the memory index. Returns a compact table with IDs for filtering.                |
| `timeline`         | Get chronological context around a query or observation ID.                             |
| `get_observations` | Fetch full observation details by ID — use after filtering with `search` or `timeline`. |

### Token-efficient workflow

1. **Search** — get index with IDs (\~50–100 tokens per result)
2. **Timeline** — get context around interesting results
3. **Get observations** — fetch full details only for the IDs you need

This 3-layer approach provides approximately 10x token savings compared to fetching full observation details upfront.

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="MCP server not connecting">
    1. Verify the worker is running: `curl http://localhost:37777/api/health`
    2. Check that the MCP server file path in the configuration matches the actual file location
    3. Check Claude Desktop logs for errors:

    <Tabs>
      <Tab title="macOS">
        ```bash theme={null}
        tail -f ~/Library/Logs/Claude/claude.log
        ```
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Windows">
        Check `%APPDATA%\Claude\logs\`
      </Tab>
    </Tabs>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Search returns no results">
    1. Ensure Claude Mem has recorded at least one Claude Code session
    2. Verify the database exists: `ls ~/.claude-mem/claude-mem.db`
    3. Test the worker API directly: `curl "http://localhost:37777/api/search?query=test"`
    4. Open the viewer at `http://localhost:37777` to confirm data is present
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Configuration not taking effect">
    Claude Desktop must be fully restarted (not just the window) after editing `claude_desktop_config.json`. Quit from the menu bar or system tray, then relaunch.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Search tools reference" icon="magnifying-glass" href="/usage/search-tools">
    Full MCP tool documentation with parameter details
  </Card>

  <Card title="Platform integration" icon="plug" href="/platform-integration">
    Build custom integrations with the worker HTTP API
  </Card>
</CardGroup>