Quickstart: Cloud

Basic Memory Cloud gives you a hosted MCP endpoint and a web app. Connect your AI assistant and start writing notes in minutes - no installation required.

1. Create an account

Sign up at basicmemory.com. You'll need an active subscription to use the MCP endpoint.

After sign-up, the app prepares your workspace and opens a seeded Getting Started project — a short tutorial you can read (and edit) in place. A floating onboarding guide walks you through the same steps as this page: connect your agent, write your first note, and watch it appear live. The in-app Help Center (account menu → Help) keeps the same walkthrough available anytime — your MCP endpoint, setup guides, and a quick test prompt.

2. Connect your AI assistant

The published ChatGPT and Claude listings are the quickest setup paths. Choose your assistant, connect the listing, and complete the Basic Memory authorization flow.

For Claude

1. Open the Claude Directory, or go to Settings → Customize → Connectors and select +.
2. Search for Basic Memory Cloud, open the published connector, and select Install.
3. Complete authorization, then ask Claude to list your Basic Memory projects.

The remote connector works across Claude web, desktop, mobile, Cowork, and Claude Code. Full walkthrough and manual connector fallback: Claude Desktop.

For ChatGPT

See the ChatGPT integration guide for the full walkthrough, managed-workspace notes, and manual custom MCP fallback.

For other assistants

See the Integrations section for setup guides for:

• Google Gemini
• Cursor
• VS Code
• Claude Code

3. Verify the connection

Ask your assistant:

List my basic memory projects

Expected response — something like:

You have 1 project:
- getting-started (default)

New accounts start with the seeded Getting Started tutorial project as the default.

4. Create your first note

Try this prompt:

Create a note called "My First Note" with a summary of what Basic Memory does.

Your assistant will use the write_note tool to create a Markdown file in your cloud storage.

Example conversation:

You: Create a note called "My First Note" with a summary of what Basic Memory does.

AI: I'll create a note summarizing Basic Memory for you.

[Uses write_note tool]

I've created "My First Note" in your knowledge base. The note covers:
- What Basic Memory is
- How the knowledge format works
- Key features like semantic search and relations

5. View your notes

Open app.basicmemory.com/notes to see your new note in the sidebar. Notes written by your agent appear live — no refresh needed — and show up in the Activity view alongside your own edits.

What you can do in the web app:

• Browse all your notes in the folder tree
• Edit notes with the live Markdown editor
• Search across your knowledge base
• Import existing data from Claude, ChatGPT, or files
• Manage multiple projects
• Create snapshots for backup

6. Invite your team

Basic Memory is better shared — one knowledge base for you, your teammates, and every agent connected to it. A decision captured in your Claude session becomes context for a teammate's Codex run.

Invite people from Settings → Members in the web app — they get an email, sign in, and start working in the shared projects right away. See Basic Memory Teams for workspaces, roles, and seats.

What you can do now

Try these prompts with your assistant:

Example workflow

You: "I've been researching coffee brewing methods. Create a note about pour-over technique."

AI: [Creates note with observations and tags]

--- Later ---

You: "What do I know about coffee brewing?"

AI: [Searches knowledge base, finds your pour-over note]
"Based on your notes, you've been exploring pour-over techniques..."

You: "Add a section about water temperature to my coffee notes"

AI: [Uses edit_note to append new content]

Next steps