@ldavis9000aws/mcp-project-memory/docs/claude-desktop.md

Enhanced memory system for software development projects with persistent context across sessions

# Claude Desktop Integration Guide

This guide explains how to integrate the Project Memory MCP server with Claude Desktop for persistent memory of your software development projects.

## Claude Desktop Configuration

1. **Open Claude Desktop Settings**
   - Launch Claude Desktop
   - Click on the three dots (⋮) in the top-right corner
   - Select "Preferences"

2. **Configure MCP Integration**
   - Navigate to the "Advanced" tab
   - In the "MCP Configuration" section, enter the following JSON:

   ```json
   {
     "mcp": {
       "memory": {
         "command": "npx @ldavis9000aws/mcp-project-memory start memory.json"
       }
     }
   }
   ```

3. **Customize Memory Storage** (Optional)
   - You can specify a custom path for your memory file:
   
   ```json
   {
     "mcp": {
       "memory": {
         "command": "npx @ldavis9000aws/mcp-project-memory start path/to/memory.json"
       }
     }
   }
   ```

4. **Save and Restart**
   - Click "Save" to apply the changes
   - Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect

## Testing the Integration

Once configured, you can test if the integration is working properly:

1. **Start a new conversation** in Claude Desktop

2. **Create a test project** by asking Claude to create a simple project entity:
   ```
   Please create a test project entity in the memory system with the name "TestProject".
   ```

3. **Verify the memory** by asking Claude to read back the project:
   ```
   Can you retrieve the project we just created from the memory system?
   ```

## Prompt Template for Software Development

For best results, you can ask Claude to follow this approach when working on software projects:

```
Follow these steps during each software development interaction:

1. Project Identification:
   - You should assume you are working on the last identified project
   - If no project has been identified, ask which software project we're discussing

2. Memory Retrieval:
   - Begin each session with "Remembering project context..." and retrieve relevant information about:
     a) Project architecture and components
     b) Previous design decisions and their rationales
     c) Current implementation status
     d) Known issues and their workarounds
     e) Future development plans

3. Development Memory Collection:
   - While assisting with development, be attentive to information that falls into these categories:
     a) Architecture Decisions (patterns, frameworks, libraries chosen and why)
     b) Implementation Details (key algorithms, data structures, integration points)
     c) Technical Challenges (limitations, performance issues, bugs encountered)
     d) Solutions Applied (how problems were solved, alternatives considered)
     e) Future Considerations (TODOs, planned refactorings, technical debt)

4. Memory Update:
   - When important development information is discussed, update your memory as follows:
     a) Create entities for:
       - Components (frontend modules, backend services, databases)
       - Technologies (languages, frameworks, libraries)
       - Issues (bugs, performance problems, security concerns)
     b) Connect them using relations that describe their interactions
     c) Store specific implementation details as observations
     d) Include timestamps with observations to track when decisions were made
     e) Document the rationale behind significant design decisions

5. Error & Issue Tracking:
   - Create specific entities for recurring errors or issues
   - Link issues to the components where they occur
   - Track resolution status and applied fixes
   - Document workarounds for unresolved issues
   - Note any lessons learned from debugging processes
```

## Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with the MCP integration:

1. **Check NPM Installation**
   - Ensure npm is installed globally on your system
   - You might need to run: `npm install -g npm`

2. **Verify NPX Availability**
   - Try running `npx --version` in your terminal
   - If it fails, ensure npm is in your system PATH

3. **Check Memory File Permissions**
   - Ensure Claude Desktop has permission to write to the directory where your memory file is stored

4. **Restart Claude Desktop**
   - Sometimes a simple restart can resolve connection issues

5. **Check Logs**
   - If you've previously run the server in daemon mode, check the logs directory for error messages