memory-engineering-mcp/QUICKSTART.md

🧠 AI Memory System powered by MongoDB Atlas & Voyage AI - Autonomous memory management with zero manual work

# 🚀 Quick Start - 3 Minutes to Full Vector Search

Get Memory Engineering MCP running with complete vector search in 3 minutes.

## Step 1: Clone & Setup (60 seconds)

```bash
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/romiluz13/memory-engineering-mcp.git
cd memory-engineering-mcp

# One-command setup (installs MongoDB 8.2 + mongot)
npm run setup
# OR
pnpm run setup
# OR
./scripts/setup-local-mongodb.sh
```

**What this does:**
- ✅ Creates Docker containers for MongoDB 8.2 + mongot
- ✅ Configures replica set (required for change streams)
- ✅ Sets up authentication
- ✅ Creates collections and indexes
- ✅ Enables vector search and hybrid search

## Step 2: Add API Key (30 seconds)

```bash
# Edit .env file
nano .env  # or use your preferred editor

# Add your Voyage AI key:
VOYAGE_API_KEY=your-voyage-api-key-here
```

**Get your free Voyage AI key:**
1. Go to https://www.voyageai.com/
2. Sign up (free tier: 25M tokens/month)
3. Get API key from dashboard

## Step 3: Initialize (30 seconds)

```bash
# Build the project
npm run build

# Initialize your project
memory_engineering_init
```

## ✅ That's It!

You now have:
- 🧠 7 Core Memories ready
- 🔍 Vector search enabled
- 🔎 Hybrid search (semantic + keyword)
- 📊 Full MCP server running

## Test It

```bash
# Sync your code
memory_engineering_sync --patterns "**/*.ts"

# Search your code
memory_engineering_search --query "error handling patterns"

# Check health
npm run health
```

## Troubleshooting

### "Docker is not running"
```bash
# Start Docker Desktop
# Then run setup again
npm run setup
```

### "Port 27017 already in use"
```bash
# Stop other MongoDB instances
docker stop $(docker ps -q --filter ancestor=mongo)

# Or if you have MongoDB installed locally
brew services stop mongodb-community

# Then run setup again
npm run setup
```

### Check if everything is working
```bash
# Run health check
npm run health

# All checks should pass ✅
```

## What's Next?

1. **Create your first memory:**
   ```bash
   memory_engineering_memory --name activeContext --content "Starting work on..."
   ```

2. **Sync your codebase:**
   ```bash
   memory_engineering_sync --patterns "**/*.{ts,js,py}"
   ```

3. **Search everything:**
   ```bash
   memory_engineering_search --query "authentication logic"
   ```

## Need More Details?

- **Full setup guide:** [LOCAL_SETUP_GUIDE.md](docs/LOCAL_SETUP_GUIDE.md)
- **Architecture details:** [README.md](README.md)
- **Troubleshooting:** Run `npm run health` for diagnostics

## Using with Cursor/Claude Code/Windsurf

Add to your MCP configuration:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "memory-engineering": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/memory-engineering-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "MONGODB_URI": "mongodb://localhost:27017/memory_engineering?replicaSet=rs0",
        "VOYAGE_API_KEY": "your-voyage-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Restart your IDE and the MCP tools will be available!

---

**Total time: ~3 minutes**  
**Difficulty: Easy**  
**Requirements: Docker Desktop + Node.js**