# Context Mode Engine vs Agent Platform Memory Bank

> Agent Platform Memory Bank scores 65.6 (B) to Context Mode Engine's 54.6 (C) for memory search. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-google-memory-bank
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-google-memory-bank.md (~5,100 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-07

Agent Platform Memory Bank scores 65.6 (B) on agent readiness against Context Mode Engine's 54.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Context Mode Engine leads on agent ergonomics and payments & pricing. Both do memory search.

- Context Mode Engine: grade C, 54.6/100, rank #898 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/context-mode.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/context-mode.json
- Agent Platform Memory Bank: grade B, 65.6/100, rank #412 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-memory-bank.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-memory-bank.json
- Best memory layers for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-memory/index.md
- All 353 memory comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-memory/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Context Mode Engine (C)

Good for: Coding-agent users who want large tool output kept out of the context window on their own machine.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 80 against 75
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 20

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- Runs on your own machine

Watch for: Elastic License 2.0, not an OSI licence, with hosted-service restrictions

### Agent Platform Memory Bank (B)

Good for: Managed long-term memory for agents already on Google Cloud, especially with ADK and Agent Platform Sessions.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 68 against 60
- Schema & documentation, 75 against 67
- Security & auth, 72 against 35
- Maintenance & community, 62 against 55
- Transparency & trust, 81 against 54

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install

Watch for: Needs a Google Cloud project with billing, set up by a person in the console


## Why the edge

### Security & auth: Agent Platform Memory Bank +37

- Context Mode Engine (35): Read with the framework lines for a local MCP server. No credential of its own; code runs as the user under the agent's own permission checks (10). On Claude Code the PreToolUse hook applies the user's deny rules first, and `CONTEXT_MODE_REQUIRE_SECURITY=1` denies every call while a settings file is broken (15). `ctx_index` blocks private and link-local addresses when it fetches a URL, but no guidance on instructions inside fetched pages or tool output (0). Each project keeps a local session log of prompts, edits, commands and errors (10). No SECURITY.md, security.txt or disclosure route found, and no advisory names the package (0). 10+15+0+10+0 = 35.
- Agent Platform Memory Bank (72): OAuth 2.0 with IAM and service accounts (30), less 10, as for the other Google API listings, because the v1 discovery document lists `access_token`, `oauth_token` and `key` as query parameters (20 of 30). IAM Conditions can restrict access by memory scope; purge and delete have no confirmation (15 of 20). Memories are written by an LLM from conversation content and returned to agents, with no injection guidance found (5 of 15). Access Transparency and Access Approval are listed; Cloud Audit Logs coverage for Memory Bank wasn't read (12 of 15). Google's valid security.txt, vulnerability reward programme and certifications, with HIPAA listed for Memory Bank (20). Total 72.

### Transparency & trust: Agent Platform Memory Bank +27

- Context Mode Engine (54): Elastic License 2.0, source available but not an OSI licence, with limits on offering it as a hosted service (15). The Engine privacy page says data stays in `~/.context-mode`, gives retention (indexed items go after 30 days unread, 500 MB per project, idle projects after 14 days) and deletion by `ctx_purge`. The site privacy page is a summary for the Gateway that points to e-mail for the full policy (25 of 30). No deprecation policy or dated notices (0). The README and docs state zero telemetry and list each network call, with a source test that flags new call sites. We found no telemetry in the source (20). 15+25+0+20 = 60.
- Agent Platform Memory Bank (81): Closed service under the Google Cloud terms (15). Data residency at rest, CMEK and the Cloud Data Processing Addendum apply; no Memory Bank retention period or time-to-live was read (20 of 30). The rename was announced in the release notes with old and new names listed, and Google's deprecation policy covers GA services (14 of 20). Google Cloud's subprocessor list and regional endpoints are published (16 of 20). Total 65.

### Payments & pricing: Context Mode Engine +20

- Context Mode Engine (40): No machine payment protocol found (0). Scored on the hosted Gateway, the paid option. Extra requests cost $2.00 down to $1.00 per 1,000 by volume, published on the pricing page (20). A free plan of 1,000 requests every month, no card (20). A person signs in to the console with GitHub or Google (0). 0+20+20+0 = 40.
- Agent Platform Memory Bank (20): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Storage, read and write prices are published without a login (20). No Memory Bank free tier found (0). A person creates the project, enables billing and sets up IAM in the console (0). Total 20.

### Reliability: Agent Platform Memory Bank +8

- Context Mode Engine (60): Read with the local-package lines. Installs from npm as `context-mode`, with Node 24.15.0 or later stated in package.json and the README (20). A public CI workflow runs the test gate on macOS, Linux and Windows under Node 24.15.0 and 26 on every push, and the release workflow runs it before each publish. GitHub's pages answer 403 in this session, so run results couldn't be read (15 of 25). Open crash and regression issues weren't read (0). Versioned releases, with 2.0.0 a major for the rewrite and 2.0.0-next prereleases from 27 October, but no changelog file in the repository and the GitHub release notes unread (10 of 15). Version 2.1.0, past 1.0 (15). 20+15+0+10+15 = 60.
- Agent Platform Memory Bank (68): Hosted lines. Google Cloud status dashboard with per-product history (20). Its incident feed, read on 6 November 2026, holds four incidents since 8 August (20 August, 27 products; 1 September, us-central1-b; 8 October, Cloud Storage; 20 October, europe-west2, 38 products), and none names Agent Platform, Vertex or Memory Bank (30). No Memory Bank quotas or rate limits were found; the platform quotas path guessed returned 404 (0, unchecked). Generation is a long-running operation with wait and cancel methods, and Google's retry guidance wasn't re-read for this API (8 of 15). No SLA for Memory Bank was found in the pages read (0, unchecked). Memory profiles, IngestEvents and multi-regional endpoints are GA (10). Total 68.

### Schema & documentation: Agent Platform Memory Bank +8

- Context Mode Engine (67): No published contract. The tool input schemas sit in the source, and the docs show them as a table (0 of 25). llms.txt and Markdown copies of every page on contextmode.ai (10). Each tool description says what it does and when to use it, for example `ctx_purge` "Use it only when the user asks to forget or reset data" (20). The tools reference lists each tool's inputs with optional fields and allowed values (`scope` session, worktree or project; `sort` relevance or timeline; `mode` upgrade or uninstall), and every tool rejects an unknown field with `UNKNOWN_FIELD` (12 of 15). Setup, doctor and troubleshooting pages with examples and fix lines (15). Tagged releases, without a readable changelog (10 of 15). 0+10+20+12+15+10 = 67.
- Agent Platform Memory Bank (75): Google's discovery document is a machine-readable contract for every memory method (25). No llms.txt or Markdown docs found (0). Method descriptions are 13 to 39 characters, one-line summaries, while the guides explain when to generate from sessions or from direct facts (12 of 20). Typed schemas with required fields in the discovery document (12 of 15). Python examples, a troubleshooting page and a documented 404 for deleted memories (11 of 15). v1 and v1beta1 and dated release notes (15). Total 75.

### Maintenance & community: Agent Platform Memory Bank +7

- Context Mode Engine (55): v2.1.0 tagged on 5 November 2026 by the release workflow, after v2.0.0, v2.0.1 and v2.0.2 on 4 November, and the README now names 2.0 as the npm latest (30). Four stable releases in the 90 days from 7 August. 2.0.1 only fixes release manifests, and 2.0.0, 2.0.2 and 2.1.0 change code (20). Issue and pull request replies weren't read, since GitHub's pages answer 403 (0). No official MCP registry entry read (0). CI on three systems and two Node lines, results unread (5 of 10). 30+20+0+0+5 = 55.
- Agent Platform Memory Bank (62): The newest Memory Bank release notes are of 20 August 2026 (IngestEvents GA, metadata, Gemini Embedding 2), 78 days before the check, and billing started on 1 September (20). Three Memory Bank entries in the 90 days, all on 20 August (10 of 20). Public release notes and Cloud Customer Care (12 of 15). `google-cloud-agentplatform` 2.7.0 on 28 October 2026, twelve releases in 90 days per its PyPI release feed, plus ADK (15). SDK test status not checked (5 of 10). Total 62.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Context Mode Engine | Agent Platform Memory Bank | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 60 | 68 | Agent Platform Memory Bank +8 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 75 | Agent Platform Memory Bank +8 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 75 | Context Mode Engine +5 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 35 | 72 | Agent Platform Memory Bank +37 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 20 | Context Mode Engine +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 55 | 62 | Agent Platform Memory Bank +7 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 54 | 81 | Agent Platform Memory Bank +27 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **54.6 · C** | **65.6 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Context Mode Engine | Agent Platform Memory Bank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | MKSF LTD | Google Cloud |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://aiplatform.googleapis.com/v1` |
| Transports | stdio | HTTP |
| Auth | None | OAuth |
| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Elastic License 2.0, source available with restrictions on hosted or managed services. | none |
| Tools exposed | 9 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| Last release | 2026-11-05 | 2026-08-20 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2026-09-02 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-10-01 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 31k stars | none |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (4) | none |

## How the scores have moved

### Context Mode Engine

- +8.4 on 5 November 2026 (D to C): product, new evidence
- +0.4 on 27 October 2026 (E to D): checklist

### Agent Platform Memory Bank

No score change since it was listed.

## Verdicts

**Context Mode Engine.** Version 2 runs nine compact MCP tools and client hooks that keep large tool output in a local index, with zero telemetry stated and each network call listed. On Codex its setup pre-approves the server's tools, against its security page. The Elastic License 2.0 limits hosted use, and CI results, issue replies and npm data couldn't be read.

**Agent Platform Memory Bank.** Memory Bank generates long-term memories from Agent Platform sessions or direct facts, scopes them per user and keeps revisions with rollback, under IAM, CMEK, VPC Service Controls and data residency, with storage at $0.30 per GiB-month. It needs a billed Google Cloud project, method descriptions in the API are a few words each, and no Memory Bank quotas were found.

## Before you call either

### Context Mode Engine

1. Install Node 24.15.0 or later first. Version 2 no longer runs on Node 22
2. Use the install command for the exact coding agent, then run `ctx_doctor`
3. Keep the agent's permission prompts on. Code from `ctx_execute` runs as the user with full network access
4. Call `ctx_purge` only when the user asks. It deletes for good
5. Review the Elastic licence before hosting the Engine for others

### Agent Platform Memory Bank

1. Run `memories.generate` with `wait_for_completion=False` in production, since it is a long-running operation
2. Always pass a `scope` such as {"user_id": ...} so one user's memories never reach another
3. Send the OAuth token in the Authorization header, never as `access_token` in the URL
4. Expect a 404 when fetching a deleted memory and treat it as gone
5. Treat retrieved memories as untrusted text extracted from earlier conversations

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Context Mode Engine or Agent Platform Memory Bank?

Agent Platform Memory Bank scores 65.6 (B) on agent readiness against Context Mode Engine's 54.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Context Mode Engine leads on agent ergonomics and payments & pricing.

### Do Context Mode Engine and Agent Platform Memory Bank need an API key?

Context Mode Engine needs no key. Agent Platform Memory Bank uses an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Context Mode Engine and Agent Platform Memory Bank without installing anything?

Context Mode Engine runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. Agent Platform Memory Bank has a hosted endpoint at https://aiplatform.googleapis.com/v1.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-google-memory-bank.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-google-memory-bank.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "context-mode", "b": "google-memory-bank"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare context-mode google-memory-bank`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/context-mode.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-memory-bank.json

## Other comparisons with Context Mode Engine or Agent Platform Memory Bank

- [Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Memory vs Agent Platform Memory Bank](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentcore-memory-vs-google-memory-bank.md)
- [Basic Memory vs Agent Platform Memory Bank](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/basic-memory-vs-google-memory-bank.md)
- [claude-mem vs Agent Platform Memory Bank](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-google-memory-bank.md)
- [Cognee vs Agent Platform Memory Bank](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cognee-vs-google-memory-bank.md)
- [EverOS vs Agent Platform Memory Bank](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/everos-vs-google-memory-bank.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs Graphicle](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-graphicle.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs Graphiti](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-graphiti.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs Hindsight](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-hindsight.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs Honcho](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-honcho.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs Hy Memory](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-hy-memory.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs LangMem](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-langmem.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs LocalGhost](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-localghost.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs Mem0 Platform + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-mem0.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs MemMachine](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-memmachine.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs Memori](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-memori.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs Memory (MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-memory-reference-server.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs MemPalace](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-mempalace.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs past.dev](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-past-dev.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs Supermemory API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-supermemory.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs TencentDB Agent Memory](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-tencentdb-agent-memory.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs Tokenrip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-tokenrip.md)
- [Agent Platform Memory Bank vs Zep](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-memory-bank-vs-zep.md)
- [Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Memory vs Context Mode Engine](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentcore-memory-vs-context-mode.md)
- [AI Memory vs Context Mode Engine](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-memory-vs-context-mode.md)
- [AI Memory vs Agent Platform Memory Bank](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-memory-vs-google-memory-bank.md)
- [Basic Memory vs Context Mode Engine](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/basic-memory-vs-context-mode.md)
- [claude-mem vs Context Mode Engine](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mem-vs-context-mode.md)
- [Cognee vs Context Mode Engine](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cognee-vs-context-mode.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs EverOS](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-everos.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs Graphicle](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-graphicle.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs Graphiti](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-graphiti.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs Hindsight](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-hindsight.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs Honcho](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-honcho.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs Hy Memory](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-hy-memory.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs Khoj](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-khoj.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs LangMem](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-langmem.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs Mem0 Platform + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-mem0.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs MemMachine](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-memmachine.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs Memori](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-memori.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs MemPalace](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-mempalace.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs past.dev](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-past-dev.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs Supermemory API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-supermemory.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs TencentDB Agent Memory](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-tencentdb-agent-memory.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs Tokenrip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-tokenrip.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs Zep](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-zep.md)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp