# Context Mode Engine vs Hy Memory

> Hy Memory scores 57.7 (C) to Context Mode Engine's 45.8 (E) for memory search. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- Updated: 2026-10-19

Hy Memory scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Context Mode Engine's 45.8 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Context Mode Engine leads on schema & documentation and agent ergonomics. Both do memory search.

- Context Mode Engine: grade E, 45.8/100, rank #993 of 1171. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/context-mode.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/context-mode.json
- Hy Memory: grade C, 57.7/100, rank #669 of 1171. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hy-memory.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hy-memory.json
- Best memory layers for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-memory/index.md
- All 103 memory comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-memory/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Context Mode Engine (E)

Good for: Context Mode Engine indexes tool output and session events locally for coding agents.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 65 against 55
- Agent ergonomics, 65 against 60

Also in its favour:
- Runs on your own machine
- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.5 against 2.5 out of 5

Watch for: Hosted-service restrictions under Elastic License 2.0

### Hy Memory (C)

Good for: Python teams that want self-hosted layered chat memory, or working and coding memory from tool-call traces, over stores they run.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 65 against 45
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 40
- Maintenance & community, 76 against 10
- Transparency & trust, 62 against 42

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: `delete()` leaves the source conversation, the deleted text in `history.db` and extraction prompts in `cache.db`, and can reactivate a superseded fact


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Context Mode Engine | Hy Memory | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 45 | 65 | Hy Memory +20 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 55 | Context Mode Engine +10 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 60 | Context Mode Engine +5 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 35 | 37 | Hy Memory +2 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 60 | Hy Memory +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 10 | 76 | Hy Memory +66 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 42 | 62 | Hy Memory +20 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **45.8 · E** | **57.7 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Context Mode Engine | Hy Memory |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | SDK + MCP |
| Vendor | MKSF LTD | Tencent Hunyuan |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | stdio |  |
| Auth | None | None |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Elastic License 2.0, source available with restrictions on hosted or managed services. | Apache-2.0 (PyPI metadata for the 1.x releases and 2.0.1 says MIT; 2.0.2 carries Apache-2.0) |
| Tools exposed | 11 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| Last release | 2026-06-29 | 2026-10-16 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text |  |
| Popularity | 31k stars | 27 stars, 147 PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (4) | 2.5/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**Context Mode Engine.** Local indexing and selective retrieval. Hosted-service restrictions under Elastic License 2.0.

**Hy Memory.** An Apache-2.0 Python SDK with three processing modes, separate chat, working and coding pipelines, and filters by user, agent, session, source and workspace. Deletion does not stick everywhere. `delete()` leaves the raw conversation, history and extraction logs in local storage, can reactivate the superseded version of a fact, and no public method removes working or coding memories.

## Before you call either

### Context Mode Engine

1. Choose the installation guide for the exact coding client.
2. Check host permissions before enabling code execution.
3. Review the Elastic licence before hosting Engine for others.

### Hy Memory

1. Pass `user_id` on every `add()` and `user_ids` on every `search()`. Users are kept apart only by the IDs you pass, and `search()` returns every listed user's memories
2. Choose the mode before writing. `lite` makes no LLM calls and stores raw text. `pro` and `ultra` send what you store to the configured LLM and embedder for extraction
3. Don't rely on `delete()` to erase a fact. The raw conversation, `history.db` and `cache.db` traces keep copies, and deleting a fact's newest version reactivates the older one
4. Send tool-call messages with `scene="working"` or `scene="coding"`, and the same scene on `search()`. Without tool messages a write falls back to chat memory
5. Keep `python -m hy_memory.server` on 127.0.0.1. It has no authentication and allows any web origin

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Context Mode Engine or Hy Memory?

Hy Memory scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Context Mode Engine's 45.8 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Context Mode Engine leads on schema & documentation and agent ergonomics.

### Can an agent call Context Mode Engine and Hy Memory without installing anything?

Context Mode Engine runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. No hosted endpoint is listed for Hy Memory.

### Are Context Mode Engine and Hy Memory open source?

No open-source release is listed for Context Mode Engine. Hy Memory is open source (Apache-2.0 (PyPI metadata for the 1.x releases and 2.0.1 says MIT; 2.0.2 carries Apache-2.0)).


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Context Mode Engine or Hy Memory

- [Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Memory vs Hy Memory](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentcore-memory-vs-hy-memory.md)
- [Cognee vs Hy Memory](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cognee-vs-hy-memory.md)
- [Graphiti vs Hy Memory](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/graphiti-vs-hy-memory.md)
- [Hindsight vs Hy Memory](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hindsight-vs-hy-memory.md)
- [Honcho vs Hy Memory](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/honcho-vs-hy-memory.md)
- [Hy Memory vs LangMem](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hy-memory-vs-langmem.md)
- [Hy Memory vs LocalGhost](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hy-memory-vs-localghost.md)
- [Hy Memory vs Mem0 Platform + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hy-memory-vs-mem0.md)
- [Hy Memory vs Memory (MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hy-memory-vs-memory-reference-server.md)
- [Hy Memory vs Supermemory API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hy-memory-vs-supermemory.md)
- [Hy Memory vs Zep](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hy-memory-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 Hy Memory](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-memory-vs-hy-memory.md)
- [Cognee vs Context Mode Engine](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cognee-vs-context-mode.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 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 Supermemory API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-supermemory.md)
- [Context Mode Engine vs Zep](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/context-mode-vs-zep.md)
- [Graphicle vs Hy Memory](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/graphicle-vs-hy-memory.md)

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