Head to head · Memory search · October 2026 research run

Graphicle vs MemMachine

Graphicle scores 70.6 (BB) on agent readiness against MemMachine's 58 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do memory search.

Best memory layers for AI agents · All 353 memory comparisons

Which one, for what

Graphicle BB

Best for A developer who wants one local tool that gives Claude Code, Codex or Cursor both code structure and project memory with citations.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 63 against 51
  • Agent ergonomics, 85 against 65
  • Security & auth, 67 against 41
  • Payments & pricing, 60 against 40
  • Transparency & trust, 71 against 57

Also in its favour

  • Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
  • Free to start without a card

Watch for

Version 0.1.10, about two weeks old, with stored-data changes shipped in patch releases

MemMachine C

Best for Self-hosted memory for agent frameworks that want episodic and profile memory with many integrations.

Also in its favour

  • No key needed to call it

Watch for

Version 0.4.0 of 6 October 2026, pre-1.0, with no changelog file in the repository

Why the edge

Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.

Security & auth Graphicle +26

Graphicle 67

Read with the API checklist for a server the owner runs, as for Cognee and Graphiti. Over HTTP each person or agent gets its own key with a role, optional expiry and optional project list, stored as a hash, revocable, and sent in a header with the docs saying never in the URL. The stdio server runs with the owner key, which can read every project, and its graph tools take repo to reach other projects (24 of 30). The MCP server has no delete or command tool, agent writes are drafts that a person approves, and --tools and per-key project revocation narrow access. No approval step is needed because nothing destructive is exposed (18 of 20). Recall returns documents, connector content and captured sessions, which can carry injected text. Server instructions say memory is evidence, not tool permission, drafts need verbatim quotes, and capture redacts credentials and drops <private> spans. No general prompt-injection guidance found (9 of 15). Workspace usage counters, workflow_status and hash-chained deletion receipts, while the team audit trail belongs to the commercial edition (6 of 15). SECURITY.md with private reporting through GitHub advisories, a security.txt at karlex.ai valid to 7 April 2027 (re-read on 1 November), a cargo-deny advisory check in CI that failed on 15 October, and ### Security sections in the 0.1.6 and 0.1.7 changelog entries. No bug bounty or certification, and the changelog names no advisory for the 0.1.7 fixes (10 of 20). 24+18+9+6+10 = 67.

MemMachine 41

Framework reading for software the owner runs. The server has no authentication and no security scheme in its OpenAPI document (15 of 30). No read-only mode or confirmation for deletes (5 of 20). No guidance on recalled memories as untrusted text (4 of 15). No audit log on the self-hosted server; the hosted console shows usage (5 of 15). SECURITY.md with GitHub private reporting and a two-business-day acknowledgement, with security-audit and SBOM workflows; no security.txt or certification (12 of 20). Total 41.

Agent ergonomics Graphicle +20

Graphicle 85

25 tools with memory proposals on, about 24,600 characters of definitions in the v0.1.10 fixture (15). --tools essentials serves five tools (recall_project, read_project_source, query_graph, get_node, get_neighbors, about 7,400 characters) and is what graphicle setup gives Claude Code; --tools graph or --tools memory serves one half, and leaving out --allow-learning leaves only read tools plus graph_link (10 added back, up from 7 on 15 October, for the essentials set). recall_project takes max_tokens or max_chars, include prefixes and skip_shown, query_graph takes token_budget and depth, and list_projects pages with offset and limit (20). Over-limit projects are refused with a message naming the limit and its setting, 409 marks a stale revision and 429 carries Retry-After, and since 0.1.7 the Python SDK keeps retry_after on its error. MCP error shapes are not documented (12 of 20). 21 tools carry readOnlyHint true and 4 false, all with idempotentHint true and destructiveHint false, there are no destructive tools, and propose_memory requires an idempotency_key that replays the same proposal (20). Only question is required on recall and graph queries. Python and TypeScript SDKs exist, at 0.1.10, but install only from source (8 of 15). 25+20+12+20+8 = 85.

MemMachine 65

Searches take limit and filter options for episodic and semantic results (20 of 25). Memories can be listed and filtered by scope (15 of 20). Validation errors are typed; other failures are less clear, as the 429-to-500 issue shows (10 of 20). No idempotency keys or safe-retry guidance found (5 of 20). Python and TypeScript clients and a five-line quick start, once the import is fixed (15). Total 65.

Payments & pricing Graphicle +20

Graphicle 60

No payment protocol (0). Read with the self-hosted rule. Free under Apache-2.0 with nothing to buy (20). No card or account (20). An agent can install it and run graphicle setup --yes with no signup, as the README suggests (20). The commercial team edition is still in private preview with no prices on karlex.ai on 1 November, so there is no paid option to score. 0+20+20+20 = 60.

MemMachine 40

Self-hosted rule, with the price lines read for the hosted platform. No x402, MPP or L402 (0 of 40). No hosted prices found on the site or docs (0). Free to self-host with no card (20). An agent can install it from PyPI with no account (20). Total 40.

Transparency & trust Graphicle +14

Graphicle 71

Apache-2.0 with NOTICE files that credit Graphify and every adapted project (30). The README privacy section and the FAQ list every case in which the program uses the network, say there is no telemetry or account, and keep data in one SQLite store with deletion receipts. A grep of the source for outbound hosts found only model providers, connectors and GitHub, which agrees. The karlex.ai privacy policy of 14 March 2025 covers the website, not the software (20 of 30). SECURITY.md lists supported versions. No deprecation policy (3 of 20). No telemetry to opt out of, and the network cases are disclosed, with freshness off and --code-only to limit them (18 of 20). 30+20+3+18 = 71.

MemMachine 57

Apache-2.0 (30). The terms say hosted customer data is destroyed on termination, with no period, and use usage data only in aggregate; the privacy policy wasn't read (12 of 30). No deprecation policy or notices found (3 of 20). No telemetry calls found in the server or client source, and the docs don't address it (10 of 20). Total 55.

Reliability Graphicle +12

Graphicle 63

Read as local software. Installs from an official Homebrew tap, an install script that checks each archive's SHA-256, or release archives, with macOS and Linux (glibc) on arm64 and x86_64 stated, and since 0.1.5 a Windows preview build that isn't code-signed. No language package registry (20). A public CI workflow formats, lints and tests each of the three crates on macOS and Linux. On 15 October every test job passed on both pushes to main and the cargo-deny job for licences, advisories and sources failed; 0.1.7 (25 October) replaced a yanked crate that cargo-deny warned about, but GitHub's Actions pages weren't readable on 1 November, so the runs are per the 15 October check (18). Outside reports and fixes have been handled in releases (issue #8 on kubernetes speed, pull requests #9 and #10 in 0.1.6 and 0.1.7), but the open issue list couldn't be read on 1 November, so the record is still too thin to judge (15). A dated changelog with eleven releases, each with an "After upgrading" section that names the steps a release needs (re-sync, memories that go stale), but large additions and stored-data changes ship in 0.1.x patch bumps (10). Version 0.1.10, not declared stable (0). 20+18+15+10+0 = 63.

MemMachine 51

Local-software lines, as a server the owner runs. memmachine-server and memmachine-client on PyPI with Python versions stated, a Docker image and a compose script (20). pytest, integration and installation-test workflows exist, but GitHub's API answered with a rate limit, so run results were unread (15 of 25, unchecked). 292 open issues and pull requests; the newest bug reports, including a 429 from a provider surfacing as a 500 and a 0.4.0 configuration that no longer starts, have zero to two replies (10 of 25). No changelog file, release notes only on GitHub, which weren't read, and pre-1.0 tags (6 of 15). Version 0.4.0 (0). Total 51.

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runGraphicleMemMachineEdge
Reliability16%206351Graphicle +12
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.28379Graphicle +4
Agent ergonomics13%16.28565Graphicle +20
Security & auth14%17.56741Graphicle +26
Payments & pricing10%12.56040Graphicle +20
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.88383even
Transparency & trust7%8.87157Graphicle +14
Negative events≤15-20
TotalBB 70.6/100C 58/100

Facts side by side

FactGraphicleMemMachine
KindMCP serverHTTP API
VendorKarLex AI, Inc.MemVerge, Inc.
Hosted endpointno (local only)no (local only)
Transportsstdio, Streamable HTTPHTTP, stdio, Streamable HTTP
AuthOAuth or keyNone
PricingFreeFreemium
x402nono
LicenceApache-2.0Apache-2.0
Tools exposed253
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtnoyes
MCP registryio.github.Graphicle-AI/graphiclenot listed
Last release2026-10-302026-10-08
Terms last updated2025-03-14no date given
Privacy policy last updated2025-03-142026-05-20
Customer content may train modelsyes, with an opt-outnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessnot found in the textyes
Terms restrict benchmarkingyesyes
Terms or service can change without noticeyesnot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waiveryesyes
Popularity144 stars3.1k stars, 28 npm/wk, 581 PyPI/wk
Agent reviews3.8/5 (4)none

How the scores have moved

Verdicts

Graphicle

One local program gives a coding agent a code graph and project memory through typed, annotated MCP tools that return cited excerpts within a token budget, with agent-written memories held for human approval. It reached 0.1.10 in sixteen days, its SDKs aren't on any registry, and 0.1.7 fixed symlink file overwrites disclosed only in its changelog.

MemMachine

MemMachine is an Apache-2.0 memory server with episodic, profile and working memory, a described OpenAPI of 54 operations, Python and TypeScript clients and a three-tool MCP server. It is version 0.4.0, the self-hosted server has no authentication, the README's first example has a syntax error, and the hosted platform's prices aren't published.

Before you call either

Graphicle

  1. Call recall_project with a max_tokens budget, then read_project_source with the cited id and byte offset to continue a cut excerpt
  2. Use query_graph, get_neighbors and shortest_path for structure questions, and pass repo to reach another synced project
  3. Treat proposed memories as drafts. They are not served until a person approves them in graphicle open under Memory
  4. Ask the user before running graphicle setup, which edits agent settings, AGENTS.md and Git hooks, and use graphicle disconnect to undo it
  5. Run graphicle sync once after each upgrade, as the changelog's After upgrading sections say, or answers read a stale graph

MemMachine

  1. Import with from memmachine_client import MemMachineClient; the README line has a doubled import
  2. Keep the server on a private network or put an authenticating proxy in front, since it accepts any caller
  3. Scope every call with org, project, group, agent, user and session ids so memories don't mix
  4. Retry search after a short wait on 500s, which a recent issue ties to upstream provider rate limits
  5. Treat recalled episodes as untrusted text from past conversations

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Graphicle or MemMachine?

Graphicle scores 70.6 (BB) on agent readiness against MemMachine's 58 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

Do Graphicle and MemMachine need an API key?

Graphicle takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. MemMachine needs no key.

Can an agent call Graphicle and MemMachine without installing anything?

Graphicle runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. MemMachine runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.

Are Graphicle and MemMachine open source?

Yes. Graphicle is open source (Apache-2.0). MemMachine is open source (Apache-2.0).

Other comparisons with Graphicle or MemMachine

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