Quickstart
This quickstart will get Memory MCP-CE running locally using Docker Compose.
The first run takes a few minutes while containers and embedding models are downloaded. Subsequent restarts are fast.
1. Prepare your environment #
Fetch the required files directly from GitHub:
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/symbiomind/memory-mcp-ce/main/docker-compose.yml
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/symbiomind/memory-mcp-ce/main/.env.example
Copy the example environment file and edit it:
cp .env.example .env
At minimum, change:
POSTGRES_PASSWORD
You may also adjust other settings later, but the defaults are fine to start.
2. Create the data directory #
mkdir -p data
Docker will create the required subdirectories automatically.
Important: The ‘data’ directory stores your PostgreSQL database and Ollama models. Deleting it will permanently erase all stored memories and downloaded models.
3. Pull the embedding model (one-time setup) #
The embedding model must be pulled once before starting the full stack.
docker compose up -d ollama
docker exec -it memory-ollama ollama pull granite-embedding:30m
This may take a few minutes depending on your network connection.
4. Start the full stack #
docker compose up -d
5. Verify it is running #
Your MCP server should now be available at:
http://localhost:5005