---
title: Cursor
description: "Add persistent memory to Cursor with the Mem0 plugin — MCP server, lifecycle hooks, and SDK skill for context-aware coding."
---

Add persistent memory to [**Cursor**](https://cursor.com) with the Mem0 plugin. Your AI assistant forgets everything between sessions — this plugin fixes that by connecting to Mem0's cloud memory layer via MCP, automatically capturing learnings at key lifecycle points, and retrieving relevant context before every response.

## Overview

1. **MCP Server** — Connect to Mem0's remote MCP server for memory tools (add, search, update, delete)
2. **Lifecycle Hooks** — Automatic memory capture at session start, compaction, and user prompts (Marketplace install)
3. **SDK Skill** — Teaches the agent how to integrate the Mem0 SDK into your applications
4. **Zero local dependencies** — Cloud-hosted MCP server, no local setup required

## Prerequisites

Before setting up Mem0 with Cursor, ensure you have:

1. A Mem0 Platform account and API key:
   - [Sign up at app.mem0.ai](https://app.mem0.ai)
   - [Get your API key](https://app.mem0.ai/dashboard/api-keys) (starts with `m0-`)

2. Cursor installed ([cursor.com](https://cursor.com))

3. Your API key exported in your shell:

```bash
export MEM0_API_KEY="m0-your-api-key"
```

<Warning>
  Already have `mem0` configured as an MCP server in Cursor? Remove the existing entry from your Cursor MCP settings before installing to avoid duplicate tools.
</Warning>

## Installation

### Option A — One-Click Deeplink (MCP Only)

The fastest way to get started. Click the link below to install the Mem0 MCP server directly in Cursor:

[Install Mem0 MCP in Cursor](cursor://anysphere.cursor-deeplink/mcp/install?name=mem0&config=eyJtY3BTZXJ2ZXJzIjp7Im1lbTAiOnsidXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9tY3AubWVtMC5haS9tY3AvIiwiaGVhZGVycyI6eyJBdXRob3JpemF0aW9uIjoiVG9rZW4gJHtlbnY6TUVNMF9BUElfS0VZfSJ9fX19)

### Option B — npx (MCP Only)

```bash
npx mcp-add \
  --name mem0-mcp \
  --type http \
  --url "https://mcp.mem0.ai/mcp" \
  --clients "cursor"
```

### Option C — Manual Configuration (MCP Only)

Add the following to your `.cursor/mcp.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mem0": {
      "url": "https://mcp.mem0.ai/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Token ${env:MEM0_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

### Option D — Cursor Marketplace (Full Plugin)

Install from the [Cursor Marketplace](https://cursor.com/marketplace) for the complete experience including lifecycle hooks, the Mem0 SDK skill, and automatic memory capture.

<Info icon="check">
  Start a new Cursor session and ask: *"List my mem0 entities"* or *"Search my memories for hello"*. If the `mem0` tools appear and respond, you're all set.
</Info>

## What's Included

| Component | Marketplace Install | Deeplink / Manual / npx |
|-----------|:-------------------:|:-----------------------:|
| MCP Server (9 memory tools) | Yes | Yes |
| Lifecycle Hooks | Yes | No |
| Mem0 SDK Skill | Yes | No |

## Available MCP Tools

Once installed, the following tools are available in every Cursor session:

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `add_memory` | Save text or conversation history for a user/agent |
| `search_memories` | Semantic search across memories with filters |
| `get_memories` | List memories with filters and pagination |
| `get_memory` | Retrieve a specific memory by ID |
| `update_memory` | Overwrite a memory's text by ID |
| `delete_memory` | Delete a single memory by ID |
| `delete_all_memories` | Bulk delete all memories in scope |
| `delete_entities` | Delete a user/agent/app/run entity and its memories |
| `list_entities` | List users/agents/apps/runs stored in Mem0 |

## Lifecycle Hooks (Marketplace Install)

When installed via the Cursor Marketplace, Mem0 hooks into Cursor's lifecycle:

### Session Start
On every new session, the plugin prompts the agent to call `search_memories` to load relevant context from prior sessions.

### User Prompt
Before processing each user message, the plugin searches Mem0 for relevant memories and injects them into context. Short prompts are skipped to minimize latency.

### Pre-Compaction
Before context compaction, the plugin captures a comprehensive session summary so nothing is lost when the context window resets.

## Example Workflow

```text
# Session 1: Debugging a performance issue
You: The API endpoint /users is taking 3 seconds. Help me optimize it.

# Cursor agent searches memories, proceeds with investigation.
# After completing the task, Mem0 stores:
#   - Learning: "N+1 query in UserService.getAll() — fixed with eager loading"
#   - Decision: "Added database index on users.email column"
#   - Preference: "User prefers query-level fixes over caching"

# Session 2 (next week): Similar issue
You: The /orders endpoint is also slow, same pattern as before.

# Agent searches memories, retrieves the optimization learnings.
# Immediately checks for N+1 queries and missing indexes.
```

## Troubleshooting

- **"Connection failed"** — Verify `MEM0_API_KEY` is set: `echo $MEM0_API_KEY`
- **Duplicate tools** — If you had a previous MCP config for `mem0`, remove it before installing the plugin
- **No tools appearing** — Go to Cursor Settings > MCP and verify the `mem0` server shows as connected
- **Hooks not running** — Hooks require the Marketplace install (Option D). Deeplink/manual installs only provide MCP tools.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Mem0 MCP Setup" icon="puzzle-piece" href="/platform/mem0-mcp">
    Detailed MCP configuration for all clients
  </Card>
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</CardGroup>