BioThings MCP vs OpenMemory MCP

A side-by-side comparison of two AI, Data & Knowledge servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	BioThings MCP Query genes, variants, chemicals, and taxa from BioThings.io (mygene, myvariant, mychem) in your AI client. Unverified stdio (local) No auth Stale Python	OpenMemory MCP Mem0's local-first memory layer: a Dockerized MCP server plus dashboard that keeps agent memories on your machine. Unverified SSE (remote) API key Python
Category	AI, Data & Knowledge	AI, Data & Knowledge
Language	Python	Python
Transport	stdio (local)	SSE (remote)
Auth	None	API key
GitHub stars	32	60k
Last commit	9 months ago	1 month ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`uvx biothings-mcp`	`curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mem0ai/mem0/main/openmemory/run.sh \| OPENAI_API_KEY=your_api_key bash`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick BioThings MCP if you want a local (stdio) server that keeps data on your machine, and you want zero-setup with no API key.

Pick OpenMemory MCP if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Add BioThings MCP

Install / run

uvx biothings-mcp

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "biothings-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "biothings-mcp",
        "stdio"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Requires `uv` (the Python package runner). Install it from https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ if `uvx` is not found.

Add OpenMemory MCP

Install / run

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mem0ai/mem0/main/openmemory/run.sh | OPENAI_API_KEY=your_api_key bash

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openmemory-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "http://localhost:8765/mcp/<client-name>/sse/<user-id>"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop connects to remote servers through the `mcp-remote` proxy (installed on first run via npx). Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

FAQ

BioThings MCP or OpenMemory MCP — which is better?

Pick BioThings MCP if you want a local (stdio) server that keeps data on your machine, and you want zero-setup with no API key. Pick OpenMemory MCP if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Can I use both BioThings MCP and OpenMemory MCP?

Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.

Do BioThings MCP and OpenMemory MCP work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View BioThings MCP →View OpenMemory MCP →More comparisons →