Chroma MCP Server vs OpenMemory MCP

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

	Chroma MCP Server Official Chroma server: create collections and run vector, full-text, and metadata search. Verified stdio (local) API key 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	API key	API key
GitHub stars	600	60k
Last commit	2 months ago	29 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`uvx chroma-mcp --client-type persistent --data-dir /absolute/path/to/data`	`curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mem0ai/mem0/main/openmemory/run.sh \| OPENAI_API_KEY=your_api_key bash`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Chroma MCP Server if you want a local (stdio) server that keeps data on your machine, and you need the broadest set of tools.

Pick OpenMemory MCP if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want a hosted/remote server with nothing to install.

Add Chroma MCP Server

Install / run

uvx chroma-mcp --client-type persistent --data-dir /absolute/path/to/data

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chroma-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "chroma-mcp",
        "--client-type",
        "persistent",
        "--data-dir",
        "/absolute/path/to/data"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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

Chroma MCP Server or OpenMemory MCP — which is better?

Pick Chroma MCP Server if you want a local (stdio) server that keeps data on your machine, and you need the broadest set of tools. Pick OpenMemory MCP if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want a hosted/remote server with nothing to install.

Can I use both Chroma MCP Server 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 Chroma MCP Server and OpenMemory MCP work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

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

View Chroma MCP Server →View OpenMemory MCP →More comparisons →