Memory (Knowledge Graph) vs Serena

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

	Memory (Knowledge Graph) Official MCP server providing persistent, file-backed knowledge-graph memory across sessions. Verified stdio (local) No auth TypeScript	Serena LSP-powered coding agent toolkit: semantic symbol search, references and structural edits. Verified stdio (local) No auth Python
Category	AI, Data & Knowledge	Developer Tools
Language	TypeScript	Python
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	None	None
GitHub stars	74k	12k
Last commit	5 months ago	17 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory`	`uvx --from git+https://github.com/oraios/serena serena start-mcp-server`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Memory (Knowledge Graph) if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Pick Serena if you prefer its approach (lsp-powered coding agent toolkit: semantic symbol search, references and structural edits).

Add Memory (Knowledge Graph)

Install / run

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "memory-knowledge-graph": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MEMORY_FILE_PATH": "/absolute/path/to/memory.jsonl"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add Serena

Install / run

uvx --from git+https://github.com/oraios/serena serena start-mcp-server

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "serena": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/oraios/serena",
        "serena",
        "start-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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

FAQ

Memory (Knowledge Graph) or Serena — which is better?

Pick Memory (Knowledge Graph) if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option. Pick Serena if you prefer its approach (lsp-powered coding agent toolkit: semantic symbol search, references and structural edits).

Can I use both Memory (Knowledge Graph) and Serena?

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 Memory (Knowledge Graph) and Serena work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

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

View Memory (Knowledge Graph) →View Serena →More comparisons →