OpenClaw 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.

	OpenClaw MCP Server Secure bridge between Claude.ai/Desktop and a self-hosted OpenClaw AI assistant, with OAuth2 and multi-instance routing. Unverified stdio (local) OAuth TypeScript	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	TypeScript	Python
Transport	stdio (local)	SSE (remote)
Auth	OAuth	API key
GitHub stars	173	60k
Last commit	2 months ago	1 month ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx openclaw-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 OpenClaw MCP Server if you want a local (stdio) server that keeps data on your machine.

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

Add OpenClaw MCP Server

Install / run

npx openclaw-mcp

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openclaw-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "openclaw-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPENCLAW_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:18789",
        "OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN": "your-gateway-token",
        "OPENCLAW_MODEL": "openclaw",
        "OPENCLAW_TIMEOUT_MS": "300000"
      }
    }
  }
}

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

OpenClaw MCP Server or OpenMemory MCP — which is better?

Pick OpenClaw MCP Server if you want a local (stdio) server that keeps data on your machine. Pick OpenMemory MCP if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Can I use both OpenClaw 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 OpenClaw 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 OpenClaw MCP Server →View OpenMemory MCP →More comparisons →