# recall

A **zero-dependency MCP server** for cross-session memory recall in Claude Code. It exposes lexical `search` / `list` / `get` over your Claude memory files so a new session can find what past sessions decided and learned, without re-explaining.

No native deps, no SDK: pure Node stdlib implementing the MCP stdio JSON-RPC protocol by hand. It installs and runs anywhere Node 18+ exists.

## Why

Context is fragile across sessions; power users build their own (Chronicle, Recall-with-Redis) to recall files, decisions, and chats. Memory consolidation work (RecMem, agentmemory) shows the value of distilling recurring knowledge rather than re-loading everything. recall is the minimal, dependency-free first step: make the memory you already write searchable from any session.

## Tools

- `recall_search(query, limit=5)`: ranked lexical search over memory files, returns name, score, snippet, file.
- `recall_list()`: all memory entries (name, description, file).
- `recall_get(name)`: full content of one entry by frontmatter name or filename.

Read-only by design in v0.1. It never writes or deletes.

## Install (Claude Code)

Add to your MCP config (`~/.claude/settings.json`, or wherever you manage MCP servers):

```jsonc
"mcpServers": {
  "recall": {
    "command": "node",
    "args": ["C:\\Users\\<you>\\recall\\server.js"],
    "env": { "RECALL_MEMORY_DIR": "" }
  }
}
```

- `RECALL_MEMORY_DIR` (optional): point at a specific memory folder. If unset, recall scans every `~/.claude/projects/<slug>/memory/` directory.
- As a plugin, `.claude-plugin/plugin.json` already declares the server via `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/server.js`.

Restart Claude Code; the `recall_*` tools appear.

## Verify it yourself (no network needed)

```bash
printf '%s\n%s\n' \
'{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2024-11-05","capabilities":{}}}' \
'{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/list"}' | node server.js
```

You should get an `initialize` result with `serverInfo` and a `tools/list` with three tools.

## Limits / roadmap

- v0.1 is **lexical** (term-frequency). It does not do semantic/embedding search yet.
- v0.2 (planned): optional embeddings + hybrid retrieval (e.g. sqlite-vec + BM25/FTS5) behind a flag, plus confidence/lifecycle tags. Those add native deps; v0.1 stays dependency-free on purpose.

## License

MIT

---

Part of the **[claude-code-skills](https://github.com/Zavelinski/claude-code-skills)** collection: a one-line [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) plugin marketplace of focused skills, plugins, and MCP servers.

```
/plugin marketplace add Zavelinski/claude-code-skills
```