Memtrace

What is Memtrace?

Memtrace is a structural memory layer for AI coding agents, delivered as an MCP server. It compiles any codebase into a live, bi-temporal knowledge graph from the AST, enabling agents like Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and Zed to instantly query callers, callees, blast radius, dependency chains, and code evolution without re-reading source files on every turn.

How to use Memtrace?

Install Memtrace with a single command (npm install -g memtrace), start the graph server (memtrace start), and index your repository (memtrace index .). The MCP server starts automatically and connects to any MCP-compatible agent. No configuration, cloud account, or telemetry required.

Key features of Memtrace

• Structural knowledge graph compiled from the AST across 12 languages and 3 IaC formats.
• Bi-temporal episodic memory enables time-travel through code history beyond git commits.
• Blast radius analysis computes exactly which files, functions, and services break before any change.
• Hybrid retrieval engine fused BM25, HNSW vector search, and graph traversal.
• Six traversal strategies: Impact, Novel, Recent, Compound, Directional, and Overview.
• API topology mapping for cross-service dependency chains and dead endpoint detection.
• 40+ MCP tools covering indexing, search, relationships, impact analysis, and graph algorithms.
• Local-first, closed-source Rust—code never leaves the machine, no account, no telemetry.

Use cases of Memtrace

• Giving AI coding agents persistent structural memory to reduce token waste by up to 90%.
• Computing blast radius before a refactor—knowing exactly which callers, services, and tests break.
• Detecting structural drift and regressions mid-session, catching breaking changes the moment they happen.
• Onboarding agents to large, unfamiliar codebases instantly with full symbol graph and dependency tree queryable from the first turn.
• Time-travelling through code evolution to understand how a function, type, or module changed over time.

FAQ from Memtrace

What agents and IDEs does Memtrace work with?

Memtrace works with any MCP-compatible agent or IDE, including Claude Code, Cursor, Zed, VS Code, Windsurf, Continue, Aider, and OpenAI Codex CLI.

Does Memtrace send my code to the cloud?

No. Memtrace is fully local-first. Your code never leaves your machine. There is no account, no telemetry, and no cloud dependency.

How long does indexing take?

Initial indexing typically completes in seconds for most repositories. Each file save triggers an incremental re-index that completes in 200–800ms.

Which programming languages are supported?

Memtrace supports 12 programming languages and 3 IaC formats via Tree-sitter grammars: TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Rust, Go, Java, C, C++, Ruby, PHP, C#, Swift, plus Terraform, Kubernetes, and Docker.

How is Memtrace different from RAG-based code search tools?

RAG tools return lexically or semantically similar snippets. Memtrace returns structurally meaningful answers—the actual callers, real blast radius, and deterministic dependency chains—because it reasons over a compiled knowledge graph, not over embeddings.

Does Memtrace replace existing tools like LSP or GitHub Copilot?

No. Memtrace is additive. It gives agents a structural memory layer that LSP servers and embedding-based tools don't provide. Existing tools keep working; agents gain access to 40+ additional MCP tools for graph-based reasoning.