GitHub - scrypster/muninndb: The cognitive database. A new class of data storage. Not a vector store, not a graph DB, not a RAG wrapper. Ebbinghaus decay, Hebbian learning, and Bayesian confidence are engine-native primitives. Memories evolve on their own. MCP-native. Single binary.

Memory that strengthens with use, fades when unused, and pushes to you when it matters — accessible over MCP, REST, gRPC, or SDK.

Provisional patent filed Feb 26, 2026 on the core cognitive primitives (engine-native Ebbinghaus decay, Hebbian learning, Bayesian confidence, semantic triggers). This helps protect the project so we can keep it open and innovative for everyone.

Prerequisites: None. Single binary, zero dependencies, zero configuration required. To uninstall: rm $(which muninn) and delete ~/.muninn.

Try It — 30 Seconds

macOS / Linux:

# 1. Install
curl -sSL https://muninndb.com/install.sh | sh

# 2. Start (first-run setup is automatic)
muninn start

Windows (PowerShell):

# 1. Install
irm https://muninndb.com/install.ps1 | iex

# 2. Start (first-run setup is automatic)
muninn start

# 3. Store a memory
curl -sX POST http://localhost:8475/api/engrams \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"concept":"payment incident","content":"We switched to idempotency keys after the double-charge incident in Q3"}'

# 4. Ask what is relevant RIGHT NOW
curl -sX POST http://localhost:8475/api/activate \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"context":["debugging the payment retry logic"]}'

That Q3 incident surfaces. You never mentioned it. MuninnDB connected the concepts.

Web UI: http://localhost:8476 · Admin: root / password (change after first login)

Connect Your AI Tools

MuninnDB auto-detects and configures Claude Desktop, Cursor, OpenClaw, Windsurf, VS Code, and others:

Follow the prompts. Done. Your AI tools now have persistent, cognitive memory.

Manual MCP configuration — if you prefer to configure by hand:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "muninn": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:8750/mcp"
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "muninn": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:8750/mcp"
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "muninn": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:8750/mcp"
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "muninn": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:8750/mcp"
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "muninn": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:8750/mcp"
    }
  }
}

{
  "servers": {
    "muninn": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:8750/mcp"
    }
  }
}

MuninnDB exposes 35 MCP tools — store, activate, search, batch insert, get usage guidance, manage vaults, and more. On first connect, call muninn_guide for vault-aware instructions. No token required against the default vault. Full MCP reference →

What Just Happened

Most databases store data and wait. MuninnDB stores memory traces — called engrams — and continuously works on them in the background. When you called activate, it ran a 6-phase pipeline: parallel full-text + vector search, fused the results, applied Hebbian co-activation boosts from past queries, injected predictive candidates from sequential patterns, traversed the association graph, and scored everything with ACT-R temporal weighting — in under 20ms.

The Q3 incident surfaced because MuninnDB understood that "payment retry logic" and "idempotency keys after a double-charge" are part of the same conversation. You never wrote that relationship. It emerged from semantic proximity and how these concepts travel together. That is the difference between a database and memory.

Deep dive: How Memory Works →

Why MuninnDB

• Temporal priority — the database continuously recalculates what matters based on how recently and how often you've accessed each memory. Memories you use stay sharp. Memories you ignore fade naturally. The database moves while you sleep.
• Hebbian learning — memories activated together automatically form associations. Edges strengthen with co-activation, fade when the pattern stops. You never define a schema of relationships.
• Predictive activation — the database tracks sequential patterns across activations and learns to surface the next memory before you ask for it. Recall@10 improves 21% in workflow-oriented use cases.
• Semantic triggers — subscribe to a context. The database pushes when something becomes relevant — not because you queried, but because relevance changed. No polling. No cron. The DB initiates.
• Bayesian confidence — every engram tracks how sure MuninnDB is. Reinforcing memories raise confidence; contradictions lower it. Grounded in evidence, not a label you assign.
• Plug-and-play AI onboarding — call muninn_guide and the database tells your AI exactly how to use memory, customized to the vault's configuration. No manual prompt engineering.
• Retroactive enrichment — add the embed or enrich plugin and every existing memory upgrades automatically in the background. No migration. No code change. The database improves what it already holds.
• Bulk insert — batch up to 50 memories in a single call across all protocols (REST, gRPC, MCP). Efficient for data seeding, migration, and high-throughput agents.
• Four protocols — MBP (binary, <10ms ACK), REST (JSON), gRPC (protobuf), MCP (AI agents). Pick your stack; they all hit the same cognitive engine.
• Single binary — no Redis, no Kafka, no Postgres dependency. One process. One install command. Runs on a MacBook or a 3-node cluster.

Examples

REST — the full cycle:

# Write
curl -sX POST http://localhost:8475/api/engrams \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "concept": "auth architecture",
    "content": "Short-lived JWTs (15min), refresh tokens in HttpOnly cookies, sessions server-side in Redis",
    "tags": ["auth", "security"]
  }'

# Activate by context (returns ranked, time-weighted, associated memories)
curl -sX POST http://localhost:8475/api/activate \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"context": ["reviewing the login flow for the mobile app"], "max_results": 5}'

# Search by text
curl 'http://localhost:8475/api/engrams?q=JWT&vault=default'

Python SDK:

from muninn import MuninnClient

async with MuninnClient("http://localhost:8475") as m:
    # Store
    await m.write(vault="default", concept="auth architecture",
                  content="Short-lived JWTs, refresh in HttpOnly cookies")

    # Activate — context-aware, ranked, cognitively weighted
    result = await m.activate(vault="default",
                              context=["reviewing the login flow"],
                              max_results=5)
    for item in result.activations:
        print(f"{item.concept}  score={item.score:.3f}")

pip install muninn-python

LangChain integration:

from muninn.langchain import MuninnDBMemory
from langchain.chains import ConversationChain

memory = MuninnDBMemory(vault="my-agent")
chain = ConversationChain(llm=your_llm, memory=memory)
# Every turn is stored. Every response draws on relevant past context.

Go SDK:

import "github.com/scrypster/muninndb/sdk/go/muninn"

client := muninn.NewClient("http://localhost:8475", "your-api-key")
id, _ := client.Write(ctx, "default", "auth architecture",
    "Short-lived JWTs, refresh in HttpOnly cookies", []string{"auth"})
resp, _ := client.Activate(ctx, "default", []string{"login flow"}, 5)

go get github.com/scrypster/muninndb/sdk/go/muninn

Node.js / TypeScript SDK:

import { MuninnClient } from '@muninndb/client';

const client = new MuninnClient({ token: 'your-api-key' });
const { id } = await client.write({ concept: 'auth architecture',
    content: 'Short-lived JWTs, refresh in HttpOnly cookies' });
const result = await client.activate({ context: ['login flow'] });

npm install @muninndb/client

PHP SDK:

use MuninnDB\MuninnClient;

$client = new MuninnClient(token: 'your-api-key');
$result = $client->write(concept: 'auth architecture',
    content: 'Short-lived JWTs, refresh in HttpOnly cookies');
$memories = $client->activate(context: ['login flow']);

composer require muninndb/client

More examples → · Full API reference →

License

MuninnDB uses the Business Source License 1.1 (BSL 1.1).

• Free for individuals, hobbyists, researchers, and open-source projects.
• Free for small organizations (<50 employees and <$5M revenue).
• Free for all internal use.
• Commercial hosted/SaaS/DBaaS/managed services require a license from the author.
• Automatically becomes Apache 2.0 on February 26, 2030.
• Provisional patent filed Feb 26, 2026 on the core cognitive engine.

Full terms: LICENSE. See also CLA for contributors.

Configuration

MuninnDB works out of the box with no configuration. The bundled local embedder is included — offline, no API key, no setup.

When you're ready to customize:

Docker:

docker run -d \
  --name muninndb \
  -p 8474:8474 -p 8475:8475 -p 8476:8476 -p 8750:8750 \
  -v muninndb-data:/data \
  ghcr.io/scrypster/muninndb:latest

Full self-hosting guide →

Documentation

For an intent-organized reading guide, see docs/index.md.

Contributing

PRs welcome. For large changes, open an issue first.

By submitting a pull request, you agree to the Contributor License Agreement.

Ports at a glance: 8474 MBP · 8475 REST · 8476 Web UI · 8477 gRPC · 8750 MCP

Troubleshooting

Named after Muninn — one of Odin's two ravens, whose name means "memory" in Old Norse. Muninn flies across the nine worlds and returns what has been forgotten.

Built by MJ Bonanno · muninndb.com · BSL 1.1

MuninnDB is patent pending (U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/991,402) and licensed under BSL 1.1.