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Practical guides to AI coding memory

Use the same private memory across AI tools with MCP

When you switch coding tools, the conversation usually stays in the first app. If both connect to Cairn.ink Memory under the same account, each can reach that account's private Memory: Claude Code through its plugin, and other apps through MCP.

Use one account from both clients

A Memory does not move between chat histories. Instead, each connected client can ask Cairn.ink Memory for a private Memory owned by the same account. Claude Code, set up with npx @cairn-ink/memory setup, recalls and captures on its own. Every other app connects over MCP and uses the hosted tools only when asked, so this example calls them explicitly in both clients.

Check the path from save to recall

  1. 1. Connect both client setups

    Choose two apps from the connection guide and connect each to the same Cairn account. Claude Code uses npx @cairn-ink/memory setup; the other apps connect over MCP with the steps the guide lists for each.

  2. 2. Save from client A

    In a new client A conversation, ask the assistant to call remember_memory with the synthetic preference. Record the returned Memory id and receipt.

  3. 3. Recall from client B

    Open a fresh client B conversation and ask it to call recall_memory with a narrow query about the preference. Compare the returned id, wording, and receipt with client A's result.

Private memory is not team knowledge

The shared result here is still a private Memory returned to its owner. It is not a team Knowledge Card. A team decision belongs in the intended collection and follows that collection's contribution and review process; remembering something privately never publishes it.

If the second client returns the same id and receipt, that is evidence for this manual example. If it returns nothing or different context, check the signed-in account, connection, query, and scope rather than assuming the clients share project state.

Limits to keep in mind

  • Each client must be connected to Cairn and signed into the intended account. Only Claude Code's plugin recalls on its own; an MCP app calls recall_memory only when you or the assistant ask it to.
  • Personal Memory scope follows the account across projects. Project scope needs the same opaque project_id to be supplied; Cairn does not infer identical project identity across clients.
  • Recall is a search and may miss a note. Compare the returned text and receipt, and keep current project documentation as the source of truth for project rules.
Connect an AI to CairnRead the local memory preview guide