使用说明
tartarus-mcp
Local-first MCP memory server. Persistent, searchable memory for any AI agent.
Built on the Apache-2.0 Asphodel memory core, vendored in this repo. Zero cloud dependencies. SQLite-backed.
Install (build from source)
tartarus-mcp is not published to npm or any other package registry. Build it from this repository, pinned to a reviewed commit:
git clone https://github.com/saluca-labs/tartarus-mcp.git
cd tartarus-mcp
git checkout c8451c11db2aecf7ee7c0b201b9b6dcbee6fd5ee
npm ci --ignore-scripts=false
npm run build
node dist/index.js install
install configures Claude Code, Cursor and Windsurf to run node /absolute/path/to/tartarus-mcp/dist/index.js, so keep the checkout where it is. It also prints the equivalent claude mcp add line for the Claude Code CLI.
--ignore-scripts=false is needed only if your npm config sets ignore-scripts=true: the better-sqlite3 dependency compiles or downloads its native binding in an install script.
Manual setup
After building, add this to your MCP settings, using the absolute path of your checkout:
{
"mcpServers": {
"tartarus": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/absolute/path/to/tartarus-mcp/dist/index.js"]
}
}
}
Without a local checkout
npm can fetch and build the pinned commit straight from GitHub. This does not use the npm registry for tartarus-mcp itself; its third-party dependencies still come from npm.
{
"mcpServers": {
"tartarus": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "--ignore-scripts=false", "github:saluca-labs/tartarus-mcp#c8451c11db2aecf7ee7c0b201b9b6dcbee6fd5ee"]
}
}
}
The first start takes about 30 seconds while it builds. Pin a full commit SHA, never a branch.
Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
memory_remember |
Store a memory (topics auto-extracted) |
memory_recall |
Retrieve memories by topic |
memory_search |
Full-text search across all memories |
memory_forget |
Delete a memory by ID |
memory_list |
List recent memories |
Config
TARTARUS_DB=/path/to/memory.db # default: ~/.tartarus/memory.db
Enterprise
Hash-chained audit trails, multi-tenant isolation, compliance controls, and team memory at asphodel.ai.
License
Functional Source License 1.1, Apache 2.0 Future License (FSL-1.1-ALv2), see LICENSE. Each version becomes available under the Apache License 2.0 on the second anniversary of its release. Copyright Saluca LLC.
The vendored Asphodel core in src/vendor/asphodel/ (and its tests in tests/vendor/asphodel/) is licensed under the Apache License 2.0, not FSL; see its LICENSE and NOTICE, which record the origin commit.
Versions 0.2.0 and earlier were published to npm with an Apache-2.0 licence field, and those releases remain available under Apache 2.0.
Distribution
npm is no longer a distribution channel. On 2026-09-16 Saluca removed all of its packages from npm, including tartarus-mcp and @saluca/asphodel, which tartarus-mcp used to depend on. That is why the Asphodel core is vendored here, why package.json is "private": true, and why the npm publish workflow was removed. Install from source as described above. Do not install a package named tartarus-mcp from npm: it is not ours.
