Set up the Memexa MCP server in Claude — step by step

By the end of this guide, Claude has access to your notes, documents and scans in Memexa and cites the source with every answer. You need one URL and about three minutes.

What MCP is

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the open standard Claude uses to talk to external services. An MCP server provides Claude with tools such as “search my notes” or “read this document”, and Claude calls them on its own when a question fits. More background is in the MCP fundamentals article; this paragraph is enough for setup.

Prerequisites

• A Memexa account (create one free, the Free plan is enough)
• Claude Desktop or Claude Code

You don’t need API keys or config files. Sign-in happens through OAuth in the browser, and the address is the same for every client:

https://brain.memexa.ai/mcp

Connect Claude Desktop

1. Open Settings in Claude Desktop (gear icon, bottom left).
2. Choose the Connectors tab.
3. Click Add custom connector.
4. Paste https://brain.memexa.ai/mcp as the URL and confirm.
5. Sign in with your Memexa account in the browser window that opens. The sign-in is permanent.

Afterwards, “memexa” appears in your connector list.

Connect Claude Code

One command in the terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http --scope user memexa https://brain.memexa.ai/mcp

--scope user makes the connection available in all projects, not just the current folder. On first access the browser opens for sign-in. After that the connection runs in the background.

Check that it works

Ask Claude a question only your memory can answer:

“What do you know about me?”

If Claude calls tools like search_brain or list_recent and answers with content from your Memexa, the connection is up. In Claude Code, /mcp shows the status of every connected server.

What Claude can do afterwards

Claude now remembers things across sessions: say “Remember: release moved to the 14th” and the note is still there next week, in ChatGPT or Cursor too if you connect those as well. Uploaded PDFs and scans go through text recognition automatically; ask Claude about one and the answer names the source, such as “contract, page 4”. New notes also link themselves to existing ones, so Claude can navigate the graph from one piece of information to the next.

Common problems

The connector shows up, but Claude doesn’t use it

Claude only calls tools when the question sounds like it needs them. Be explicit at first: “Check my Memexa for …”. After the first few hits, Claude starts using the memory unprompted.

Sign-in fails or hangs

Usually a browser issue: disable the pop-up blocker, then remove and re-add the connector. There is nothing to enter in Claude itself; sign-in happens entirely in the browser.

”Server disconnected” in Claude Code

Run claude mcp list. If memexa shows “failed”, claude mcp remove memexa followed by the claude mcp add from above almost always fixes it. If the error persists, check whether a corporate firewall filters outgoing HTTPS connections.

Claude can’t find a document

Freshly uploaded documents need a moment for text recognition and linking. You can see the status in the dashboard. Once the document is marked as processed, Claude finds it.