What is Cortex?
Cortex is a MCP server by cdeust that neuroscience-inspired memory for Claude Code on PostgreSQL/pgvector: decay, consolidation, a predictive-coding write gate and lifecycle hooks. It is listed under Knowledge & memory and has 75 GitHub stars.
| Type | Mcp server |
|---|---|
| Author | cdeust |
| Repository | cdeust/Cortex |
| Popularity | 75 GitHub stars |
| Category | Knowledge & memory |
| Security | Low risk (84/100) |
| Rank | #697 of 4,418 MCP servers; #71 in Knowledge & memory |
| License | MIT |
| Last commit | 2026-10-17 |
| Stars this week | +2 |
| Runs | Locally |
| Language | Python |
| Platforms | macOS |
Is Cortex safe to install?
Cortex scores 84/100 on the MCPMods security check: Low risk. Things to review: can take actions such as send, write or deploy. It passed 4 of 6 checks.
MCP server results come from listing signals: who publishes it, where your data goes and what it can do. The code itself is not scanned yet.
| Check | Result |
|---|---|
| Community-built server | Note |
| Runs on your machine only | Pass |
| No credentials mentioned | Pass |
| Can take actions such as send, write or deploy | Review |
| No code execution | Pass |
| Source on GitHub | Pass |
How do I install Cortex?
- Find the launch command. The README says how the server starts (npx, uvx, docker or a remote URL) and which API keys it needs.
https://github.com/cdeust/Cortex
- Add it to Claude Code. Replace the part after -- with the command from the README. Remote servers use --transport http with a URL.
claude mcp add cortex -- <command from README> claude mcp add --transport http cortex <server-url>
- Check it connected. This lists your MCP servers and their status.
claude mcp list
Or ask Claude to set it up
Paste this into Claude Code and it installs Cortex for you:
Add the "Cortex" MCP server from https://github.com/cdeust/Cortex to Claude Code. Read its README for the launch command and any API keys I need, run claude mcp add, then check that it connects.