mxLore

Self-hosted MCP server for AI-assisted software development. Stores architectural decisions, specs, plans, findings, and lessons learned — accessed via Model Context Protocol tools from AI coding assistants. Works with claude.ai, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and any MCP client.

New here? Check out the product overview at mxlore.dev first — see what mxLore does, how it compares, and why your AI assistant needs a memory.

Features

  • 45 MCP Tools — search, create, update, recall knowledge across projects
  • Private by design — coding AIs (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf) reach all 45 tools through a local proxy: no third-party connector cloud in the path, no public endpoint, server stays on localhost or your LAN (details)
  • Multi-Project — one server, many codebases, cross-project search
  • Skill Evolution — tracks which AI checker rules actually help, auto-tunes
  • Institutional Memory — lessons learned with recall, gate levels, graph-based knowledge links
  • Multi-Agent — agents exchange messages across projects via polled inboxes
  • Admin UI — web dashboard for team members, keys, projects, intelligence metrics
  • Team Connect — invite links with rate-limited landing page, one-click setup for Claude Code, claude.ai, Cursor, and more
  • Semantic Search — hybrid vector + full-text search (MariaDB 11.6+ with VECTOR support)
  • AI Batch — automatic summaries, tagging, stale detection at boot time
  • Works in claude.ai — CTOs and PMs use mxLore from a chat window, developers from Claude Code — same server, same knowledge

Install the Server

Prerequisites: Windows x64, MariaDB 10.6+, Node.js (5 of the 8 hooks are Node scripts — without it the server still runs, but state tracking and Recall-Gate stay silent).

Step What Details
1 Install MariaDB mariadb.org/download (Windows MSI)
2 Create database mysql -u root -p -e "CREATE DATABASE mxai_knowledge CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;"
3 Configure copy mxLoreMCP.ini.example mxLoreMCP.ini — set Password= to your MariaDB root password
4 Start mxLoreMCP.exe — auto-detects MariaDB, creates schema, starts on port 8080 + 8081

The console should show Admin server listening on 127.0.0.1:8081. You're halfway there — don't stop.

First Start — From Running Server to Connected AI

⚠️ The server is running, but your AI can't talk to it yet. The API key you need lives inside the Admin UI. Here's how to pick it up and hand it to Claude Code.

  1. Open the Admin UI → browse to http://localhost:8081. First start has no login (no team members exist yet, so the UI opens directly).
  2. Create your first team member — click "New member", enter a name, save. An invite dialog appears right after.
  3. Copy the API key — format mxk_.... You'll paste this into Claude Code in the next step.
  4. Connect Claude Code — in any Claude Code session, run: 
    /mxSetup mxk_your_api_key_here
    mxSetup downloads the 12 skills, installs the proxy, and writes your .claude/settings.json. Takes ~15 seconds.
  5. Verify the handshake — ask Claude: "ping the mxLore server". You should see version: 2.4.0 come back.

That's it. Your AI now has persistent memory across sessions.

Other clients (claude.ai, Cursor, Windsurf, team invites): Team Onboarding Guide Full walkthrough: Installation Guide | Problems? Troubleshooting

Documentation

Guide Description
Installation Guide Step-by-step setup with MariaDB, configuration, first boot
Team Onboarding Connect Claude Code, claude.ai, Cursor + invite team members
Team Collaboration How PM, Dev, QA & Doc work together through mxLore — idea to shipped, friction-free handoffs
Troubleshooting Common issues and solutions
mxlore.dev Product overview, feature comparison, pricing

Network Security

Scenario Setup
Localhost (single user) HTTP is fine. Default: BindAddress=127.0.0.1
LAN (team) Set BindAddress=0.0.0.0 in INI. HTTP OK on trusted networks.
WAN / Cloud HTTPS required. Use a reverse proxy (IIS, nginx, Apache) with TLS.

Private by Design

Your coding AI connects directly to your server — no third-party MCP connector cloud sits in the path:

Client Path Notes
Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf AI -> local mxMCPProxy -> your server Direct. Server can stay on localhost/LAN — no public endpoint needed.
claude.ai chat chat -> MCP connector -> your server Chat windows can't run a local proxy, so they use the standard connector (routes through the chat provider).
  • No public endpoint for coding clients — the proxy bridges stdio <-> HTTP locally, so the server never has to face the internet.
  • No connector rate limits or broker outages between you and your data.
  • You own the transport — Bearer-auth API keys, your own TLS/firewall. The proxy is a single dependency-free binary (Windows + macOS).
  • Your knowledge base is stored only on your server. (As with any AI tool, whatever the model reads to answer you is processed by that model.)

Architecture

  • Stack: Delphi (RAD Studio) + TMS Sparkle + FireDAC + MariaDB
  • Protocol: MCP 2024-11-05 (JSON-RPC 2.0 over HTTP+SSE)
  • Auth: PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 API keys, per-project ACL
  • Units: 65 Delphi units, dot-notation (mx.*.pas), 5 layers

Skills

12 Claude Code skills via mxLore-skills (MIT licensed), listed in the order you typically use them:

# Skill When you use it
1 /mxSetup Install everything — run once per host. Downloads skills, hooks, proxy, patches settings.json.
2 /mxInitProject Register a new project in mxLore (creates slug, scaffolds CLAUDE.md).
3 /mxOrchestrate Session manager. Run --resume at session start to load briefing + context and pick up open workflows. Run start ad-hoc "<summary>" at the start of any substantial task — it wraps the work, tracks every step below as a workflow entry, and keeps session state across compacts.
4 /mxSpec Write a specification for a feature before planning.
5 /mxPlan Turn a spec into a step-by-step implementation plan.
6 /mxDecision Capture an architectural decision (ADR) the moment you make it.
7 /mxDesignChecker Review code/design against the spec before you ship.
8 /mxBugChecker Find bugs with verified proof (no hand-waving).
9 /mxSave End-of-session persistence — state, lessons, session notes into the DB.
10 /mxHealth Periodic consistency check on the knowledge DB and local docs.
11 /mxMigrateToDb One-time migration of legacy docs/*.md files into MCP.
12 /mxHelp Lists installed mx*-skills grouped by category, or explains one in detail.

Install all at once: run /mxSetup in Claude Code.

License

Server: BSL 1.1 (Business Source License) — LICENSE.txt

  • Source available: read, review, modify, build
  • Non-commercial use: free (personal projects, open source, students, evaluation)
  • Commercial use: EUR 399 one-time (regular EUR 599) — any size team, unlimited everything. Contact [email protected]
  • After the change date (4 years): converts to Apache 2.0

Skills: MIT — fully open source, no restrictions.

Pre-built binaries: No Delphi or TMS license needed. Download from GitHub Releases.

Links