OpenMemory MCP Troubleshooting Guide

This repository contains comprehensive troubleshooting documentation for OpenMemory MCP Server integration with Claude Desktop and other MCP clients.

Common Error: "Server transport closed unexpectedly"

This is the most common error when setting up OpenMemory MCP:

2025-05-30T19:18:27.723Z [info] [openmemory] Server transport closed unexpectedly, this is likely due to the process exiting early.
2025-05-30T19:18:27.724Z [error] [openmemory] Server disconnected.

Prerequisites

Before troubleshooting, ensure you have:

• Docker Desktop running
• Node.js and npm installed
• OpenAI API key
• Git

Setup Process

1. Clone and Setup OpenMemory

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/mem0ai/mem0.git
cd openmemory

# Create and configure the .env file
cd api
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env and add your OPENAI_API_KEY
echo "OPENAI_API_KEY=your_actual_api_key_here" > .env
cd ..

# Build Docker images
make build

# Start all services
make up

# Start the frontend
cp ui/.env.example ui/.env
make ui

2. Verify Services are Running

# Check Docker containers
docker ps | grep openmemory

# You should see:
# - openmemory-api-1
# - openmemory-postgres-1
# - openmemory-qdrant-1

# Test API endpoint
curl http://localhost:8765/health
curl http://localhost:8765/docs

# Test SSE endpoint
curl -N -H "Accept: text/event-stream" http://localhost:8765/mcp/claude/sse/ian

3. Configure Claude Desktop

Edit your Claude Desktop configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add the OpenMemory configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openmemory": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sse",
        "http://localhost:8765/mcp/claude/sse/ian"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Important: Memory Formatting Guidelines

When using OpenMemory to store memories, follow these guidelines for best results:

✅ DO:

• Use plain text without special formatting
• Keep memories concise and in natural sentence form
• Split complex information into logical chunks (summary + details)
• Write in continuous prose rather than lists
• Keep each memory focused on a single topic or concept

❌ DON'T:

• Use markdown formatting (bold, italics, headers)
• Create numbered or bulleted lists
• Add line breaks or complex structure
• Make extremely long entries
• Use special characters or formatting symbols

Example - Good Memory Format:

Ian has 18 MCP servers installed in Claude Desktop for various automation and development tasks. The servers include applescript_execute for Mac system control, context7-mcp for documentation lookup, desktop-commander for file operations, and other tools for browser automation, task management, and screen capture.

Example - Poor Memory Format:

Ian's MCP Servers:
1. **applescript_execute** - Mac system control
2. **context7-mcp** - Documentation lookup
3. **desktop-commander** - File operations
... (long formatted list)

Troubleshooting Steps

Step 1: Check Docker Logs

# Check API logs for errors
docker logs openmemory-api-1 --tail 50

# Check for specific errors
docker logs openmemory-api-1 2>&1 | grep -i error

Step 2: Verify API Key

# Check if API key is set in the container
docker exec openmemory-api-1 env | grep OPENAI_API_KEY

Step 3: Test SSE Connection

Create a test file test-sse.js:

const EventSource = require('eventsource');
const es = new EventSource('http://localhost:8765/mcp/claude/sse/ian');

es.onopen = () => console.log('Connected to SSE');
es.onmessage = (event) => console.log('Message:', event.data);
es.onerror = (err) => console.error('Error:', err);

setTimeout(() => {
  es.close();
  console.log('Connection closed');
}, 10000);

Run it:

npm install eventsource
node test-sse.js

Step 4: Alternative Configurations

If the standard configuration doesn't work, try these alternatives:

Option 1: Using a Wrapper Script

Create /Users/ian/openmemory-mcp.sh:

#!/bin/bash
exec npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-sse http://localhost:8765/mcp/claude/sse/ian

Make it executable:

chmod +x /Users/ian/openmemory-mcp.sh

Update Claude config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openmemory": {
      "command": "/Users/ian/openmemory-mcp.sh",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Option 2: With Environment Variables

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openmemory": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sse@latest",
        "http://localhost:8765/mcp/claude/sse/ian"
      ],
      "env": {
        "NODE_ENV": "production",
        "DEBUG": "mcp:*"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 5: Check Port Availability

# Check if port 8765 is in use
lsof -i :8765

# Check if port 3001 is in use (UI)
lsof -i :3001

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue 1: Missing API Key

Symptom: Server starts but immediately disconnects Solution: Ensure OPENAI_API_KEY is set in openmemory/api/.env

Issue 2: Docker Not Running

Symptom: Connection refused errors Solution: Start Docker Desktop and run make up again

Issue 3: Port Conflicts

Symptom: Address already in use errors Solution: Kill processes using ports 8765 or 3001

Issue 4: SSE Client Not Found

Symptom: Command not found errors Solution: Install globally: npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/server-sse

Issue 5: CORS Issues

Symptom: Cross-origin errors in logs Solution: Ensure using http:// not https:// for localhost

Quick Diagnostics Script

Create diagnose.sh:

#!/bin/bash

echo "=== OpenMemory MCP Diagnostics ==="
echo

echo "1. Checking Docker..."
if docker ps > /dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "✓ Docker is running"
    echo "   OpenMemory containers:"
    docker ps | grep openmemory | awk '{print "   - " $NF}'
else
    echo "✗ Docker is not running"
fi
echo

echo "2. Checking API..."
if curl -s http://localhost:8765/health > /dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "✓ API is responding"
else
    echo "✗ API is not responding"
fi
echo

echo "3. Checking UI..."
if curl -s http://localhost:3001 > /dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "✓ UI is accessible"
else
    echo "✗ UI is not accessible"
fi
echo

echo "4. Checking SSE endpoint..."
timeout 2 curl -s -N -H "Accept: text/event-stream" http://localhost:8765/mcp/claude/sse/ian > /dev/null 2>&1
if [ $? -eq 124 ]; then
    echo "✓ SSE endpoint is streaming"
else
    echo "✗ SSE endpoint is not working"
fi
echo

echo "5. Checking npm/npx..."
if command -v npx > /dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "✓ npx is available"
else
    echo "✗ npx is not found"
fi

Make it executable and run:

chmod +x diagnose.sh
./diagnose.sh

Working Example

Once properly configured, you should see in Claude Desktop:

• OpenMemory appears in the MCP servers list
• Memory tools are available (add_memory, search_memory, etc.)
• The web UI at http://localhost:3001 shows connected clients

Additional Resources

• OpenMemory Documentation
• MCP Documentation
• Claude Desktop MCP Guide

Contributing

If you find additional issues or solutions, please submit a PR to help others!