agent-memory vs Cortex Memory Engine
agent-memory is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by Keshab0310. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-community). Cortex Memory Engine is an MCP server published by gambletan. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-13. This pair was picked by a reader, not by our comparison rule, so search engines are asked not to index the page.
Where each is published
| Marketplace |  agent-memory |  Cortex Memory Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Listed Version: 0.1.0 Forks (GitHub): 2 Stars (GitHub): 3 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.8.0 Forks (GitHub): 3 Stars (GitHub): 35 Not marked · First seen |
Each figure is the marketplace's own and is never added up across marketplaces. A marketplace that publishes no figure shows none: no number is not zero.
The facts side by side
| Fact | agent-memory | Cortex Memory Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 3 (worse) | 35 (better) |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 2 (worse) | 3 (better) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | Installs as a plugin bundle | On your machine (ghcr.io/gambletan/cortex:v1.8.0) |
| Transport (differs) | Not stated | stdio |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 2, secrets among them: 0 | Not published |
| Hooks it runs (differs) | 2 | Not published |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 4 | Not a bundle |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/keshab0310/agent-memory | github.com/gambletan/cortex |
| Changes in the last 7 days | 0 | 0 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
Lines where the two differ have a tinted background and bold values. Where the data itself says which value is better (more marketplaces, a larger figure of the same marketplace, a fresher release, a verified mark on a marketplace that lists both), the better one is also marked green with ▲ and the worse one red with ▼. Where it runs, the transport, the tools, the settings, hooks, the bundle's parts, the licence and the week's changes are marked only as different: more or fewer is not better in itself.
What each says it does
agent-memory
Save 60-90% on LLM token costs with intelligent memory compression. agent-memory automatically compresses tool output into structured observations, shares context across agents via a memory bus, and injects only relevant memory into each prompt — keeping your token budget under control. Features: auto-compression hooks (PostToolUse), token-budgeted context injection (SessionStart), semantic search via FTS5, cross-session persistence, and a token economics dashboard showing compression ratios and savings.
Cortex Memory Engine
Local-first AI memory engine — 4-tier memory, people graph, Bayesian beliefs. Encrypted, 62µs.
How to run each
agent-memory As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
/plugin install agent-memory@claude-communityCortex Memory Engine As a local MCP server: Docker image
claude mcp add --transport stdio cortex -- docker run -i --rm ghcr.io/gambletan/cortex:v1.8.0Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
Neither one's marketplaces publish a list of tools, so there is nothing to compare.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of Cortex Memory Engine publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: agent-memory · What it can do: Cortex Memory Engine · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.