ember-memory vs lean-memory
ember-memory is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by KindledFlameStudios. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-community). lean-memory is an MCP server published by Wuesteon. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-15. 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 |  ember-memory |  lean-memory |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Listed Version: 2.0.0 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 2 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.3.0 Downloads/month (PyPI): 201 Downloads/week (PyPI): 86 Forks (GitHub): 40 Stars (GitHub): 43 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 | ember-memory | lean-memory |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 2 (worse) | 43 (better) |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 0 (worse) | 40 (better) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | Installs as a plugin bundle | On your machine (lean-memory) |
| Transport (differs) | Not stated | stdio |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for | 1, secrets among them: 0 | 1, secrets among them: 0 |
| Hooks it runs (differs) | 1 | Not published |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 2 | Not a bundle |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/kindledflamestudios/ember-memory | github.com/wuesteon/lean-memory |
| 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
ember-memory
Persistent semantic memory for Claude Code. Stores knowledge in a local ChromaDB vector database and automatically retrieves relevant context on every message using Ollama bge-m3 embeddings. Everything runs locally — no API keys, no cloud, no data leaving your machine.
lean-memory
Embedded, local-first agent memory: one SQLite file per namespace, no server, no cloud.
How to run each
ember-memory As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
/plugin install ember-memory@claude-communitylean-memory As a local MCP server: PyPI package
claude mcp add --transport stdio lean-memory -- uvx --from "lean-memory[mcp,models,extract]" lean-memory lean-memory-mcpCommands 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
Only ember-memory asks for
EMBER_AI_ID
Only lean-memory asks for
LM_DATA_ROOT
Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.
What it can do: ember-memory · What it can do: lean-memory · 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.