ember-memory vs io.github.zamansheikh/memory-lean
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). io.github.zamansheikh/memory-lean is an MCP server published by zamansheikh. Marketplaces we read that list it: 2 (Official MCP Registry, Community GitHub marketplaces). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-16. 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 |  io.github.zamansheikh/memory-lean |
|---|---|---|
| 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: 1.5.0 Downloads/month (npm): 505 Downloads/week (npm): 505 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 3 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 | io.github.zamansheikh/memory-lean |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 1 (worse) | 2 (better) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 2 (worse) | 3 (better) |
| Forks (GitHub) | 0 | 0 |
| Last release (differs) | Not published | 2026-10-16 |
| Where it runs (differs) | Installs as a plugin bundle | On your machine (memory-lean) |
| 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 | 1 | 1 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 2 | 3 |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/kindledflamestudios/ember-memory | github.com/zamansheikh/memory-lean |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 3 |
| 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.
io.github.zamansheikh/memory-lean
Token-lean memory for AI agents: a knowledge graph searched cheaply. Drop-in for server-memory.
How to run each
ember-memory As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
/plugin install ember-memory@claude-communityio.github.zamansheikh/memory-lean As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --transport stdio memory-lean -- npx -y memory-leanCommands 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 io.github.zamansheikh/memory-lean asks for
MEMORY_FILE_PATH
Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.
What it can do: ember-memory · What it can do: io.github.zamansheikh/memory-lean · 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. Data comes from public marketplace files in GitHub repositories of their authors. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.