Contextly — One memory for every AI

Bring your own storage

Your context lives where you choose

The same Markdown files everywhere. Start local, switch to the cloud anytime — your notes come with you.

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Local files default

Markdown files in a folder on your computer. Zero setup.

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Your Dropbox

A private app folder in your own Dropbox. Contextly can't see anything else.

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Your Google Drive

A single folder in your own Google Drive. Your account, your data.

Five tools

One memory, exposed to your AI

Install once. Your AI gets a searchable memory — no more copy-pasting between apps.

save_contextStore a named context

append_contextAdd to an existing one

list_contextsSee everything as a table

recall_contextLoad it back into chat

search_contextKeyword search with snippets

Set up

Set it up, step by step

No coding — just copy, paste, and click. About five minutes.

👉 Just use Claude Desktop? Skip everything below — grab the one-click installer, double-click it, and you’re done. The steps below are for Claude Code, Cursor, or setting up cloud sync.

1

Install Node (free, one time)

Contextly needs a small free program called Node to run. Open nodejs.org, click the big green “LTS” download button, and run the installer (just keep clicking Continue / Next). Already have it? Skip to step 2.

2

Download Contextly

Download the ZIP, then double-click it to unzip. Move the resulting contextly folder somewhere easy to find, like your Documents.

Now open a Terminal window inside that folder and type this, then press Enter:

npm install

Mac: right-click the folder → “New Terminal at Folder”. Windows: open the folder, click the address bar, type cmd, press Enter. Wait for it to finish (a minute or two).

3

Pick where your notes are saved optional

Choose one. The default (on your computer) needs no setup — the cloud options let you reach your notes from other devices.

Nothing to do here. Contextly already saves everything privately in a folder on your computer (~/.contextly). Skip to step 4 — you can always switch to a cloud later.

In your Terminal, run:

node bin/contextly-auth.js dropbox

It asks for a Dropbox App key. To get one, make a free Dropbox “app” (~2 min). This lets Contextly save into its own folder in your Dropbox — it can’t see anything else:

Open the Dropbox App Console and sign in.
Choose Scoped access → App folder, name it Contextly, and click Create app.
Open the Permissions tab, tick files.content.read and files.content.write, then click Submit.
Open the Settings tab. Under OAuth 2 → Redirect URIs, paste http://localhost:53682 and click Add.
Still on Settings, copy the App key near the top.
Paste it into the Terminal and press Enter. A browser opens — click Allow. Done!

In your Terminal, run:

node bin/contextly-auth.js gdrive

It asks for a Client ID and Client secret. To get them, set up a free Google app (~4 min). Contextly only ever sees a single Contextly folder it creates:

Open the Google Cloud Console and create a project (top bar → New Project).
Search “Google Drive API” at the top, open it, and click Enable.
Go to OAuth consent screen → choose External → add an app name + your email → under Test users, add your own Google address.
Go to Credentials → Create credentials → OAuth client ID → Application type Desktop app → Create.
Copy the Client ID and Client secret it shows you.
Paste them into the Terminal when asked, press Enter, and click Allow in the browser.

Google may say the app is “unverified” — that’s normal for your own private app. Click Advanced → Go to (your app) to continue.

4

Connect your AI

Choose the app you use:

One-click installer — no Terminal, no config file. For Claude Desktop you can even skip steps 1–3 above; the installer includes everything it needs.

Download Contextly.mcpb.
Double-click the downloaded file. Claude Desktop opens and shows an install screen — click Install.
Done. The five Contextly tools are ready. (To sync via Dropbox or Google Drive, open the extension’s settings in Claude and point “Where to save your context” at a synced folder.)

Prefer to set it up by hand instead?

Open Settings → Developer → Edit Config to open claude_desktop_config.json, then:

Empty, or just {}? Replace it with the whole block below.
Already has "mcpServers": { … }? Add only the "contextly": { … } part inside those braces (comma after any existing server).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "contextly": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["PASTE-YOUR-CONTEXTLY-FOLDER/bin/contextly.js"]
    }
  }
}

Replace PASTE-YOUR-CONTEXTLY-FOLDER with your unzipped folder from step 2, save, then quit and reopen Claude.

Easiest of all. In the Terminal from step 2, paste this and press Enter:

claude mcp add contextly -- node "$(pwd)/bin/contextly.js"

The $(pwd) part fills in your folder automatically. Then type /mcp in Claude Code to check it worked.

In Cursor, open Settings → MCP → Add new server, or edit the file ~/.cursor/mcp.json. Same rule as Claude Desktop:

Empty file? Paste the whole block below.
Already has "mcpServers"? Add only the "contextly": { … } part inside those braces (comma-separate it from any server already there).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "contextly": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["PASTE-YOUR-CONTEXTLY-FOLDER/bin/contextly.js"]
    }
  }
}

Replace PASTE-YOUR-CONTEXTLY-FOLDER with your unzipped folder from step 2, then switch the server on in Cursor’s MCP settings.

ChatGPT can’t use Contextly yet. ChatGPT only connects to online services with a web address, and Contextly runs privately on your own computer — so there’s nothing for ChatGPT to connect to.

For now it works great with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Cursor. ChatGPT support is on the roadmap.

Done! Ask your AI to “save this as a context,” then “recall” it later — even in a different app.

Why it's built this way

Your context is yours alone

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No middle-man server

There's no Contextly cloud. Nothing you save ever leaves your machine or your account.

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Portable by design

Just Markdown files. Read them, back them up, or move them anywhere.

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Works with any MCP app

Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor — anything that speaks MCP.

Stop re-explaining yourself to every AI.

Run it locally, keep your memory in your own storage. Free for personal use.

Get Contextly on GitHub

Save it in one model,pick it up in another