Quickstart, Self-Hosted

From fresh clone to source-backed answers

Myco Brain is a self-hosted memory layer for AI agents, open source under Apache-2.0, exposing 11 brain_* tools to any MCP client. Self-hosting is the default; one docker compose up boots the whole stack.

1. Step 1

   Boot the stack

   Clone the repo and bring everything up with Docker Compose. Three services start: Postgres 16 + pgvector, the MCP server, and the extraction worker, with a seeded default workspace, so it works with zero configuration.

   git clone https://github.com/thegoodguysla/myco-brain.git
   cd myco-brain
   docker compose up -d

   Verify with docker compose ps.

2. Step 2

   See it work in 30 seconds

   Ingest the bundled demo corpus, a small set of interconnected documents for a fictional agency and its client. Full-text (BM25) search and ingestion are keyless, so no API key is needed.

   npx -y -p @mycobrain/mcp-server mycobrain-ingest ./examples/demo-corpus

   After connecting your client in step 3, ask: “When does Northwind’s rebrand launch, and who owns the account?”

   Follow up with: “Show me the source for that.”

3. Step 3

   Connect Claude Desktop

   Add Myco Brain to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop. Using Cursor, Windsurf, Continue, or Zed instead? Point your client’s MCP settings at the same command and env vars.

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "myco-brain": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": ["-y", "@mycobrain/mcp-server"],
         "env": {
           "DATABASE_URL": "postgresql://brain:brain@localhost:5432/brain",
           "BRAIN_WORKSPACE_ID": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001",
           "BRAIN_API_KEY": "brain_00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001_00000000-0000-0000-0000-0000000000a1_localdev"
         }
       }
     }
   }

   These exact values work for everyone, on purpose. localhost is your own machine (the Docker stack from step 1), and the workspace ID and API key are local-dev defaults seeded into every fresh install. Your database, on your computer; nothing is shared between installs.

   Happy-path test: save a memory in one session (“remember that the board meeting is every Wednesday at 9 AM Pacific”), open a fresh session, and ask for it back.

4. Step 4

   Bulk ingest your own knowledge

   Point the ingest CLI at a local folder or a whole GitHub repo. It skips binaries and noise directories like node_modules and .git automatically.

   export DATABASE_URL=postgresql://brain:brain@localhost:5432/brain
   export BRAIN_WORKSPACE_ID=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001
   export BRAIN_API_KEY=brain_00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001_00000000-0000-0000-0000-0000000000a1_localdev
   
   npx -y -p @mycobrain/mcp-server mycobrain-ingest ./docs
   npx -y -p @mycobrain/mcp-server mycobrain-ingest github:owner/repo

   Set GITHUB_TOKEN to ingest private repos.