explaingit

jsingletonai/dejavu

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

56PythonAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

A local memory layer for AI tools, storing notes and preferences in a SQLite file on your machine and exposing them through a Python SDK, CLI, REST API, and MCP server.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((dejavu))
    Inputs
      Text memories
      Search queries
      Venice API key
    Outputs
      Stored facts
      Embeddings
      Ranked search results
    Use Cases
      Persistent memory for Claude Desktop
      Shared memory across agents
      Local notes searchable by AI
    Tech Stack
      Python
      SQLite
      Venice API
      MCP
Click or tap to explore — scroll the page freely

Code map

Detail Auto

An interactive map of this repo's files and how they connect — its source is parsed live in your browser. Click Visualize to build it.

filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Give Claude Desktop a persistent memory of your preferences and prior conversations

USE CASE 2

Share a single memory store between a CLI, Python scripts, and an MCP-aware editor

USE CASE 3

Run a local REST memory API on 127.0.0.1 for in-house agents to call

USE CASE 4

Add long-lived memory to a Python agent without sending data to a cloud service

What is it built with?

PythonSQLiteMCP

How does it compare?

jsingletonai/dejavugnipbao/codex-whiteboard-video-skillyxuanar/code-as-room
Stars565557
LanguagePythonPythonPython
Setup difficultyeasyhardhard
Complexity2/53/54/5
Audiencedevelopervibe coderresearcher

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Needs a Venice API key set in VENICE_API_KEY for fact extraction, re-ranking, and embeddings.

Apache 2.0, use and modify freely with attribution and a patent grant.

In plain English

Deja Vu is a memory layer for AI tools that runs on your own computer. The pitch in the README is that most AI assistants forget everything between sessions, and the ones that do remember store your context on their servers. This project sits in the middle: you keep your notes, preferences, and prior context in a local SQLite file, and any tool that can call Python, REST, the command line, or MCP can read and write to that same store. The practical effect is that you can add a memory from the command line, ask about it from Claude Desktop, and query it from a Python script, all hitting the same database with no cloud sync and no account. The README gives a four-line quick start: pip install dejavu-memory, dejavu init, dejavu add followed by a quoted sentence, and dejavu search with a question. Memories are written to ~/.dejavu and become searchable immediately. One external service is involved: Venice, a privacy-focused LLM API. The engine sends raw text to Venice to extract durable facts and preferences, then writes them to SQLite along with embeddings. When you search, the query is embedded, the closest matches are pulled, and Venice can re-rank them for relevance. The README says you need to set VENICE_API_KEY before running, and notes that aside from those calls, nothing else leaves your machine. There are four ways to use it. A Python SDK for embedding memory inside agents or scripts, a CLI for quick adds and searches, a local REST API bound to 127.0.0.1 that runs with dejavu serve, and an MCP server. The MCP setup is a small JSON snippet you drop into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or another MCP-compatible client config, once added, the agent shares the same memory store as your CLI and Python code. The project layout is small: a dejavu folder with the core SDK and engine, a cli folder, docs, examples, and tests. Telemetry is off by default and logs are opt-in. The README credits the open-source mem0 project as the basis and the license is Apache 2.0.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Install dejavu, set VENICE_API_KEY, and add ten memories about my coding style from the command line
Prompt 2
Wire dejavu into Claude Desktop as an MCP server and test that it can recall a memory I added via the CLI
Prompt 3
Write a Python script that uses the dejavu SDK to import my notes folder as searchable memories
Prompt 4
Start dejavu's REST server and curl the search endpoint for memories matching a question
Prompt 5
Compare dejavu's storage model to mem0 and show what extra data dejavu keeps in SQLite

Frequently asked questions

What is dejavu?

A local memory layer for AI tools, storing notes and preferences in a SQLite file on your machine and exposing them through a Python SDK, CLI, REST API, and MCP server.

What language is dejavu written in?

Mainly Python. The stack also includes Python, SQLite, MCP.

What license does dejavu use?

Apache 2.0, use and modify freely with attribution and a patent grant.

How hard is dejavu to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is dejavu for?

Mainly developer.

Open on GitHub → Explain another repo

This repo across BitVibe Labs

Verify against the repo before relying on details.