Claude memory tool: what it remembers, who owns it, and what it costs
thecontinuitylayer.com/memory-systems/claude-memory-toolA client-side, file-based memory tool on the Claude Developer Platform: Claude issues view, create, edit and delete commands against a memory directory that your application stores.
- 1No
Is Claude memory tool open source?
No, by Anthropic's own page.
A feature of the Claude API; there is no open-source memory core.
Yes means: The core is under an open-source license.
- 2Partly
Can you run Claude memory tool yourself?
Partly, by Anthropic's own page.
The tool runs client-side and memory lives entirely in your application, so the storage is yours while the model is hosted.
Yes means: It runs on your own machine or server.
- 3Yes
Can you take your memory out of Claude memory tool?
Yes, by Anthropic's own page.
Memory is a directory of files that your handler maps onto a per-user directory or keys in a database.
Yes means: An export, or the data sits in a standard store you own.
- 4No
Does Claude memory tool work with more than one model provider?
No, by Anthropic's own page.
Available on Claude 4 and later models only.
Yes means: It is not tied to one provider's models.
- 5Yes
Is there a hosted Claude memory tool?
Yes, by Anthropic's own page.
Delivered through the hosted Claude API.
Yes means: A cloud or managed option exists.
- 6Partly
Does Claude memory tool have a free tier, and what is the entry price?
Partly, by Anthropic's own page.
New API users receive a small amount of free credits; there is no separate charge for the memory tool; the entry model is priced per million tokens.
Yes means: A free tier exists and the entry paid price is published.
- 7Partly
Does Claude memory tool scope memory per user and per session?
Partly, by Anthropic's own page.
The docs give a per-user directory as the storage example and leave isolation to your implementation.
Yes means: Both per-user and per-session or per-agent memory are supported.
- 8Yes
Can you delete a user's memories from Claude memory tool?
Yes, by Anthropic's own page.
The delete command removes a file or directory; the storage is yours to purge.
Yes means: A documented way to delete everything for one user.
What these grades say about continuity, and what they do not.
Every grade on this site is read from the maker's own pages. The Continuity Framework asks five things of any system that carries state: that it carry, govern, evolve, prove and forget. These tests reach carry, govern and forget; they do not reach evolve or prove, which no maker's page documents in a gradeable way. A high letter is a good memory system, not a continuity layer.
- M1 Open sourceCarry
- Open source means the memory engine can outlive the vendor; the state is not hostage to a contract.
- M2 Self-hostCarry
- Self-hosting puts the store under the owner's control, which is the precondition for every other obligation.
- M3 ExportCarry
- An export is question C3: can the state leave in a form another system reads? A standard store you own answers it; a proprietary dump only partly.
- M4 Any modelCarry
- Working with more than one model provider is question C2: the memory, not the model, holds the state.
- M7 ScopingGovern
- Scoping per user, agent and session is question G2: who may read and write each item. It is the floor of governance, not the ceiling.
- M8 DeleteForget
- A documented delete for one user is rung 5 of the erasure ladder: the record leaves the store. Derived memories, the index and backups are not covered unless the maker says so. Rung 5 of the erasure ladder: delete the record.
License as stated: Proprietary API feature. Every grade above is read from Anthropic's own page on the day shown. If a page has changed, tell us.