Your agent's memory is not a list.
It is a universe.

Nous is a self-hosted memory server for AI agents. It stores what your agents think, feel, and do — on an immutable timeline with branches and projected futures.

Run it with DockerSee the 4D model
docker compose --profile app up -d

Works where your agents already live

ClaudeCursorWindsurfClineDevinAny MCP clientClaudeCursorWindsurfClineDevinAny MCP client

Everything a memory should be

worldline

A timeline, not a log

Every event is immutable and time-stamped. Corrections supersede instead of erasing — the old version stays for archaeology. TTL, dedup, and open commitments are first-class.

Three dimensions of memory

Cognitive for thoughts and decisions. Somatic for energy, stress, and flow — with real Hz when wearables provide it. Behavioral for actions, commits, and habits.

hybrid search

Search that never leaves the machine

BM25 + pgvector + reciprocal rank fusion + recency decay + a local cross-encoder reranker. ONNX models are baked into the image — no external API is ever required.

multi-tenant

Workspaces that respect privacy

Personal scope is the default — nothing leaks to the team by accident. Workspace scope is always an explicit act. Roles, invitations, and per-agent API keys.

portable

Bring your history

Importers for gbrain, memlord, and Obsidian preserve timestamps and provenance. Export everything to JSONL whenever you want — it is your data.

neuro-patterns

A memory that sleeps

Nightly consolidation replays strong traces, promotes the salient to a curated tier and archives the weak — reversibly, with an auditable report. Prospective intentions fire as reminders. Contradictions become first-class links.

The fourth dimension is time

Most memory tools answer “what happened”. Nous keeps the whole structure: what happened, what almost happened, and what could still happen.

  1. The Worldline

    the past

    Your history is an immutable line of events. Nothing is deleted in place — supersession chains preserve every version, so six months later you can still ask what was true then.

  2. The Cursor

    the present

    Consciousness is a cursor moving along the structure. “Now” is simply where it points. Search, context, and predictions all resolve from that point.

  3. The Branches

    ignored realities

    Every decision forks reality. Nous stores alternative branches — like git for your timeline — so the paths not taken stay queryable instead of vanishing.

  4. The Projections

    the futures

    From wherever the cursor stands, Nous recomputes up to ten phantom tributaries — probable futures derived from your actual history, not generic guesses.

  5. The Objectives

    the destinations

    Goals are pinned points on the map. Trajectories measure the distance left and the rate you are covering it — progress you can literally see.

Up in four commands

Two ways to run the same engine. Docker ships the whole stack; pipx gives you the global `nous` command on top of your own PostgreSQL.

Docker

the whole stack, one container

  1. Clone the repo and enter it

    git clone https://github.com/leoquintara/nous.git && cd nous

  2. Create your .env and set an API token

    cp .env.example .env # NOUS_API_TOKEN=ns_$(openssl rand -hex 32)

  3. Lift PostgreSQL 18 + pgvector + the app

    docker compose --profile app up -d

  4. Confirm the brain is alive

    curl -s localhost:8720/health

MCP over streamable-http and the REST API on :8720, with baked-in ONNX models. The OSS dashboard is a separate service — `--profile dashboard` lifts it on :3000.

pipx

the `nous` command, global

  1. Lift just PostgreSQL (or point to yours)

    docker compose up -d db

  2. Install Nous as an isolated CLI

    pipx install . # from the cloned repo

  3. Apply the database migrations

    nous db upgrade

  4. Serve API + MCP + dashboard

    nous serve --transport http

The `nous` command lives in your PATH: serve, doctor, export, import, consolidar, prune. The dashboard installs separately — it is the commercial layer.

Either way, `nous doctor` diagnoses the environment — database, models, token — before you plug an agent in.

nous doctor

How it compares

The memory layer market in 2026, side by side. Prices from public pages, October 2026.

NousMem0ZepLettaMemlord
Self-hostable●●●●●
MCP-native●●●●●
Local embeddings — no external API needed●○○○●
Temporal model: branches + projected futures●○◐○○
Somatic dimension (body / emotion / Hz)●○○○○
Supersession audit trail + TTL●◐●◐◐
Workspaces, roles & scopes●◐●●●
3D/4D visual dashboard●○○◐◐
Neurocognitive patterns (decay, dream-consolidation, prospective)●○○○○
LicenseAGPL + commercialApache-2.0Apache-2.0Apache-2.0AGPL + commercial
Paid entry point$9/mo$19/mo$125/mo$20/seatcommercial lic.

“partial” = a narrower form of the capability (e.g. Zep keeps validity windows on facts — temporal, but not navigable branches).

Open core, honestly

The engine — server, MCP, REST API, CLI, memory patterns — is AGPL-3.0. Read it, fork it, self-host it forever — free. The free edition gates itself to 1 user and 3 workspaces; the commercial layer (dashboard and Pro features, licensed via JWT verified locally) lifts that and frees you from AGPL obligations.

AGPL-3.0 — the engine

Free forever

The whole memory server: 4D timeline, hybrid search, neurocognitive patterns, MCP tools, REST API and CLI. Self-host it, audit it, extend it. The free edition is the real thing — not a demo.

Commercial layer

Dashboard + Pro features

The dashboard and Pro capabilities (decision advisor, premium skills) ship as a commercial layer that talks to the engine over the REST API — that network boundary is the legal boundary. License is a JWT verified locally, never phoned home. Funds the roadmap.

Star it on GitHubRead the docs

Pricing that scales with the brain, not the bill

Self-hosted forever for individuals. Licensed when the team grows. No mandatory cloud, no phantom-seat rent — you pay for the commercial layer, not for your data.

Community

For developers who self-host

$0forever

  • Full 4D engine — AGPL-3.0
  • 1 user · 3 workspaces
  • Local ONNX models baked in
  • MCP + REST + OSS dashboard
  • Community support
Run it now

Indie

Commercial license for solo builders

$9/month

  • Everything in Community
  • Unlimited users & workspaces
  • AGPL exemption
  • Pro features as they land (decision advisor, premium skills)
  • Email support
  • Name in release notes
Get the license

Team

A shared brain for small companies

$15per seat / month

  • Everything in Indie
  • Roles & invitations
  • Workspace-scoped memory
  • Priority support
  • Migration assistance
Talk to us

Enterprise

Regulated or at scale

Custom

  • SSO / SAML roadmap access
  • SLA & support windows
  • Assisted on-prem deployment
  • Influence on the roadmap
Contact

Nous Cloud

Zero-ops hosted Nous — early access opens 2027

The license is a JWT verified locally — no phone-home, no mandatory cloud subscription. The engine stays AGPL-3.0: a license exempts you from it and unlocks the commercial layer.