Lesson 6: claude-mem Installation, Initialization, and Directory Structure

6.1 Recommended Installation Method

Within a Claude Code session, use the following commands to install claude-mem via the plugin marketplace:

# 1. Add the marketplace source
/plugin marketplace add thedotmack/claude-mem

# 2. Install the plugin (Format: plugin_name@marketplace_name)
/plugin install claude-mem@thedotmack

# 3. Reload plugins to apply changes
/reload-plugins

Note: Avoid installing via npm install -g claude-mem. This method only installs the SDK and will not register the necessary Hooks or the Worker process.

6.2 Verifying the Installation

After installation, you can verify it using several methods:

1. Check the config file:

   cat ~/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json | grep claude-mem
   

2. Check the plugin cache:

   ls ~/.claude/plugins/cache/thedotmack/claude-mem/
   

6.3 Post-Initialization Directory Structure

Once you trigger a claude-mem operation for the first time (or after auto-initialization at session start), the system creates the ~/.claude-mem/ folder in your home directory:

~/.claude-mem/
├── claude-mem.db           # SQLite DB for metadata and full-text index
├── chroma/                 # Vector database folder
├── settings.json           # Plugin settings with default values
└── logs/                   # Background Worker process logs

6.4 Cross-Project Identification Logic

claude-mem automatically infers the Project ID using the Git Remote URL and current path:

• Different Worktrees of the same repository are identified as the same project.
• Different repositories are identified as separate projects.
• This mechanism ensures that cross-project searches (like mem-search) can accurately filter relevant content.