MCP Neo4j Knowledge Graph Memory Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that uses Neo4j as a backend for knowledge graph storage and retrieval.

Installation

Installing via NPM

npm install @sylweriusz/mcp-neo4j-memory-server

Manual Installation

Add @sylweriusz/mcp-neo4j-memory-server in your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "graph-memory": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@sylweriusz/mcp-neo4j-memory-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "NEO4J_URI": "bolt://localhost:7687",
        "NEO4J_USERNAME": "neo4j",
        "NEO4J_PASSWORD": "your-password",
        "NEO4J_DATABASE": "neo4j"    
      }
    }
  }
}

Docker

Build:

docker build -t mcp-neo4j-graph-memory .

Run:

docker run -dit \
  -e NEO4J_URI=bolt://neo4j:7687 \
  -e NEO4J_USERNAME=neo4j \
  -e NEO4J_PASSWORD=password \
  -e NEO4J_DATABASE=neo4j \  
  mcp-neo4j-graph-memory

Configuration

Configure Neo4j connection using environment variables:

Variable	Description	Default
NEO4J_URI	URI for Neo4j connection	bolt://localhost:7687
NEO4J_USERNAME	Neo4j username	neo4j
NEO4J_PASSWORD	Neo4j password	password
NEO4J_DATABASE	Neo4j default database name	neo4j

You can set these in your environment, .env file, or in the configuration as shown above.

Usage

Use the example instruction below with Claude or other AI assistants that support the MCP protocol:

Follow these steps for each interaction:

1. User Identification:
   - You should assume that you are interacting with default_user
   - If you have not identified default_user, proactively try to do so.

2. Memory Retrieval:
   - Always begin your chat by saying only "Remembering..." and search relevant information from your knowledge graph
   - Create a search query from user words, and search things from "memory". If nothing matches, try to break down words in the query at first ("A B" to "A" and "B" for example).
   - Always refer to your knowledge graph as your "memory"

3. Memory:
   - While conversing with the user, be attentive to any new information that falls into these categories:
     a) Basic Identity (age, gender, location, job title, education level, etc.)
     b) Behaviors (interests, habits, etc.)
     c) Preferences (communication style, preferred language, etc.)
     d) Goals (goals, targets, aspirations, etc.)
     e) Relationships (personal and professional relationships up to 3 degrees of separation)

4. Memory Update:
   - If any new information was gathered during the interaction, update your memory as follows:
     a) Create entities for recurring organizations, people, and significant events
     b) Connect them to the current entities using relations
     c) Store facts about them as observations

Project-Specific Knowledge Graphs with Database Switching

IMPORTANT: To use project-specific knowledge graphs, you should use the built-in database management tools within your system prompt. Do NOT rely solely on environment configuration.

Use this improved system prompt template for project-related work:

NEO4J_DATABASE="your-project-name"  # Define project database name variable here

1. Knowledge graph database management:
   - At the beginning of each conversation, check the current database: get_current_database
   - Switch to the project-specific database: switch_database ${NEO4J_DATABASE} true
   - This database switching should be done in EACH SESSION using these commands
   - Do not rely on configuration settings alone for database selection

2. Using the knowledge graph:
   - Store all important project information as entities and relations
   - Use this information throughout your work
   - Create entities for: files, classes, functions, errors, project requirements
   - Relations describe the connections between entities

3. Knowledge source priority:
   - The knowledge graph is the PRIMARY and AUTHORITATIVE source of project information
   - Always check the knowledge graph before attempting to search files or directories
   - Update the knowledge graph with any new information discovered during the session

Database Management API

The server provides several database management commands that should be used in your system prompts:

Command	Description	Example
get_current_database	Returns the current active database	get_current_database
switch_database	Switches to a different database, optionally creating it if it doesn't exist	switch_database my-project true
list_databases	Lists all available databases	list_databases

Always use these commands in your system prompt to ensure you're working with the correct project database.

Implementation Details

This implementation uses Neo4j as the backend storage system, focusing on three key aspects:

Graph Database Structure

The knowledge graph is stored in Neo4j with the following schema:

graph TD
    E[Entity] -->|HAS_OBSERVATION| O[Observation]
    E1[Entity] -->|RELATES_TO| E2[Entity]
    P[Project] -->|CONTAINS| F[File]
    F -->|HAS_FUNCTION| Fn[Function]
    F -->|HAS_CLASS| C[Class]
    P -->|HAS_ERROR| Er[Error]
    P -->|HAS_REQUIREMENT| R[Requirement]

    classDef entity fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px;
    classDef observation fill:#bbf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px;
    classDef project fill:#fdf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:3px;
    classDef file fill:#dfd,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px;
    classDef code fill:#ddf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px;
    classDef error fill:#fdd,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px;
    classDef requirement fill:#ffd,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px;

    class E,E1,E2 entity;
    class O observation;
    class P project;
    class F file;
    class Fn,C code;
    class Er error;
    class R requirement;

Properties:

• Entity nodes: name, entityType
• Observation nodes: content
• RELATES_TO relationships: relationType

This schema design allows for efficient storage and retrieval of knowledge graph components while leveraging Neo4j's native graph capabilities.

Fuzzy Search Implementation

The implementation combines Neo4j Cypher queries with Fuse.js for flexible entity searching:

• Neo4j Cypher queries retrieve the base data from the database
• Fuse.js provides fuzzy matching capabilities on top of the retrieved data
• This hybrid approach allows for both structured graph queries and flexible text matching
• Search results include both exact and partial matches, ranked by relevance

Advantages

1. Native Graph Structure: Neo4j's graph database provides a natural fit for knowledge graph data, with nodes, relationships, and properties.
2. Optimized Traversal: Neo4j excels at navigating complex relationships between entities.
3. Scalability: Better performance with large knowledge graphs due to Neo4j's optimized graph storage and retrieval.
4. Query Expressiveness: Cypher query language makes complex graph patterns easier to express and query.
5. Visualization: Native support for graph visualization in Neo4j Browser.

Development

Setup

pnpm install

Testing

pnpm test

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.