head to head · open source
claude-mem vs PI-Desktop
claude-mem has 94,286 GitHub stars, 8,321 forks, 186 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PI-Desktop has 4,547 stars, 384 forks, 102 open issues and last shipped today. claude-mem leads on adoption by 1,974% (94,286 vs 4,547 stars). claude-mem is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; PI-Desktop is written in TypeScript under LGPL-3.0. claude-mem has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, PI-Desktop 8%. PI-Desktop was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| claude-mem | PI-Desktop | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 94K | ★ 4.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.3K | ⑂ 384 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick claude-mem if
- You weight community size — 94K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick PI-Desktop if
- You want the PI-Desktop feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and PI-Desktop fits your workflow better
About claude-mem
claude mem is an Apache 2.0 TypeScript memory layer for AI coding agents that captures what an agent did during a session, compresses it with AI, and injects the relevant parts back into future sessions, built for developers running Claude Code, OpenClaw, Codex, Gemini, Hermes, Copilot, OpenCode and similar tools.
read the full claude-mem overview →
About PI-Desktop
PI Desktop is a local first desktop workspace for AI coding agents, built on an Electron shell with a Rust host core and the pi Agent Harness, extensible through user installable plugins, and aimed at developers who want agents working inside their own local projects against model providers they configure themselves.
read the full PI-Desktop overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is claude-mem or PI-Desktop more popular?
claude-mem has 94,286 GitHub stars and PI-Desktop has 4,547. claude-mem has the larger community by that measure.
Are claude-mem and PI-Desktop free?
Both are open source. claude-mem is licensed under Apache-2.0 and PI-Desktop under LGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between claude-mem and PI-Desktop?
claude-mem is written in TypeScript and PI-Desktop in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, claude-mem or PI-Desktop?
Choose claude-mem if you want the larger community (94,286 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose PI-Desktop if its feature set, stack or LGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.