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Before you connect a memory server over MCP, check these seven things

By [OPERATOR NAME]

A clipboard checklist with seven tick boxes (no readable words) beside a network cable plug about to be connected

Before connecting any MCP memory server, check how it authenticates, which tools it exposes (especially write and delete), what text leaves your machine and who processes it, how long data is kept, whether you can export and delete it, what it does when it finds nothing, and how it fails. Archilas's answers are below.

MCP makes it easy to plug a server into Cursor, Claude Code, ChatGPT, or Codex. Easy is good, but a memory server sees the questions your agent asks and decides what extra text lands in its context. That is worth a few minutes of checking. See also MCP is the socket, not the memory.

The checklist, with Archilas's answers

  • Authentication. Archilas accepts a workspace API key as a bearer token, or OAuth for clients that support it. Keys can be revoked from the dashboard.
  • Tools. ask (read), changes (read), remember (write a note), import_history (upload chat history), forget (delete notes). Your client can ask before calling write tools.
  • What is sent where. Questions and matching snippets go to a model provider through OpenRouter to write the answer. Subprocessors are listed on the privacy page.
  • Retention. Notes and synced content are kept until you delete them, disconnect the source, or delete the account. Details are on the privacy page.
  • Export and deletion. Settings exports your account, workspace, and saved notes as JSON. Deleting the account deletes every workspace you own.
  • Nothing found. The answer says it has no memory on that, rather than inventing one.
  • Failure. The prompt hook has a short time budget and returns empty context on error, so a slow server does not block your agent.

Ask any memory server, including this one, to show you each answer in its code or docs. If it cannot, treat that as an answer too.

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Questions

Is it safe to give an MCP server my API key?
Treat it like any credential: give it only to servers you trust, keep it out of committed files, and revoke it if it leaks. OAuth avoids storing a long-lived key in client config.
Can an MCP memory server delete things?
Only if it exposes a delete tool. Archilas's forget tool deletes notes in your own workspace. Check each server's tool list.

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