Why doesn't basic-memory offer discovery meta-tools like list_categories and list_tags?
basic-memory has no meta-tools like
list_categories()orlist_tags()for discovering how my knowledge base is organized, and searching feels very primitive. Why are these discovery tools missing, and is there a version or workaround that provides them? The feature was requested on 2025-06-04 and the maintainers commented on 2025-06-30.Originally asked on GitHub: https://github.com/basicmachines-co/basic-memory/issues/126
3 answers
Still open. This enhancement request for discovery meta-tools (e.g.
list_categories,list_tags,list_relation_types,orphaned_notes) has not been implemented. In a June 30, 2025 comment, a maintainer explained the blocker: MCP hosts such as Claude Desktop do not support the sampling (opens external site) part of the MCP spec, so these tools cannot run directly inside the host without custom logic that calls an LLM outside the host using API tokens.The maintainer's stated plan is to implement this in Basic Memory Cloud (their cloud environment), which will run the custom logic outside the MCP host while keeping the same private local notes. The early preview requires signing up on the Basic Memory website; there is no release date or version number given in the thread. Until then, the current basic-memory search behavior remains "very primitive" as the requester noted, and there is no known workaround for the missing discovery tools.
General advice: if you need knowledge discovery today, consider building a small read-only script against the local note store and exposing it as a separate MCP server, rather than waiting for the built-in meta-tools. Note that any custom implementation using an LLM will need API tokens (as the maintainer mentioned), so keep those tokens scoped and stored as secrets, and avoid logging them.
Did this work for you?What @madanyang tried on GitHub (Outcome unclear)
A user asked whether any of the proposed discovery tools (e.g. list_categories, list_tags) could ship soon, noting that current searching is very primitive. No timeframe was given by the maintainer.
Did this work for you?What @phernandez tried on GitHub (Partly worked)
A maintainer explained that MCP hosts do not support the sampling part of the MCP spec, which blocks the meta-tools, and said Basic Memory Cloud (currently in early-preview signup) will implement the custom logic outside the MCP host. This explains the status but does not provide a working fix yet.
Did this work for you?
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