> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.membase.so/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Attached vs Universal

> Understand why AI memory should be shared across agents, not isolated within individual tools. Learn the difference between attached and universal memory in Membase.

## Attached Memory

The AI agents you use every day, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Cursor, and others, each have their own form of memory. But every one of them keeps that memory **isolated**.

What you told ChatGPT doesn't exist in Claude. Your Cursor project context is invisible to Gemini. Even within the same agent, switching sessions often means starting from scratch.

This is **attached memory**: memory that is bound to a specific agent, session, or tool.

<Frame caption="Each agent has its own isolated memory. None of them talk to each other.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/aristo_2/SyC5fNZLZj3t6Psb/images/core-concepts/attached-memory_light.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=SyC5fNZLZj3t6Psb&q=85&s=935388520b936745f946a9919e182167" alt="Attached memory: every agent is an island" className="block dark:hidden" width="1192" height="752" data-path="images/core-concepts/attached-memory_light.png" />

  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/aristo_2/SyC5fNZLZj3t6Psb/images/core-concepts/attached-memory_dark.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=SyC5fNZLZj3t6Psb&q=85&s=67e141a9f0ddb22ac10464083c4d0eca" alt="Attached memory: every agent is an island" className="hidden dark:block" width="1198" height="741" data-path="images/core-concepts/attached-memory_dark.png" />
</Frame>

This means:

* **You repeat yourself constantly.** Every new session, every new agent, you re-explain the same preferences and context.
* **Knowledge disappears.** When a session ends, valuable context is gone.
* **Agents contradict each other.** Different agents may have conflicting or outdated understanding of your preferences.
* **No cross-pollination.** A decision made in Claude never benefits your Cursor workflow.

## Universal Memory

**Universal memory** is a fundamentally different approach. Instead of each agent maintaining its own isolated memory, all your agents share a **single brain** that is persistent, automatically updated, and grows with you over time.

Membase takes this one step further: the universal knowledge layer has **two complementary stores**. **Memory** holds personal context (preferences, decisions, habits, meetings) as a knowledge graph. **Knowledge Wiki** holds factual, reference-style knowledge (docs, specs, stable notes) as linked markdown documents. Both stores are shared across every connected agent.

```mermaid theme={null}
graph TB
  CH[ChatGPT] <--> M((Membase<br/>Universal Memory))
  CL[Claude] <--> M
  GE[Gemini] <--> M
  C[Cursor] <--> M
  OC[OpenClaw] <--> M

  M <--> GM[Gmail]
  M <--> CAL[Calendar]
  M <--> SL[Slack]
  M <--> NO[Notion]
  M <--> OB[Obsidian]
  M <--> MD[Markdown]

  style M fill:#09090B,stroke:#27272A,color:#fff
```

All agents read from and write to both stores. External data sources feed the right store: conversations and integrations such as Gmail, Calendar, and Slack build Memory, while Notion sync, Obsidian imports, Markdown imports, and factual documents build Wiki.

* **One brain, shared everywhere.** Tell one agent something, and every agent knows it. No silos, no repetition.
* **Two stores, one layer.** Personal context lives in Memory, factual knowledge lives in the Wiki, and agents can search both when a task benefits from them.
* **Permanent knowledge.** Context persists across sessions, days, weeks, and months. Nothing is lost when you close a tab.
* **Stays current where sources sync.** Conversations, synced emails, calendar events, Slack, and live Notion sources keep context current; one-time imports such as Obsidian and Markdown bootstrap the Wiki.
* **Grows with you.** The more you use your agents, the richer your knowledge graph and your wiki become. Your AI gets smarter over time, not just within a single session.

## Comparison

|                         | **Attached Memory**                         | **Universal Memory**                     |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| **Scope**               | Isolated per agent                          | Shared across all agents                 |
| **Persistence**         | Lost between sessions                       | Permanent and growing                    |
| **Context setup**       | Manual, repeated in every tool              | Automatic from past interactions         |
| **Cross-agent sharing** | None                                        | Instant                                  |
| **External data**       | Manual setup per agent, if supported at all | Connected once, shared across all agents |
| **Consistency**         | Agents may contradict each other            | Single source of truth                   |
| **Growth**              | Resets with each session                    | Compounds over time                      |

<Info>
  Membase doesn't replace your agents' built-in context features. It **augments** them with a shared, persistent layer that works across everything you use.
</Info>

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="How Membase Works" icon="gear" href="/core-concepts/how-membase-works">
    Dive into the technical architecture.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Bring Your Context" icon="download" href="/getting-started/bring-context">
    Import chat history and connect apps to build your knowledge base.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>