What Is Engram Cloud

Engram Cloud is an opt-in, self-hosted replication and browser visibility layer on top of the core Engram binary.

The mental model

Local SQLite is always the source of truth. Engram Cloud receives pushed replicas — it never owns the primary store.

Agent (any MCP-compatible)
  ↓ MCP stdio
Engram binary (local)
  ↓ SQLite + FTS5 (~/.engram/engram.db)   ← SOURCE OF TRUTH
  ↓ [opt-in]
engram cloud serve
  ↓ Postgres + /dashboard/*

Two distinct runtimes

Engram Cloud introduces a second runtime alongside the local one. They run on separate ports and serve different purposes.

Runtime	Command	What it exposes
Local	engram serve	Memory API (port 7437), GET /sync/status
Cloud	engram cloud serve	/health, /sync/pull, /sync/push, /dashboard/* (port 18080)

You run both. The local binary handles agent calls. The cloud runtime handles replication and browser access.

What cloud adds

• Project-scoped replication — each sync call is tied to one explicit --project
• Mutation-based autosync — background push/pull goroutine when ENGRAM_CLOUD_AUTOSYNC=1
• Browser dashboard — server-rendered UI for stats, activity, project browser, contributors, and admin controls
• Per-project sync pause — admin toggle to pause a project without shutting down the runtime
• Deterministic failure codes — blocked_unenrolled, auth_required, cloud_config_error, policy_forbidden, paused, transport_failed — no silent drift
• Upgrade workflow — doctor → repair → bootstrap → status for existing local databases enrolling into cloud for the first time

What cloud does not change

• Agent workflow stays identical — agents call mem_save, mem_search, and the rest through the same MCP tools
• Local binary stores everything first — cloud sync is always a second step, not a proxy
• Offline work is fully supported — the local binary continues normally if cloud is unreachable

When to use it

Use Engram Cloud when:

• You need shared memory across multiple machines without manual Git commits
• Your team wants browser visibility into observations, sessions, and contributor activity
• You operate Engram as a service and want a dashboard for monitoring

Use Git sync when:

• You work solo or in a small team that already uses Git for everything
• You want the simplest possible setup with no additional infrastructure