Migration from mem0 to Cortex

Guide for migrating from mem0's Vercel AI SDK integration to Cortex.

Why Migrate?

Feature	Cortex	mem0
Self-Hosted	✅ Convex (your infrastructure)	❌ mem0 Cloud only
TypeScript	✅ Native	⚠️ Python-first
Edge Runtime	✅ Full support	❌ Limited
Memory Spaces	✅ Multi-tenancy built-in	❌ user_id only
ACID	✅ Guaranteed	❌ Eventual consistency
Versioning	✅ 10 versions auto	❌ No versioning
Real-time	✅ Reactive	❌ Polling
Hive Mode	✅ Cross-app memory	❌ Not available
Cost	💰 Convex only	💰 mem0 API + Convex

Code Comparison

Before (mem0)

import { createMem0 } from "@mem0/vercel-ai-provider";

const mem0 = createMem0({
  provider: "openai",
  mem0ApiKey: process.env.MEM0_API_KEY!,
  config: { apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY! },
  mem0Config: {
    user_id: "user-123",
    agent_id: "assistant",
  },
});

const result = await streamText({
  model: mem0("gpt-4"),
  messages,
});

After (Cortex)

import { createCortexMemory } from "@cortexmemory/vercel-ai-provider";
import { openai } from "@ai-sdk/openai";

const cortexMemory = createCortexMemory({
  convexUrl: process.env.CONVEX_URL!, // No mem0 API key needed
  memorySpaceId: "assistant",
  userId: "user-123",
});

const result = await streamText({
  model: cortexMemory(openai("gpt-4")),
  messages,
});

Step-by-Step Migration

1. Set Up Convex

npx convex dev
npx create-cortex-memories

2. Install Cortex Provider

npm uninstall @mem0/vercel-ai-provider
npm install @cortexmemory/vercel-ai-provider

3. Update Imports

// Before
import { createMem0 } from "@mem0/vercel-ai-provider";

// After
import { createCortexMemory } from "@cortexmemory/vercel-ai-provider";
import { openai } from "@ai-sdk/openai";

4. Update Configuration

// Before
const mem0 = createMem0({
  provider: "openai",
  mem0ApiKey: process.env.MEM0_API_KEY!,
  config: { apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY! },
  mem0Config: {
    user_id: "user-123",
    agent_id: "assistant",
    run_id: "session-456",
  },
});

// After
const cortexMemory = createCortexMemory({
  convexUrl: process.env.CONVEX_URL!,
  memorySpaceId: "assistant",
  userId: "user-123",
  conversationId: "session-456", // Optional
});

5. Update Model Usage

// Before
const result = await streamText({
  model: mem0("gpt-4"),
  messages,
});

// After
const result = await streamText({
  model: cortexMemory(openai("gpt-4")),
  messages,
});

6. Update Environment Variables

# Before
MEM0_API_KEY=sk-mem0-...
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-openai-...

# After
CONVEX_URL=https://your-deployment.convex.cloud
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-openai-...

Feature Mapping

Basic Memory Operations

mem0	Cortex
mem0('model')	cortexMemory(provider('model'))
mem0.retrieveMemories()	cortexMemory.search()
mem0.addMemories()	cortexMemory.remember()
mem0.getMemories()	cortexMemory.getMemories()

Advanced Features

mem0 Feature	Cortex Equivalent
user_id	userId
agent_id	memorySpaceId
run_id	conversationId
Graph memory	enableGraphMemory: true
N/A	Memory Spaces (multi-tenancy)
N/A	Hive Mode (cross-app sharing)
N/A	ACID guarantees
N/A	Version history

Data Migration

Exporting from mem0

# Python script to export from mem0
import mem0

client = mem0.Client(api_key="...")
memories = client.get_all_memories(user_id="user-123")

import json
with open('memories.json', 'w') as f:
    json.dump(memories, f)

Importing to Cortex

import { Cortex } from "@cortexmemory/sdk";
import fs from "fs";

const cortex = new Cortex({ convexUrl: process.env.CONVEX_URL! });
const mem0Data = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync("memories.json", "utf-8"));

for (const mem of mem0Data) {
  await cortex.memory.remember({
    memorySpaceId: "migrated",
    conversationId: mem.run_id || "imported",
    userMessage: mem.user_message || "",
    agentResponse: mem.agent_message || "",
    userId: mem.user_id,
    userName: "Migrated User",
  });
}

console.log(`Migrated ${mem0Data.length} memories`);

Benefits After Migration

1. No API Key - One less secret to manage
2. Self-Hosted - Full control over your data
3. Lower Latency - Convex is fast (~50-100ms vs 100-200ms)
4. Cost Savings - No per-request fees
5. Better Isolation - Memory Spaces for multi-tenancy
6. Data Guarantees - ACID transactions
7. Real-time - Reactive queries with Convex
8. Future-Proof - Not locked into a vendor

Support

Questions? Open an issue or discussion on GitHub!