Overview
cognee-server is an open-source backend skill for Claude Code and compatible agents, published by topoteretes. Its author describes it as: “Use when the user wants to run the cognee API server (and optional UI) on their own machine — starting it, checking it's healthy, connecting the SDK or other clients to it, and choosing the right auth posture.”. The project has 30k stars on GitHub and is available under the Apache-2.0 license. Add it to your setup with `git clone https://github.com/topoteretes/cognee ~/.claude/skills/cognee-server`.
What cognee-server does
launches the full local stack: FastAPI backend on **http://localhost:8000** and the UI on **http://localhost:3000**. Needs `LLM_API_KEY` in the environment or `.env`. The interactive API reference is at http://localhost:8000/docs, health at `/health`.
Best for
What’s inside
The SKILL.md for cognee-server is organised into these sections:
- From an installed cognee (no Docker)
- Auth posture
- Connecting clients to the running server
- Graph visualization without the full UI
- Troubleshooting
Installation
Add cognee-server to your agent with:
git clone https://github.com/topoteretes/cognee ~/.claude/skills/cognee-serverReview a skill’s source before installing it — skills can instruct your agent to run commands. This command comes from the skill’s public repository, which is the source of truth for setup steps. New to skills? Read how to install Claude Code skills.
Supported agents
Neither the skill nor its repository names a specific agent. It uses the SKILL.md format, which several agents can load — check the repository for any agent-specific requirements.
License
cognee-server is published under the Apache-2.0 license.
Strengths
- Clear Apache-2.0 license — safe to read and adapt within its terms
- Ships in topoteretes/cognee, an established project with 30,102 GitHub stars
- Actively maintained — repository updated in the last 90 days
Author
Topics
Frequently asked questions
- What does cognee-server do?
- Use when the user wants to run the cognee API server (and optional UI) on their own machine — starting it, checking it's healthy, connecting the SDK or other clients to it, and choosing the right auth posture.
- How do I install cognee-server?
- Run git clone https://github.com/topoteretes/cognee ~/.claude/skills/cognee-server in your agent, then reload your skills. Review the source at https://github.com/topoteretes/cognee before installing.
- Is cognee-server free to use?
- Yes. cognee-server is free and open source under the Apache-2.0 license, so you can read, run, and adapt it within that license's terms.
- Where does cognee-server come from?
- cognee-server ships inside topoteretes/cognee, a repository that contains 11 catalogued skills in total. The repository's 30,102 GitHub stars apply to that whole collection, not to this skill on its own.
