How Contexel works.
Set it up, see what your AI can do with it, and check how access and data are handled.
Get started
Contexel is a shared memory for the AI apps you already use. Save something once, from any connected app, and you, your teammates and your other apps can find it later.
- Sign in to Contexel with your email, Google or GitHub. You start with a private workspace that only you can use.
- Add Contexel to your AI app as a connector, using the address
https://contexel.ai/mcp. Each app's steps are below. - Sign in with your browser when the app asks. There is no API key or token to copy.
- Ask your AI to remember something. Ask about it later, from any connected app.
Connect your AI app
Every app connects to the same address, so they all share one memory. Pick your app for step-by-step instructions.
Any other app that supports remote MCP servers works too: add https://contexel.ai/mcp and sign in when asked. The console's Connect tab shows the exact settings for each app.
What your AI can do
Contexel gives your AI a small set of tools. Your AI decides when to use them, so you just talk to it normally. Each tool is labeled for the app as read-only or as one that changes memory, so apps can ask you before it saves anything.
| Tool | What it does | Changes memory |
|---|---|---|
get_context | Looks up the memories that bear on a question or task, each with who saved it, where it came from and when. | No |
search | Lists the memories that match a topic. | No |
fetch | Reads one memory in full. | No |
status | Shows what is saved and whether search is up to date. | No |
remember | Saves a note, decision, rule or lesson, in plain words. | Adds |
observe | The older name for remember, kept so existing setups still work. | Adds |
correct | Fixes a memory that is wrong, or retires one that no longer applies. Earlier versions stay in the history. | Yes |
These are the everyday tools every connection gets. For the full set of 21, add ?tools=all to the address. The extras include explain (why a memory did or didn't come back), cite (exact quotes from a memory) and audit (finds conflicting, stale or unlinked memories).
How answers are chosen
- Only what matches.Your AI gets the memories that clearly match the question, not everything that shares a word with it. That keeps answers short and saves tokens on every prompt.
- Whole memories.A memory that clearly matches your question comes back whole, so a rule arrives with its exceptions.
- Nothing hidden quietly.Each answer says how many loose matches were left out. To get everything on a topic, your AI can ask for all matches in one request.
- Sources on every answer.Each memory says who saved it, where it came from and when, so nobody has to take the AI's word for it.
- An honest miss.If nothing in your memory fits the question, the answer says so.
When memories disagree
Teams write things down at different times and levels, so two memories sometimes say different things. Contexel has a rule for which one wins, instead of handing your AI both and hoping it picks right.
- A required rule outranks a preference.A memory saved as a rule that must be followed wins over one that only states a preference on the same topic.
- Newer replaces older.A memory can replace an earlier one. The old one stops coming back, and stays in the history.
Every change is saved as a new version, with who made it. Nothing is overwritten without a record. Each workspace is its own memory, so these rules apply within a workspace, never across two. Self-hosted setups can also layer organization, team and personal memory in one workspace; there, a required organization rule outranks the layers below it, and for preferences the closest layer wins.
Workspaces and access
Memory lives in workspaces. Each workspace is stored separately, so you can keep personal and work memory apart, or share one with a team, a family or a group planning a trip.
- Owner.Creates the workspace, invites people, chooses their access, and can delete it.
- Can edit.Their AI can look things up and also save and change memories directly, with no approval step. Give this only to people you fully trust.
- Can view.Their AI can look things up but cannot change anything.
Access tokens, for apps that can't sign in with a browser, use the same two levels. Organization admins can reach any workspace in their organization, and every time they do it is recorded in the activity log.
Your data and security
- Where it lives.On Contexel's servers in the United States, run by Fly.io. Everything travels over HTTPS, and each organization's data is kept separate.
- Readable, with history.Memories are stored as plain text documents with a full version history.
- Search stays with us.Looking things up runs on our own servers. Your questions are not sent to an AI company.
- Encryption, your choice.Turn on encryption for your data, and optionally hold the key yourself. While a space is locked with your own key, Contexel has no way to decrypt your documents or search index.
- Secrets stripped.Common secrets such as API keys, tokens and passwords in connection strings are replaced before anything is saved. It is a safety net, so please don't save credentials.
- AI filing, with a switch.Quick notes can be filed into tidy memories by an outside AI provider. The console shows which one each workspace uses, the owner can turn it off, and every time notes are sent is logged.
- An activity log.A tamper-evident record of saves, approvals, exports and access changes, kept for 6 years. It holds IDs, counts and times, never your content.
- Take it with you."Download my data" in the console gives you every workspace you can read as plain text files. Owners can delete a workspace, and you can email privacy@contexel.ai to delete your whole account.
Contexel is not designed for protected health information or payment card data, so don't store either. The privacy policy has the full detail.
For IT admins
What to check before approving Contexel for your organization.
Questions about security or a team rollout: support@contexel.ai.
Get help
- Support.Setup problems, questions and feedback: support@contexel.ai. We reply by email.
- Privacy requests.To see, correct or delete the personal information we hold: privacy@contexel.ai.