Your Data, Your Device

Privacy matters. Whether you're a researcher working with sensitive data, a developer building local-first applications, or simply someone who wants full control over their knowledge, CogMem's Solo Mode has you covered.

What is Solo Mode?

Solo Mode allows CogMem to run using SurrealDB only, providing all the capabilities of the enterprise multi-database setup in a single, lightweight package. No Postgres, no OpenSearch, no Neo4j, no Qdrant — just SurrealDB.

Solo Mode architecture

How It Works

SurrealDB is a multi-model database that provides:

  • Object storage — Document and item persistence
  • Full-text search — Built-in text indexing and search
  • Vector search — Cosine similarity for embeddings
  • Graph relationships — RELATE edges for entity linking

This means a single SurrealDB instance can replace four separate databases, dramatically simplifying deployment and maintenance.

Getting Started

# Install CogMem with Solo Mode dependencies
pip install cogmem-kos[solo]

# Start SurrealDB
surreal start --log info --user root --pass root file:cogmem.db

# Initialize the schema
kos init

# Start the API server
kos dev-server

That's it. You now have a fully functional knowledge operating system running on your local machine.

Embedded Mode

For even simpler deployment, Solo Mode supports embedded operation using the SurrealDB Python SDK directly. No external server process needed:

# In your .env file
KOS_MODE=solo
SURREAL_MODE=embedded
SURREAL_PATH=file:///path/to/cogmem.db

API Compatibility

The best part? Every API endpoint works identically in Solo Mode and Enterprise Mode. Your code doesn't need to change when you scale up. The contract-first architecture ensures consistent behavior regardless of the underlying database.

When to Use Solo Mode

  • Development: Fast iteration without managing multiple databases
  • Research: Privacy-sensitive data that can't leave your device
  • Personal use: Your own knowledge management system
  • Prototyping: Validate ideas before committing to enterprise infrastructure
  • Offline operation: No internet connection required

Scaling Up

When you're ready for production scale, switching to Enterprise Mode is straightforward. Update your environment configuration to point to Postgres, OpenSearch, Neo4j, and Qdrant, and CogMem handles the rest. Your data can be migrated using the built-in export/import tools.

Solo Mode proves that powerful knowledge management doesn't require complex infrastructure. Start simple, scale when you need to.