Memory Palace - Themed Markdown for Review and Planning

A VS Code extension for displaying and interacting with beautifully themed markdown documents, designed for review and planning workflows. Works seamlessly with a24z-memory notes and MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration for AI agents like Claude and Cursor.

Features

🎨 Themed Markdown Viewer

Advanced markdown rendering with customizable themes
Font size scaling with persistent preferences
AI-generated themes and custom theme creation
Theme sharing and import/export functionality
Checkbox support with real-time updates
Code block execution
Mermaid diagram support
Dark/Light mode support

🤖 MCP Integration

Enable AI agents to display rich markdown content directly in your VS Code window:

MCP Bridge: Allows communication between AI agents and VS Code
Direct Display: AI agents can show markdown content in dedicated panels
File Access: Open and display markdown files through MCP tools

📁 Notes Integration

Browse and display a24z-memory notes in themed viewer
Search and filter notes by tags and content
Convert notes to structured markdown documents
Display notes with rich theming for better review and planning

Quick Start

1. Start the MCP Bridge

Open Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P)
Run Memory Palace: Start MCP Bridge
The bridge will start on port 3043 (configurable)

2. Configure Your AI Agent

Memory Palace works with two complementary MCP servers:

a24z-memory (Notes System)

For managing and working with your notes. Add to your Claude/Cursor configuration:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "a24z-memory": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "a24z-memory"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Learn more about a24z-memory: https://www.npmjs.com/package/a24z-memory

principal-md (Markdown Builder)

For building markdown documents from notes and displaying them in Memory Palace:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "principal-md": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@a24z/principal-md"
      ],
      "env": {
        "VSCODE_MCP_BRIDGE_PORT": "3043",
        "VSCODE_MCP_BRIDGE_HOST": "127.0.0.1"
      }
    }
  }
}

Complete Configuration

For the full workflow, include both servers in your configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "a24z-memory": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "a24z-memory"
      ]
    },
    "principal-md": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@a24z/principal-md"
      ],
      "env": {
        "VSCODE_MCP_BRIDGE_PORT": "3043",
        "VSCODE_MCP_BRIDGE_HOST": "127.0.0.1"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Workflow: From Notes to Themed Documents

a24z-memory Tools (Notes Management)

get_repository_notes: Retrieve notes from your workspace
repository_note: Create and manage notes
get_repository_tags: Organize notes with tags

principal-md Tools (Markdown Building & Display)

showMarkdownContent: Display markdown content in Memory Palace
openMarkdownFile: Open a markdown file in the Themed Markdown viewer
getMarkdown: Retrieve the current markdown content from VS Code
getAppInfo: Get information about the extension status

Example Workflow

1. "Show me all my notes about the project roadmap"
   → Uses a24z-memory to find relevant notes

2. "Create a planning document from these notes and display it in Memory Palace"
   → Uses principal-md to build markdown and display in themed viewer

3. "Generate a sunset theme for this planning document"
   → Uses theme generation to create custom styling

Complete Example Prompt

Please gather all my notes tagged with "project-planning" and "roadmap", 
organize them into a structured planning document, and display it in 
Memory Palace with a professional dark theme suitable for review.

🎨 Themes & Customization

Built-in Themes

Default: Standard clean theme
Dark Mode: Dark background with light text
High Contrast: Maximum contrast for accessibility
Minimal: Clean, minimal styling
Professional: Corporate-friendly theme

AI-Generated Themes

Ask your AI agent to generate custom themes for you! The MCP server includes routes for theme generation:

Generate a Theme

Can you generate a sunset-themed color scheme for my markdown viewer? Make it warm and professional.

Theme Generation Routes

/generate-theme: Generate a new theme based on description
/theme-variations: Create variations of existing themes
/analyze-theme: Analyze and improve existing themes

Font Scaling

Use +/- buttons in the toolbar to scale fonts from 50% to 200%
Font scale preferences persist across sessions
Custom themes automatically save your preferred font size

Copy Theme JSON: Click the 📋 button next to any theme to copy its JSON
Share with others: Send theme JSON to colleagues or the community
Import Themes: Paste theme JSON in Settings → Import Theme
Export Collections: Save your entire theme collection

Create or modify a theme to your liking
Click the 📋 copy button next to the theme name
Share the JSON with others
Recipients can paste it into Settings → Import Theme

Custom Theme Format

{
  "name": "My Custom Theme",
  "description": "A beautiful custom theme",
  "fontScale": 1.1,
  "colors": {
    "background": "#ffffff",
    "text": "#333333",
    "primary": "#007acc",
    "secondary": "#6c757d"
  },
  "fonts": {
    "body": "system-ui, -apple-system, sans-serif",
    "heading": "system-ui, -apple-system, sans-serif", 
    "monospace": "SFMono-Regular, Consolas, monospace"
  },
  "fontSizes": [12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 32, 48, 64, 96]
}

Requirements

VS Code 1.60.0 or higher
Node.js (for MCP server functionality)

Installation

From VS Code Marketplace

Open VS Code
Go to Extensions (Cmd+Shift+X / Ctrl+Shift+X)
Search for "Memory Palace"
Click Install

From VSIX Package

Download the .vsix file
Open Command Palette
Run Extensions: Install from VSIX...
Select the downloaded file

Commands

Memory Palace: Start MCP Bridge - Start the HTTP bridge for MCP communication
Memory Palace: Stop MCP Bridge - Stop the MCP bridge
Memory Palace: Open Themed Markdown - Open the Themed Markdown viewer
Memory Palace: Show Welcome - Show the welcome screen with setup instructions

Configuration

Extension Settings

principalMD.mcpBridgePort: Port for the MCP HTTP bridge (default: 3043)
principalMD.showWelcomeOnStartup: Show welcome screen on startup (default: true)

Architecture

┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│  AI Agent   │────▶│ MCP Server  │────▶│ HTTP Bridge │────▶│   VS Code   │
│  (Claude)   │     │(mcp-server) │     │ (Port 3043) │     │  Extension  │
└─────────────┘     └─────────────┘     └─────────────┘     └─────────────┘
                         stdio                HTTP              WebView

Troubleshooting

MCP Bridge won't start

Ensure port 3043 is not in use
Check VS Code Developer Console for errors
Try restarting VS Code

AI Agent can't connect

Verify the MCP Bridge is running (check status bar)
Ensure the MCP server path is correct in your AI agent config
Check that Node.js is installed and accessible

Content not displaying

Ensure the Themed Markdown panel is open
Check that the MCP Bridge is running
Verify the AI agent is using the correct tool names

Support

GitHub Issues: Report bugs or request features
Documentation: Full documentation

License

MIT

Contributors

Memory Palace Team
Community Contributors

Made with ❤️ by Memory Palace

Memory Palace

principle.md