Memory - CrewAI

Overview

The CrewAI framework provides a sophisticated memory system designed to significantly enhance AI agent capabilities. CrewAI offers three distinct memory approaches that serve different use cases:

Basic Memory System - Built-in short-term, long-term, and entity memory
User Memory - User-specific memory with Mem0 integration (legacy approach)
External Memory - Standalone external memory providers (new approach)

Memory System Components

Component	Description
Short-Term Memory	Temporarily stores recent interactions and outcomes using `RAG`, enabling agents to recall and utilize information relevant to their current context during the current executions.
Long-Term Memory	Preserves valuable insights and learnings from past executions, allowing agents to build and refine their knowledge over time.
Entity Memory	Captures and organizes information about entities (people, places, concepts) encountered during tasks, facilitating deeper understanding and relationship mapping. Uses `RAG` for storing entity information.
Contextual Memory	Maintains the context of interactions by combining `ShortTermMemory`, `LongTermMemory`, and `EntityMemory`, aiding in the coherence and relevance of agent responses over a sequence of tasks or a conversation.

1. Basic Memory System (Recommended)

The simplest and most commonly used approach. Enable memory for your crew with a single parameter:

Quick Start

from crewai import Crew, Agent, Task, Process

# Enable basic memory system
crew = Crew(
    agents=[...],
    tasks=[...],
    process=Process.sequential,
    memory=True,  # Enables short-term, long-term, and entity memory
    verbose=True
)

How It Works

Short-Term Memory: Uses ChromaDB with RAG for current context
Long-Term Memory: Uses SQLite3 to store task results across sessions
Entity Memory: Uses RAG to track entities (people, places, concepts)
Storage Location: Platform-specific location via appdirs package
Custom Storage Directory: Set CREWAI_STORAGE_DIR environment variable

Storage Location Transparency

Understanding Storage Locations: CrewAI uses platform-specific directories to store memory and knowledge files following OS conventions. Understanding these locations helps with production deployments, backups, and debugging.

Where CrewAI Stores Files

By default, CrewAI uses the appdirs library to determine storage locations following platform conventions. Here’s exactly where your files are stored:

Default Storage Locations by Platform

macOS:

~/Library/Application Support/CrewAI/{project_name}/
├── knowledge/           # Knowledge base ChromaDB files
├── short_term_memory/   # Short-term memory ChromaDB files  
├── long_term_memory/    # Long-term memory ChromaDB files
├── entities/            # Entity memory ChromaDB files
└── long_term_memory_storage.db  # SQLite database

Linux:

~/.local/share/CrewAI/{project_name}/
├── knowledge/
├── short_term_memory/
├── long_term_memory/
├── entities/
└── long_term_memory_storage.db

Windows:

C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\CrewAI\{project_name}\
├── knowledge\
├── short_term_memory\
├── long_term_memory\
├── entities\
└── long_term_memory_storage.db

Finding Your Storage Location

To see exactly where CrewAI is storing files on your system:

from crewai.utilities.paths import db_storage_path
import os

# Get the base storage path
storage_path = db_storage_path()
print(f"CrewAI storage location: {storage_path}")

# List all CrewAI storage directories
if os.path.exists(storage_path):
    print("\nStored files and directories:")
    for item in os.listdir(storage_path):
        item_path = os.path.join(storage_path, item)
        if os.path.isdir(item_path):
            print(f"📁 {item}/")
            # Show ChromaDB collections
            if os.path.exists(item_path):
                for subitem in os.listdir(item_path):
                    print(f"   └── {subitem}")
        else:
            print(f"📄 {item}")
else:
    print("No CrewAI storage directory found yet.")

Controlling Storage Locations

Option 1: Environment Variable (Recommended)

import os
from crewai import Crew

# Set custom storage location
os.environ["CREWAI_STORAGE_DIR"] = "./my_project_storage"

# All memory and knowledge will now be stored in ./my_project_storage/
crew = Crew(
    agents=[...],
    tasks=[...],
    memory=True
)

Option 2: Custom Storage Paths

import os
from crewai import Crew
from crewai.memory import LongTermMemory
from crewai.memory.storage.ltm_sqlite_storage import LTMSQLiteStorage

# Configure custom storage location
custom_storage_path = "./storage"
os.makedirs(custom_storage_path, exist_ok=True)

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    long_term_memory=LongTermMemory(
        storage=LTMSQLiteStorage(
            db_path=f"{custom_storage_path}/memory.db"
        )
    )
)

Option 3: Project-Specific Storage

import os
from pathlib import Path

# Store in project directory
project_root = Path(__file__).parent
storage_dir = project_root / "crewai_storage"

os.environ["CREWAI_STORAGE_DIR"] = str(storage_dir)

# Now all storage will be in your project directory

Embedding Provider Defaults

Default Embedding Provider: CrewAI defaults to OpenAI embeddings for consistency and reliability. You can easily customize this to match your LLM provider or use local embeddings.

Understanding Default Behavior

# When using Claude as your LLM...
from crewai import Agent, LLM

agent = Agent(
    role="Analyst",
    goal="Analyze data",
    backstory="Expert analyst",
    llm=LLM(provider="anthropic", model="claude-3-sonnet")  # Using Claude
)

# CrewAI will use OpenAI embeddings by default for consistency
# You can easily customize this to match your preferred provider

Customizing Embedding Providers

from crewai import Crew

# Option 1: Match your LLM provider
crew = Crew(
    agents=[agent],
    tasks=[task],
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "anthropic",  # Match your LLM provider
        "config": {
            "api_key": "your-anthropic-key",
            "model": "text-embedding-3-small"
        }
    }
)

# Option 2: Use local embeddings (no external API calls)
crew = Crew(
    agents=[agent],
    tasks=[task],
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "ollama",
        "config": {"model": "mxbai-embed-large"}
    }
)

Debugging Storage Issues

Check Storage Permissions

import os
from crewai.utilities.paths import db_storage_path

storage_path = db_storage_path()
print(f"Storage path: {storage_path}")
print(f"Path exists: {os.path.exists(storage_path)}")
print(f"Is writable: {os.access(storage_path, os.W_OK) if os.path.exists(storage_path) else 'Path does not exist'}")

# Create with proper permissions
if not os.path.exists(storage_path):
    os.makedirs(storage_path, mode=0o755, exist_ok=True)
    print(f"Created storage directory: {storage_path}")

Inspect ChromaDB Collections

import chromadb
from crewai.utilities.paths import db_storage_path

# Connect to CrewAI's ChromaDB
storage_path = db_storage_path()
chroma_path = os.path.join(storage_path, "knowledge")

if os.path.exists(chroma_path):
    client = chromadb.PersistentClient(path=chroma_path)
    collections = client.list_collections()
    
    print("ChromaDB Collections:")
    for collection in collections:
        print(f"  - {collection.name}: {collection.count()} documents")
else:
    print("No ChromaDB storage found")

Reset Storage (Debugging)

from crewai import Crew

# Reset all memory storage
crew = Crew(agents=[...], tasks=[...], memory=True)

# Reset specific memory types
crew.reset_memories(command_type='short')     # Short-term memory
crew.reset_memories(command_type='long')      # Long-term memory  
crew.reset_memories(command_type='entity')    # Entity memory
crew.reset_memories(command_type='knowledge') # Knowledge storage

Production Best Practices

Set CREWAI_STORAGE_DIR to a known location in production for better control
Choose explicit embedding providers to match your LLM setup
Monitor storage directory size for large-scale deployments
Include storage directories in your backup strategy
Set appropriate file permissions (0o755 for directories, 0o644 for files)
Use project-relative paths for containerized deployments

Common Storage Issues

“ChromaDB permission denied” errors:

# Fix permissions
chmod -R 755 ~/.local/share/CrewAI/

“Database is locked” errors:

# Ensure only one CrewAI instance accesses storage
import fcntl
import os

storage_path = db_storage_path()
lock_file = os.path.join(storage_path, ".crewai.lock")

with open(lock_file, 'w') as f:
    fcntl.flock(f.fileno(), fcntl.LOCK_EX | fcntl.LOCK_NB)
    # Your CrewAI code here

Storage not persisting between runs:

# Verify storage location is consistent
import os
print("CREWAI_STORAGE_DIR:", os.getenv("CREWAI_STORAGE_DIR"))
print("Current working directory:", os.getcwd())
print("Computed storage path:", db_storage_path())

Custom Embedder Configuration

CrewAI supports multiple embedding providers to give you flexibility in choosing the best option for your use case. Here’s a comprehensive guide to configuring different embedding providers for your memory system.

Why Choose Different Embedding Providers?

Cost Optimization: Local embeddings (Ollama) are free after initial setup
Privacy: Keep your data local with Ollama or use your preferred cloud provider
Performance: Some models work better for specific domains or languages
Consistency: Match your embedding provider with your LLM provider
Compliance: Meet specific regulatory or organizational requirements

OpenAI Embeddings (Default)

OpenAI provides reliable, high-quality embeddings that work well for most use cases.

from crewai import Crew

# Basic OpenAI configuration (uses environment OPENAI_API_KEY)
crew = Crew(
    agents=[...],
    tasks=[...],
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "openai",
        "config": {
            "model": "text-embedding-3-small"  # or "text-embedding-3-large"
        }
    }
)

# Advanced OpenAI configuration
crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "openai",
        "config": {
            "api_key": "your-openai-api-key",  # Optional: override env var
            "model": "text-embedding-3-large",
            "dimensions": 1536,  # Optional: reduce dimensions for smaller storage
            "organization_id": "your-org-id"  # Optional: for organization accounts
        }
    }
)

Azure OpenAI Embeddings

For enterprise users with Azure OpenAI deployments.

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "openai",  # Use openai provider for Azure
        "config": {
            "api_key": "your-azure-api-key",
            "api_base": "https://your-resource.openai.azure.com/",
            "api_type": "azure",
            "api_version": "2023-05-15",
            "model": "text-embedding-3-small",
            "deployment_id": "your-deployment-name"  # Azure deployment name
        }
    }
)

Google AI Embeddings

Use Google’s text embedding models for integration with Google Cloud services.

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "google",
        "config": {
            "api_key": "your-google-api-key",
            "model": "text-embedding-004"  # or "text-embedding-preview-0409"
        }
    }
)

Vertex AI Embeddings

For Google Cloud users with Vertex AI access.

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "vertexai",
        "config": {
            "project_id": "your-gcp-project-id",
            "region": "us-central1",  # or your preferred region
            "api_key": "your-service-account-key",
            "model_name": "textembedding-gecko"
        }
    }
)

Ollama Embeddings (Local)

Run embeddings locally for privacy and cost savings.

# First, install and run Ollama locally, then pull an embedding model:
# ollama pull mxbai-embed-large

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "ollama",
        "config": {
            "model": "mxbai-embed-large",  # or "nomic-embed-text"
            "url": "http://localhost:11434/api/embeddings"  # Default Ollama URL
        }
    }
)

# For custom Ollama installations
crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "ollama",
        "config": {
            "model": "mxbai-embed-large",
            "url": "http://your-ollama-server:11434/api/embeddings"
        }
    }
)

Cohere Embeddings

Use Cohere’s embedding models for multilingual support.

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "cohere",
        "config": {
            "api_key": "your-cohere-api-key",
            "model": "embed-english-v3.0"  # or "embed-multilingual-v3.0"
        }
    }
)

VoyageAI Embeddings

High-performance embeddings optimized for retrieval tasks.

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "voyageai",
        "config": {
            "api_key": "your-voyage-api-key",
            "model": "voyage-large-2",  # or "voyage-code-2" for code
            "input_type": "document"  # or "query"
        }
    }
)

AWS Bedrock Embeddings

For AWS users with Bedrock access.

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "bedrock",
        "config": {
            "aws_access_key_id": "your-access-key",
            "aws_secret_access_key": "your-secret-key",
            "region_name": "us-east-1",
            "model": "amazon.titan-embed-text-v1"
        }
    }
)

Hugging Face Embeddings

Use open-source models from Hugging Face.

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "huggingface",
        "config": {
            "api_key": "your-hf-token",  # Optional for public models
            "model": "sentence-transformers/all-MiniLM-L6-v2",
            "api_url": "https://api-inference.huggingface.co"  # or your custom endpoint
        }
    }
)

IBM Watson Embeddings

For IBM Cloud users.

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "watson",
        "config": {
            "api_key": "your-watson-api-key",
            "url": "your-watson-instance-url",
            "model": "ibm/slate-125m-english-rtrvr"
        }
    }
)

Choosing the Right Embedding Provider

Provider	Best For	Pros	Cons
OpenAI	General use, reliability	High quality, well-tested	Cost, requires API key
Ollama	Privacy, cost savings	Free, local, private	Requires local setup
Google AI	Google ecosystem	Good performance	Requires Google account
Azure OpenAI	Enterprise, compliance	Enterprise features	Complex setup
Cohere	Multilingual content	Great language support	Specialized use case
VoyageAI	Retrieval tasks	Optimized for search	Newer provider

Environment Variable Configuration

For security, store API keys in environment variables:

import os

# Set environment variables
os.environ["OPENAI_API_KEY"] = "your-openai-key"
os.environ["GOOGLE_API_KEY"] = "your-google-key"
os.environ["COHERE_API_KEY"] = "your-cohere-key"

# Use without exposing keys in code
crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "openai",
        "config": {
            "model": "text-embedding-3-small"
            # API key automatically loaded from environment
        }
    }
)

Testing Different Embedding Providers

Compare embedding providers for your specific use case:

from crewai import Crew
from crewai.utilities.paths import db_storage_path

# Test different providers with the same data
providers_to_test = [
    {
        "name": "OpenAI",
        "config": {
            "provider": "openai",
            "config": {"model": "text-embedding-3-small"}
        }
    },
    {
        "name": "Ollama",
        "config": {
            "provider": "ollama", 
            "config": {"model": "mxbai-embed-large"}
        }
    }
]

for provider in providers_to_test:
    print(f"\nTesting {provider['name']} embeddings...")
    
    # Create crew with specific embedder
    crew = Crew(
        agents=[...],
        tasks=[...],
        memory=True,
        embedder=provider['config']
    )
    
    # Run your test and measure performance
    result = crew.kickoff()
    print(f"{provider['name']} completed successfully")

Troubleshooting Embedding Issues

Model not found errors:

# Verify model availability
from crewai.utilities.embedding_configurator import EmbeddingConfigurator

configurator = EmbeddingConfigurator()
try:
    embedder = configurator.configure_embedder({
        "provider": "ollama",
        "config": {"model": "mxbai-embed-large"}
    })
    print("Embedder configured successfully")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Configuration error: {e}")

API key issues:

import os

# Check if API keys are set
required_keys = ["OPENAI_API_KEY", "GOOGLE_API_KEY", "COHERE_API_KEY"]
for key in required_keys:
    if os.getenv(key):
        print(f"✅ {key} is set")
    else:
        print(f"❌ {key} is not set")

Performance comparison:

import time

def test_embedding_performance(embedder_config, test_text="This is a test document"):
    start_time = time.time()
    
    crew = Crew(
        agents=[...],
        tasks=[...],
        memory=True,
        embedder=embedder_config
    )
    
    # Simulate memory operation
    crew.kickoff()
    
    end_time = time.time()
    return end_time - start_time

# Compare performance
openai_time = test_embedding_performance({
    "provider": "openai",
    "config": {"model": "text-embedding-3-small"}
})

ollama_time = test_embedding_performance({
    "provider": "ollama", 
    "config": {"model": "mxbai-embed-large"}
})

print(f"OpenAI: {openai_time:.2f}s")
print(f"Ollama: {ollama_time:.2f}s")

2. User Memory with Mem0 (Legacy)

Legacy Approach: While fully functional, this approach is considered legacy. For new projects requiring user-specific memory, consider using External Memory instead.

User Memory integrates with Mem0 to provide user-specific memory that persists across sessions and integrates with the crew’s contextual memory system.

Prerequisites

pip install mem0ai

Mem0 Cloud Configuration

import os
from crewai import Crew, Process

# Set your Mem0 API key
os.environ["MEM0_API_KEY"] = "m0-your-api-key"

crew = Crew(
    agents=[...],
    tasks=[...],
    memory=True,  # Required for contextual memory integration
    memory_config={
        "provider": "mem0",
        "config": {"user_id": "john"},
        "user_memory": {}  # Required - triggers user memory initialization
    },
    process=Process.sequential,
    verbose=True
)

Advanced Mem0 Configuration

crew = Crew(
    agents=[...],
    tasks=[...],
    memory=True,
    memory_config={
        "provider": "mem0",
        "config": {
            "user_id": "john",
            "org_id": "my_org_id",        # Optional
            "project_id": "my_project_id", # Optional
            "api_key": "custom-api-key"    # Optional - overrides env var
        },
        "user_memory": {}
    }
)

Local Mem0 Configuration

crew = Crew(
    agents=[...],
    tasks=[...],
    memory=True,
    memory_config={
        "provider": "mem0",
        "config": {
            "user_id": "john",
            "local_mem0_config": {
                "vector_store": {
                    "provider": "qdrant",
                    "config": {"host": "localhost", "port": 6333}
                },
                "llm": {
                    "provider": "openai",
                    "config": {"api_key": "your-api-key", "model": "gpt-4"}
                },
                "embedder": {
                    "provider": "openai",
                    "config": {"api_key": "your-api-key", "model": "text-embedding-3-small"}
                }
            }
        },
        "user_memory": {}
    }
)

3. External Memory (New Approach)

External Memory provides a standalone memory system that operates independently from the crew’s built-in memory. This is ideal for specialized memory providers or cross-application memory sharing.

Basic External Memory with Mem0

import os
from crewai import Agent, Crew, Process, Task
from crewai.memory.external.external_memory import ExternalMemory

os.environ["MEM0_API_KEY"] = "your-api-key"

# Create external memory instance
external_memory = ExternalMemory(
    embedder_config={
        "provider": "mem0", 
        "config": {"user_id": "U-123"}
    }
)

crew = Crew(
    agents=[...],
    tasks=[...],
    external_memory=external_memory,  # Separate from basic memory
    process=Process.sequential,
    verbose=True
)

Custom Storage Implementation

from crewai.memory.external.external_memory import ExternalMemory
from crewai.memory.storage.interface import Storage

class CustomStorage(Storage):
    def __init__(self):
        self.memories = []

    def save(self, value, metadata=None, agent=None):
        self.memories.append({
            "value": value, 
            "metadata": metadata, 
            "agent": agent
        })

    def search(self, query, limit=10, score_threshold=0.5):
        # Implement your search logic here
        return [m for m in self.memories if query.lower() in str(m["value"]).lower()]

    def reset(self):
        self.memories = []

# Use custom storage
external_memory = ExternalMemory(storage=CustomStorage())

crew = Crew(
    agents=[...],
    tasks=[...],
    external_memory=external_memory
)

Memory System Comparison

Feature	Basic Memory	User Memory (Legacy)	External Memory
Setup Complexity	Simple	Medium	Medium
Integration	Built-in contextual	Contextual + User-specific	Standalone
Storage	Local files	Mem0 Cloud/Local	Custom/Mem0
Cross-session	✅	✅	✅
User-specific	❌	✅	✅
Custom providers	Limited	Mem0 only	Any provider
Recommended for	Most use cases	Legacy projects	Specialized needs

Supported Embedding Providers

OpenAI (Default)

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "openai",
        "config": {"model": "text-embedding-3-small"}
    }
)

Ollama

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "ollama",
        "config": {"model": "mxbai-embed-large"}
    }
)

Google AI

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "google",
        "config": {
            "api_key": "your-api-key",
            "model": "text-embedding-004"
        }
    }
)

Azure OpenAI

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "openai",
        "config": {
            "api_key": "your-api-key",
            "api_base": "https://your-resource.openai.azure.com/",
            "api_version": "2023-05-15",
            "model_name": "text-embedding-3-small"
        }
    }
)

Vertex AI

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "vertexai",
        "config": {
            "project_id": "your-project-id",
            "region": "your-region",
            "api_key": "your-api-key",
            "model_name": "textembedding-gecko"
        }
    }
)

Security Best Practices

Environment Variables

import os
from crewai import Crew

# Store sensitive data in environment variables
crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "openai",
        "config": {
            "api_key": os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"),
            "model": "text-embedding-3-small"
        }
    }
)

Storage Security

import os
from crewai import Crew
from crewai.memory import LongTermMemory
from crewai.memory.storage.ltm_sqlite_storage import LTMSQLiteStorage

# Use secure storage paths
storage_path = os.getenv("CREWAI_STORAGE_DIR", "./storage")
os.makedirs(storage_path, mode=0o700, exist_ok=True)  # Restricted permissions

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    long_term_memory=LongTermMemory(
        storage=LTMSQLiteStorage(
            db_path=f"{storage_path}/memory.db"
        )
    )
)

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Memory not persisting between sessions?

Check CREWAI_STORAGE_DIR environment variable
Ensure write permissions to storage directory
Verify memory is enabled with memory=True

Mem0 authentication errors?

Verify MEM0_API_KEY environment variable is set
Check API key permissions on Mem0 dashboard
Ensure mem0ai package is installed

High memory usage with large datasets?

Consider using External Memory with custom storage
Implement pagination in custom storage search methods
Use smaller embedding models for reduced memory footprint

Performance Tips

Use memory=True for most use cases (simplest and fastest)
Only use User Memory if you need user-specific persistence
Consider External Memory for high-scale or specialized requirements
Choose smaller embedding models for faster processing
Set appropriate search limits to control memory retrieval size

Benefits of Using CrewAI’s Memory System

🦾 Adaptive Learning: Crews become more efficient over time, adapting to new information and refining their approach to tasks.
🫡 Enhanced Personalization: Memory enables agents to remember user preferences and historical interactions, leading to personalized experiences.
🧠 Improved Problem Solving: Access to a rich memory store aids agents in making more informed decisions, drawing on past learnings and contextual insights.

Conclusion

Integrating CrewAI’s memory system into your projects is straightforward. By leveraging the provided memory components and configurations, you can quickly empower your agents with the ability to remember, reason, and learn from their interactions, unlocking new levels of intelligence and capability.

Training Reasoning

On this page

Overview
Memory System Components
1. Basic Memory System (Recommended)
Quick Start
How It Works
Storage Location Transparency
Where CrewAI Stores Files
Default Storage Locations by Platform
Finding Your Storage Location
Controlling Storage Locations
Option 1: Environment Variable (Recommended)
Option 2: Custom Storage Paths
Option 3: Project-Specific Storage
Embedding Provider Defaults
Understanding Default Behavior
Customizing Embedding Providers
Debugging Storage Issues
Check Storage Permissions
Inspect ChromaDB Collections
Reset Storage (Debugging)
Production Best Practices
Common Storage Issues
Custom Embedder Configuration
Why Choose Different Embedding Providers?
OpenAI Embeddings (Default)
Azure OpenAI Embeddings
Google AI Embeddings
Vertex AI Embeddings
Ollama Embeddings (Local)
Cohere Embeddings
VoyageAI Embeddings
AWS Bedrock Embeddings
Hugging Face Embeddings
IBM Watson Embeddings
Choosing the Right Embedding Provider
Environment Variable Configuration
Testing Different Embedding Providers
Troubleshooting Embedding Issues
2. User Memory with Mem0 (Legacy)
Prerequisites
Mem0 Cloud Configuration
Advanced Mem0 Configuration
Local Mem0 Configuration
3. External Memory (New Approach)
Basic External Memory with Mem0
Custom Storage Implementation
Memory System Comparison
Supported Embedding Providers
OpenAI (Default)
Ollama
Google AI
Azure OpenAI
Vertex AI
Security Best Practices
Environment Variables
Storage Security
Troubleshooting
Common Issues
Performance Tips
Benefits of Using CrewAI’s Memory System
Conclusion

Get Started

Guides

Core Concepts

MCP Integration

Tools

Observability

Learn

Telemetry

​Overview

​Memory System Components

​1. Basic Memory System (Recommended)

​Quick Start

​How It Works

​Storage Location Transparency

​Where CrewAI Stores Files

​Default Storage Locations by Platform

​Finding Your Storage Location

​Controlling Storage Locations

​Option 1: Environment Variable (Recommended)

​Option 2: Custom Storage Paths

​Option 3: Project-Specific Storage

​Embedding Provider Defaults

​Understanding Default Behavior

​Customizing Embedding Providers

​Debugging Storage Issues

​Check Storage Permissions

​Inspect ChromaDB Collections

​Reset Storage (Debugging)

​Production Best Practices

​Common Storage Issues

​Custom Embedder Configuration

​Why Choose Different Embedding Providers?

​OpenAI Embeddings (Default)

​Azure OpenAI Embeddings

​Google AI Embeddings

​Vertex AI Embeddings

​Ollama Embeddings (Local)

​Cohere Embeddings

​VoyageAI Embeddings

​AWS Bedrock Embeddings

​Hugging Face Embeddings

​IBM Watson Embeddings

​Choosing the Right Embedding Provider

​Environment Variable Configuration

​Testing Different Embedding Providers

​Troubleshooting Embedding Issues

​2. User Memory with Mem0 (Legacy)

​Prerequisites

​Mem0 Cloud Configuration

​Advanced Mem0 Configuration

​Local Mem0 Configuration

​3. External Memory (New Approach)

​Basic External Memory with Mem0

​Custom Storage Implementation

​Memory System Comparison

​Supported Embedding Providers

​OpenAI (Default)

​Ollama

​Google AI

​Azure OpenAI

​Vertex AI

​Security Best Practices

​Environment Variables

​Storage Security

​Troubleshooting

​Common Issues

​Performance Tips

​Benefits of Using CrewAI’s Memory System

​Conclusion

Overview

Memory System Components

1. Basic Memory System (Recommended)

Quick Start

How It Works

Storage Location Transparency

Where CrewAI Stores Files

Default Storage Locations by Platform

Finding Your Storage Location

Controlling Storage Locations

Option 1: Environment Variable (Recommended)

Option 2: Custom Storage Paths

Option 3: Project-Specific Storage

Embedding Provider Defaults

Understanding Default Behavior

Customizing Embedding Providers

Debugging Storage Issues

Check Storage Permissions

Inspect ChromaDB Collections

Reset Storage (Debugging)

Production Best Practices

Common Storage Issues

Custom Embedder Configuration

Why Choose Different Embedding Providers?

OpenAI Embeddings (Default)

Azure OpenAI Embeddings

Google AI Embeddings

Vertex AI Embeddings

Ollama Embeddings (Local)

Cohere Embeddings

VoyageAI Embeddings

AWS Bedrock Embeddings

Hugging Face Embeddings

IBM Watson Embeddings

Choosing the Right Embedding Provider

Environment Variable Configuration

Testing Different Embedding Providers

Troubleshooting Embedding Issues

2. User Memory with Mem0 (Legacy)

Prerequisites

Mem0 Cloud Configuration

Advanced Mem0 Configuration

Local Mem0 Configuration

3. External Memory (New Approach)

Basic External Memory with Mem0

Custom Storage Implementation

Memory System Comparison

Supported Embedding Providers

OpenAI (Default)

Ollama

Google AI

Azure OpenAI

Vertex AI

Security Best Practices

Environment Variables

Storage Security

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Performance Tips

Benefits of Using CrewAI’s Memory System

Conclusion