---
title: 'Quickstart'
description: 'Get your Mem0 Memory System running in under 5 minutes'
---

## Prerequisites

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Docker & Docker Compose" icon="docker">
    Required for Neo4j container (Supabase already running)
  </Card>
  <Card title="Python 3.10+" icon="python">
    For the mem0 core system and API
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Installation

### Step 1: Verify Database Services

Both required database services are already running:

<Note>
**Neo4j** is already running in Docker container `mem0-neo4j` on ports 7474 (HTTP) and 7687 (Bolt).
**Supabase** is already running as part of your existing infrastructure on the localai network.
</Note>

You can verify the services are running:

```bash
# Check running containers
docker ps | grep -E "(neo4j|supabase)"

# Test Neo4j connection
curl http://localhost:7474

# Test Supabase connection  
curl http://localhost:8000/health
```

### Step 2: Test Your Installation

```bash
python test_all_connections.py
```

You should see all systems passing.

### Step 3: Start the REST API Server ✅

Our Phase 2 implementation provides a production-ready REST API with two deployment options:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Direct Python (Local Only)">
    For local development and testing:

    ```bash
    python start_api.py
    ```

    **Access:** http://localhost:8080 (localhost only)
  </Tab>
  
  <Tab title="Docker (External Access) ✅ Recommended">
    For external access and production deployment:

    ```bash
    # Build and start the API server
    docker-compose -f docker-compose.api.yml up -d
    ```

    **Access:** http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8080 (accessible from outside)
    
    <Note>
    The Docker deployment automatically configures the API to accept external connections on `0.0.0.0:8080`.
    </Note>
  </Tab>
  
  <Tab title="Docker Network Integration ✅ For N8N/Containers">
    For integration with N8N or other Docker containers on custom networks:

    ```bash
    # Deploy to localai network (or your custom network)
    docker-compose -f docker-compose.api-localai.yml up -d
    
    # Find container IP for connections
    docker inspect mem0-api-localai --format='{{range .NetworkSettings.Networks}}{{.IPAddress}}{{end}}'
    ```

    **Access:** http://CONTAINER_IP:8080 (from within Docker network)
    **Example:** http://172.21.0.17:8080
    
    <Note>
    Perfect for N8N workflows and Docker-to-Docker communication. Automatically handles service dependencies like Ollama and Supabase connections.
    </Note>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

All deployment options provide:
- Interactive documentation at `/docs`
- Full authentication and rate limiting
- Comprehensive error handling

### Step 4: Test the API

Run our test suite to verify everything works:

```bash
# Quick validation test
python test_api_simple.py

# Comprehensive test suite  
python test_api.py
```