# Nucleus-MCP vs. ContextStream 🧠

When choosing a memory layer for your AI agents, the fundamental question is: **Where does your project's soul live?**

| Feature | Nucleus-MCP | ContextStream |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Philosophy** | **Protocol Level.** Lives inside your tools. | **Platform Level.** Lives on a separate portal. |
| **Data Ownership** | **Local-First.** Engrams never leave your disk. | **Cloud-Centric.** Managed on their servers. |
| **Friction** | **Zero.** `pip install` and you're syncing. | **Moderate.** Requires account and platform setup. |
| **Security** | **Hypervisor Hard-Locks.** L1-L4 safety. | **Managed Guardrails.** Enterprise-policy based. |
| **IDE Support** | Native (Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code). | Extension/Portal based. |
| **Governance** | Cryptographic Interaction Ledger. | Dashboards & Reports. |

### Why serious engineers choose Nucleus:

1. **Sovereignty is Binary**: ContextStream asks you to trust their cloud with your architectural secrets. Nucleus doesn't ask for trust—it gives you the keys. 
2. **Horizontal Interconnect**: We don't want to be your IDE. We make your existing IDEs (Cursor and Windsurf) talk to each other.
3. **Hard-Tech Governance**: While others show you a "dashboard" of what the agent did, Nucleus provides a **cryptographically signed ledger** of every decision, enforced by a Hypervisor.

**Verdict**: Choose **ContextStream** if you want a collaborative SaaS portal for your team. Choose **Nucleus-MCP** if you want a sovereign, local-first engine that gives your personal agent a permanent, secure brain.
