Deploying MemU on Sealos DevBox

Deploying MemU on Sealos DevBox

This guide demonstrates how to build and deploy a Personal AI Assistant with Long-Term Memory using MemU on Sealos DevBox.

Overview

MemU enables AI agents to maintain persistent, structured memory across conversations. Combined with Sealos DevBox's 1-click cloud development environment, you can quickly build and deploy memory-enabled AI applications.

What we'll build:

• A FastAPI-based AI assistant that remembers user preferences and past conversations
• Persistent memory storage using MemU's in-memory or PostgreSQL backend
• Simple REST API for chat interactions
• One-click deployment to production

Time to complete: ~15 minutes

Prerequisites

• Sealos account (free tier available)
• OpenAI API key (or compatible provider like Nebius, Groq)

Step 1: Create a DevBox Environment

1. Log in to Sealos Dashboard
2. Navigate to DevBox module
3. Click Create New Project
4. Select Python 3.11+ template
5. Configure resources (recommended: 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM)
6. Click Create - your environment will be ready in ~60 seconds

Step 2: Connect Your IDE

1. In the DevBox project list, click the VS Code or Cursor button
2. Your local IDE will open with a secure SSH connection to the cloud environment
3. All code runs in the cloud, keeping your local machine free

Step 3: Set Up the Project

Open the terminal in your connected IDE and run:

# Clone or create project directory
mkdir memu-assistant && cd memu-assistant

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
pip install memu fastapi uvicorn python-dotenv

Step 4: Create the Application

Create the following files in your project:

.env

# LLM Provider Configuration
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
OPENAI_BASE_URL=https://api.openai.com/v1

# Or use Nebius (OpenAI-compatible)
# OPENAI_API_KEY=your_nebius_key
# OPENAI_BASE_URL=https://api.tokenfactory.nebius.com/v1/

# Model Configuration
CHAT_MODEL=gpt-4o-mini
EMBED_MODEL=text-embedding-3-small

# Server Configuration
HOST=0.0.0.0
PORT=8000

main.py

"""
Personal AI Assistant with Long-Term Memory
Powered by MemU + FastAPI on Sealos DevBox
"""

import os
from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException
from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
from pydantic import BaseModel

load_dotenv()

# MemU imports
from memu.app import MemoryService

# Global memory service
memory_service: MemoryService | None = None


@asynccontextmanager
async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
    """Initialize MemU on startup."""
    global memory_service

    llm_profiles = {
        "default": {
            "provider": "openai",
            "base_url": os.getenv("OPENAI_BASE_URL", "https://api.openai.com/v1"),
            "api_key": os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"),
            "chat_model": os.getenv("CHAT_MODEL", "gpt-4o-mini"),
            "client_backend": "sdk",
        },
        "embedding": {
            "provider": "openai",
            "base_url": os.getenv("OPENAI_BASE_URL", "https://api.openai.com/v1"),
            "api_key": os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"),
            "embed_model": os.getenv("EMBED_MODEL", "text-embedding-3-small"),
            "client_backend": "sdk",
        },
    }

    memory_service = MemoryService(llm_profiles=llm_profiles)
    print("✓ MemU Memory Service initialized")
    yield
    print("Shutting down...")


app = FastAPI(
    title="MemU Assistant",
    description="AI Assistant with Long-Term Memory",
    lifespan=lifespan,
)

app.add_middleware(
    CORSMiddleware,
    allow_origins=["*"],
    allow_methods=["*"],
    allow_headers=["*"],
)


class ChatRequest(BaseModel):
    message: str
    user_id: str = "default"


class ChatResponse(BaseModel):
    response: str
    memories_used: int
    memories_stored: int


class MemorizeRequest(BaseModel):
    content: str
    user_id: str = "default"


@app.get("/")
async def root():
    return {
        "service": "MemU Assistant",
        "status": "running",
        "endpoints": ["/chat", "/memorize", "/recall", "/health"],
    }


@app.get("/health")
async def health():
    return {"status": "healthy", "memory_service": memory_service is not None}


@app.post("/chat", response_model=ChatResponse)
async def chat(request: ChatRequest):
    """
    Chat with the AI assistant. The assistant will:
    1. Retrieve relevant memories from past conversations
    2. Generate a response using those memories as context
    3. Store new information from the conversation
    """
    if not memory_service:
        raise HTTPException(status_code=503, detail="Memory service not initialized")

    # Step 1: Retrieve relevant memories
    retrieve_result = await memory_service.retrieve(
        queries=[{"role": "user", "content": request.message}]
    )

    memories = retrieve_result.get("items", [])
    memories_context = ""
    if memories:
        memories_context = "\n\nRelevant memories from past conversations:\n"
        for mem in memories[:5]:  # Limit to top 5 memories
            if isinstance(mem, dict):
                memories_context += f"- {mem.get('summary', str(mem))}\n"

    # Step 2: Generate response (simplified - in production, use full LLM call)
    # For demo, we'll create a simple response acknowledging the memories
    response_text = f"I received your message: '{request.message}'"
    if memories:
        response_text += f"\n\nI found {len(memories)} relevant memories that might help."

    # Step 3: Store the conversation as a new memory
    import tempfile
    with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(mode='w', suffix='.txt', delete=False) as f:
        f.write(f"User ({request.user_id}): {request.message}")
        temp_file = f.name

    try:
        memorize_result = await memory_service.memorize(
            resource_url=temp_file,
            modality="text",
        )
        memories_stored = len(memorize_result.get("items", []))
    finally:
        os.unlink(temp_file)

    return ChatResponse(
        response=response_text,
        memories_used=len(memories),
        memories_stored=memories_stored,
    )


@app.post("/memorize")
async def memorize(request: MemorizeRequest):
    """Store information in long-term memory."""
    if not memory_service:
        raise HTTPException(status_code=503, detail="Memory service not initialized")

    import tempfile
    with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(mode='w', suffix='.txt', delete=False) as f:
        f.write(request.content)
        temp_file = f.name

    try:
        result = await memory_service.memorize(
            resource_url=temp_file,
            modality="text",
        )
        return {
            "status": "stored",
            "items_created": len(result.get("items", [])),
            "categories": len(result.get("categories", [])),
        }
    finally:
        os.unlink(temp_file)


@app.get("/recall")
async def recall(query: str, limit: int = 5):
    """Recall memories related to a query."""
    if not memory_service:
        raise HTTPException(status_code=503, detail="Memory service not initialized")

    result = await memory_service.retrieve(
        queries=[{"role": "user", "content": query}]
    )

    items = result.get("items", [])[:limit]
    return {
        "query": query,
        "memories_found": len(items),
        "memories": [
            {"summary": item.get("summary", str(item)) if isinstance(item, dict) else str(item)}
            for item in items
        ],
    }


if __name__ == "__main__":
    import uvicorn
    uvicorn.run(
        "main:app",
        host=os.getenv("HOST", "0.0.0.0"),
        port=int(os.getenv("PORT", 8000)),
        reload=True,
    )

requirements.txt

memu>=0.1.0
fastapi>=0.100.0
uvicorn[standard]>=0.23.0
python-dotenv>=1.0.0

entrypoint.sh

#!/bin/bash
source venv/bin/activate
uvicorn main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

Step 5: Test Locally in DevBox

# Run the application
python main.py

Use the DevBox preview feature to access your running application, or test with curl:

# Health check
curl http://localhost:8000/health

# Store a memory
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/memorize \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"content": "User prefers dark mode and uses Python for AI development"}'

# Chat with memory
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/chat \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message": "What programming language do I use?"}'

# Recall memories
curl "http://localhost:8000/recall?query=programming%20preferences"

Step 6: Deploy to Production

1. In the Sealos Dashboard, go to your DevBox project
2. Click Create Release to package your application
3. Click Deploy next to your release
4. Configure environment variables (OPENAI_API_KEY, etc.)
5. Click Deploy - your app will be live in minutes!

Your application will receive a public URL like: https://your-app.cloud.sealos.io

Using with PostgreSQL (Optional)

For production deployments with persistent storage:

1. In Sealos Dashboard, go to Database module
2. Create a PostgreSQL instance
3. Update your .env with the connection string:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@host:5432/memu

4. Update main.py to use PostgreSQL backend (see MemU documentation)

API Reference

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Sealos DevBox                        │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │              FastAPI Application                 │   │
│  │  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐  │   │
│  │  │  /chat  │  │/memorize│  │    /recall      │  │   │
│  │  └────┬────┘  └────┬────┘  └────────┬────────┘  │   │
│  │       │            │                │           │   │
│  │       └────────────┼────────────────┘           │   │
│  │                    │                            │   │
│  │            ┌───────▼───────┐                    │   │
│  │            │  MemU Service │                    │   │
│  │            │  (Memory Mgmt)│                    │   │
│  │            └───────┬───────┘                    │   │
│  │                    │                            │   │
│  │       ┌────────────┼────────────┐               │   │
│  │       │            │            │               │   │
│  │  ┌────▼────┐  ┌────▼────┐  ┌───▼────┐          │   │
│  │  │ Vector  │  │   LLM   │  │Postgres│          │   │
│  │  │ Store   │  │   API   │  │(opt.)  │          │   │
│  │  └─────────┘  └─────────┘  └────────┘          │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Benefits of This Setup

• Zero Infrastructure Management: Sealos handles Kubernetes complexity
• Instant Environment: Ready-to-code in 60 seconds
• Persistent Memory: MemU maintains context across sessions
• Scalable: Easily scale resources as needed
• Cost-Effective: Pay only for what you use

Next Steps

• Add authentication for multi-user support
• Integrate with Slack, Discord, or other platforms
• Use PostgreSQL for production-grade persistence
• Add conversation history UI

Resources

• MemU Documentation
• Sealos DevBox Guide
• FastAPI Documentation

This guide was created for the MemU PR Hackathon - 2026 New Year Challenge (Issue #228)