Command-line interface for Nowledge Mem. Terminal access, scripting, and AI agent integration.

The nmem CLI gives you terminal access to your Nowledge Mem knowledge base. Search memories, browse threads, read and edit Working Memory, explore the knowledge graph, and view your activity feed, all from the shell.

If you also need browser automation, the desktop app bundles a second CLI called browse-now. It works with the Nowledge Mem Exchange extension to let agents control the user's real browser for authenticated and interactive web tasks. That browser bridge is local-only and is not exposed through Access Anywhere.

Installation

Option 1: Standalone PyPI Package

Install on any machine. Works with a local or remote Nowledge Mem server:

pip install nmem-cli

# or with uv
uv pip install nmem-cli

# or run without installing
uvx --from nmem-cli nmem --help

Requirements: Python 3.11+, Nowledge Mem running locally or reachable remotely.

Remote Access

The standalone package lets you reach your Nowledge Mem from servers, CI/CD pipelines, or remote workstations. See Access Mem Anywhere. View on PyPI.

Option 2: Bundled with Desktop App

macOS

Go to Settings → Preferences → Developer Tools and click Install CLI.

Installs to /usr/local/bin/nmem.

0:00

--:--

Windows

The CLI is automatically available after app installation. Open a new terminal window to use nmem.

Linux

Included with deb/rpm packages. The binary is placed in /usr/local/bin/nmem.

Quick Start

nmem status                              # Check connection
nmem m search "project notes"           # Search memories
nmem m search "project notes" --space work
nmem m add "Key insight" --title "Learning"
nmem wm                                  # Read today's Working Memory
nmem wm --space work                     # Read Working Memory for one space
nmem spaces                              # List known spaces
nmem f --days 1                          # Today's activity
nmem g expand <memory-id>               # Explore graph connections
nmem tui                                 # Interactive terminal UI

Global Options

Option	Description
`-j, --json`	Machine-readable JSON output
`--api-url <url>`	API URL (default: `http://127.0.0.1:14242`)
`--space <space>`	Run the command inside one named space when you want a non-default context
`-v, --version`	Show version
`-h, --help`	Show help

Aliases: m = memories · t = threads · wm = working-memory · g = graph · f = feed · c = communities

Memory Commands (`nmem m`)

Spaces are optional

If you do not use spaces, ignore --space and keep working in the default space. When you do need separate project or agent contexts, the same commands work with --space "<space name>".

List memories

nmem m                        # Recent 10 memories
nmem m -n 50                  # List 50
nmem m --importance 0.7       # Minimum importance filter

Search

nmem m search "authentication patterns"
nmem m search "authentication patterns" --space work
nmem m search "API design" --importance 0.8
nmem m search "deploy" -l devops -l backend    # Filter by labels (AND)
nmem m search "sprint" --mode deep             # Graph + LLM-enhanced results

Bi-temporal search. Distinguish when something happened from when you saved it:

nmem m search "database decision" --event-from 2025-01 --event-to 2025-06
nmem m search "meeting notes" --recorded-from 2026-01-01

Option	Description
`-n`	Max results
`-l, --label`	Filter by label (repeatable)
`--importance`	Minimum importance (0–1)
`--mode`	`normal` (default, fast) or `deep` (graph + LLM-enhanced)
`--event-from/to`	When the fact happened (YYYY, YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD)
`--recorded-from/to`	When it was saved to Nowledge Mem (YYYY-MM-DD)

Add

nmem m add "We chose PostgreSQL for task events"
nmem m add "Prefer functional components in React" \
  --title "Frontend conventions" \
  --unit-type preference \
  --importance 0.8 \
  -l frontend -l react

# Record when something actually happened (bi-temporal)
nmem m add "Decided to sunset the legacy API" \
  --unit-type decision \
  --event-start 2025-11 \
  --when past

Option	Description
`-t, --title`	Memory title
`-i, --importance`	Importance 0–1
`-l, --label`	Add label (repeatable)
`--unit-type`	`fact` `preference` `decision` `plan` `procedure` `learning` `context` `event`
`--event-start`	When it happened (YYYY, YYYY-MM, YYYY-MM-DD)
`--event-end`	End of a time range
`--when`	`past` `present` `future` `timeless` (default: timeless)

Show

nmem m show <id>
nmem m show <id> --content-limit 500

Update

nmem m update <id> --title "New title"
nmem m update <id> --importance 0.9
nmem m update <id> --content "Updated content"

Move between spaces

Use this when you already saved memories in one space and want to move them into another one.

nmem m move <id> --space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive"
nmem m move <id1> <id2> --space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive" -f
nmem m move --all-in-space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive" --dry-run
nmem m move --all-in-space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive" -f

--space is the source space. --to-space is the destination. For whole-space moves, use --dry-run first if you want to preview the count before changing anything.

Delete

nmem m delete <id>
nmem m delete <id> -f          # Skip confirmation
nmem m delete <id1> <id2>      # Multiple IDs

nmem m delete is interactive by default. For scripts, agents, CI, or any non-interactive shell, use -f so the command does not block waiting for confirmation.

Thread Commands (`nmem t`)

List and search

nmem t                                  # Recent threads
nmem t list --source openclaw -n 20     # Recent OpenClaw threads only
nmem t list --offset 20 -n 20           # Next page of recent threads
nmem t search "architecture decisions"

Use list when you want the newest threads in order. Use search when you want full-text matches inside thread content.

Show

nmem t show <id>
nmem t show <id> -n 50                 # Show up to 50 messages
nmem t show <id> --content-limit 200

Create

# From text
nmem t create -t "Quick note" -c "Remember to review the API changes"

# From a file
nmem t create -t "Meeting notes" -f notes.md

# With structured messages
nmem t create -t "Chat session" \
  -m '[{"role":"user","content":"Hello"},{"role":"assistant","content":"Hi!"}]'

# With a stable ID (idempotent, safe to re-run)
nmem t create -t "OpenClaw session" --id "openclaw-abc123-session"

Append

Add messages to an existing thread. Safely idempotent: duplicate messages are filtered by content hash or external ID.

# Single message
nmem t append <id> -c "Follow-up note"

# Structured messages
nmem t append <id> \
  -m '[{"role":"user","content":"Question"},{"role":"assistant","content":"Answer"}]'

# With idempotency key (safe for retries / repeated hook fires)
nmem t append <id> \
  -m '[{"role":"user","content":"msg"}]' \
  --idempotency-key "oc-batch-session-001"

Save Claude Code / Codex / Gemini CLI session

nmem t save --from claude-code         # Save Claude Code session
nmem t save --from codex               # Save Codex session
nmem t save --from codex -s "Summary"  # With session summary
nmem t save --from gemini-cli           # Save Gemini CLI session

By default, nmem reads Claude Code from ~/.claude and Codex from ~/.codex. If you keep those tools in a custom location, CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR and CODEX_HOME are respected automatically.

Option	Description
`--from`	`claude-code`, `codex`, or `gemini-cli` (required)
`-p, --project`	Project directory path (default: current dir)
`-m, --mode`	`current` (latest) or `all` sessions
`--session-id`	Specific session ID (Codex only)
`-s, --summary`	Brief session summary
`--truncate`	Truncate large tool results (>10KB)

Delete

nmem t delete <id>
nmem t delete <id> -f                  # Force
nmem t delete <id> --cascade           # Also delete associated memories

Move between spaces

nmem t move <id> --space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive"
nmem t move <id1> <id2> --space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive" -f
nmem t move --all-in-space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive" --dry-run
nmem t move --all-in-space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive" -f

As with memories, --space is the source guard and --to-space is the destination. Mem resolves whole-space moves on the server, so scripts do not need to page through every result first.

Library Sources (`nmem sources`)

Your Library (PDFs, spreadsheets, Word files, presentations, Markdown, code, and URLs) is reachable from the terminal. Use nmem sources when a script needs to find a document, read a passage from it, or pull structured analysis out of a spreadsheet without opening the app.

nmem sources aliases to nmem s.

List, add, show, delete

nmem sources list                       # Sources in the current space
nmem sources add notes.pdf               # Import a file
nmem sources add https://example.com/doc # Capture a URL
nmem sources show src_abc123             # Metadata for one source
nmem sources delete src_abc123 -f        # Delete (non-interactive)

Search across the Library

nmem sources search "meeting notes"
nmem sources search roadmap -n 10

Full-text match against filenames and parsed summaries. Returns source IDs you can feed into the commands below.

Read parsed content

nmem sources read src_abc123                         # First 8000 characters
nmem sources read src_abc123 --offset 8000           # Next page
nmem sources read src_abc123 --limit 16000           # Larger window

Returns the parsed text of one document, paged by character offset. Useful for feeding a specific section into another tool.

Search inside a single document

nmem sources search-chunks src_abc123 "risk factors"
nmem sources search-chunks src_abc123 budget -n 3

Runs a full-text search against the indexed chunks of one source. Each match comes back with the actual passage, chunk index, and score, so you and any downstream agent can see what was matched, not just how many chunks matched.

Analyze tabular sources

nmem sources analyze src_abc123                                # All columns
nmem sources analyze src_abc123 --column price --column region # Specific columns

Runs structured analysis on CSV, TSV, XLSX, or XLS sources: column stats, distributions, and basic shape. For narrative documents, use search-chunks and read instead.

Same tools your agents use

search, read, search-chunks, and analyze are the same Library tools available to AI Now, the Feed Agent, the Graph Intelligence Agent, and MCP-connected clients. Anything you can do from the terminal, agents can do on your behalf, and vice versa.

Working Memory (`nmem wm`)

Working Memory is the AI-generated daily briefing: focus areas, open questions, and recent activity. Background Intelligence updates it each morning.

The Default space keeps the familiar compatibility file at ~/ai-now/memory.md. If spaces are enabled, nmem wm can read or edit the briefing for any space with --space "<space name>".

Read

nmem wm                                # Today's Working Memory
nmem wm --space work                    # Working Memory for one space
nmem wm --date 2026-02-12             # Archived date
nmem wm history                        # List available archived dates

Edit

nmem wm edit                           # Opens $EDITOR
nmem wm edit --space work              # Edit one space
nmem wm edit -m "## Focus Areas\n- Ship v0.6"   # Set directly

Patch a section (non-destructive)

Replace or append to one section without touching the rest of the document:

# Replace a section
nmem wm patch --heading "## Focus Areas" --content "- Finish OpenClaw plugin release"

# Append to a section
nmem wm patch --heading "## Notes" --append "Reminder: deploy to staging tonight"

The heading is matched case-insensitively and partially. "Focus" matches "## Focus Areas".

Spaces (`nmem spaces`)

Use this only when you want more than the default space.

nmem spaces
nmem spaces create "Research Agent"
nmem spaces update "Research Agent" --instructions "Prefer research notes and hypotheses"
nmem spaces show "Research Agent"

If you need a stable storage key for automation, --id is still available as an advanced option. Most people should let Mem generate it.

Graph Commands (`nmem g`)

Expand graph neighborhood

Explore connected memories, entities, crystals, and source documents around a given memory:

nmem g expand <memory-id>
nmem g expand <memory-id> --depth 2   # Two hops out
nmem g expand <memory-id> -n 10       # Limit neighbors per hop

Show EVOLVES version chain

See how a memory has been refined or superseded over time:

nmem g evolves <memory-id>

Feed (`nmem f`)

The activity feed shows what was saved, learned, synthesized, or ingested, in chronological order.

nmem f                                  # Last 7 days (high-signal events)
nmem f --days 1                         # Today only
nmem f --days 30                        # Last 30 days
nmem f --type crystal_created           # Only crystal synthesis events
nmem f --from 2026-02-10 --to 2026-02-14   # Exact date range
nmem f --all                            # Include low-signal background events
nmem f -n 50                            # Limit events (default: 100)

Option	Description
`--days`	How many days back (default: 7; use 1 for today)
`--type`	Filter by event type
`-n, --limit`	Max events to fetch (default: 100)
`--all`	Include low-signal background events
`--from`, `--to`	Exact date range (YYYY-MM-DD)

Event types: memory_created · crystal_created · insight_generated · source_ingested · source_extracted · daily_briefing · url_captured

Knowledge Communities (`nmem c`)

Browse topic clusters automatically detected in your knowledge graph:

nmem c                                  # List communities
nmem c -n 20
nmem c show <community-id>              # Show community details (entities, memories)
nmem c detect                            # Trigger community detection (background)

Configuration & Models

Search Index Model

nmem models status                      # Check current model status
nmem models download                    # Download the Search Index Model
nmem models reindex                     # Rebuild the search index

LLM provider

nmem config provider list
nmem config provider set openai --api-key sk-xxx --model gpt-4o
nmem config provider test

Processing settings

nmem config settings                               # Show all settings
nmem config settings set briefingHour 8            # Change morning briefing time

Client connection settings

Use this when the current machine needs to connect to a remote Mem server:

nmem config client show
nmem config client set url https://mem.example.com
nmem config client set api-key nmem_...
nmem config client clear api-key

nmem config client ... updates the local client config used by this machine's CLI and plugins. It is separate from nmem config access ..., which controls how a Mem server is exposed to other devices.

License

nmem license status
nmem license activate <key> [email]   # Email is inferred from the license key when possible
nmem license renew                    # Refresh or renew this device's authorization
nmem license deactivate                 # Deactivate license on this device

Remote Access

# LAN / private network
export NMEM_API_URL=http://192.168.1.100:14242
nmem status

# Cloudflare tunnel (from desktop app: Settings → Access Mem Anywhere)
export NMEM_API_URL=https://<your-url>
export NMEM_API_KEY=nmem_...
nmem m search "notes"

# One-off without env vars
nmem --api-url https://<your-url> status

Variable	Description	Default
`NMEM_API_URL`	API server URL	`http://127.0.0.1:14242`
`NMEM_API_KEY`	API key (Bearer auth)	(unset)

Full guide: Access Mem Anywhere.

JSON Output

Add --json (or -j) before the subcommand for machine-readable output:

nmem --json m search "API design" | jq '.memories[0].id'
nmem --json m add "Note" | jq -r '.id'
nmem --json f --days 1 | jq '.events[].title'

Search response

{
  "query": "API design",
  "total": 3,
  "search_mode": "fast_bm25_vector",
  "memories": [
    {
      "id": "abc123-def456-...",
      "title": "REST API versioning decision",
      "content": "We use /v1/ prefix for all public endpoints...",
      "score": 0.91,
      "relevance_reason": "Text Match (89%) + Semantic Match (73%) | decay[imp:high]",
      "importance": 0.8,
      "labels": ["architecture", "api"],
      "event_start": "2025-09",
      "temporal_context": "past",
      "source": "cli"
    }
  ]
}

Feed response

{
  "events": [
    {
      "id": "evt-...",
      "event_type": "memory_created",
      "severity": "info",
      "title": "Memory or event title",
      "description": "Summary text...",
      "metadata": { "source": "claude", "unit_type": "fact" },
      "related_memory_ids": ["..."],
      "created_at": "2026-02-20T02:35:28+00:00"
    }
  ]
}

Error response

{
  "error": "api_error",
  "status_code": 404,
  "detail": "Memory not found"
}

Status and Statistics

nmem status
# nmem v0.6.2
#   status   ok
#   api      http://127.0.0.1:14242
#   database connected
#   search   ready

nmem stats
# Database Statistics
#   memories    83
#   threads     27
#   entities    248
#   labels      177
#   communities 32

If search needs attention, nmem status tells you which case you are in:

search rebuild needed: run nmem models reindex
search updating metadata: Mem is filling new search metadata in the background. No rebuild is needed.

AI Agent Integration

The --json flag and stable exit codes make nmem easy to drive from AI agents.

# Search for context before responding
nmem --json m search "authentication flow" | jq '.memories[:3]'

# Save an insight
nmem m add "Rate limiting is per-user, not per-IP" \
  --unit-type learning --importance 0.8 -l backend

# Save a decision with when it was made
nmem m add "Chose Postgres over MySQL for task events" \
  --unit-type decision --event-start 2026-02 -l architecture

# Browse what was worked on last week
nmem --json f --days 7 | jq '.events[].title'

# Create a session thread backup
nmem t create -t "Debug session $(date +%Y%m%d)" \
  -m '[{"role":"user","content":"Investigate auth failures"},{"role":"assistant","content":"Found rate limit issue"}]'

TUI

An interactive terminal UI for browsing memories, threads, and the knowledge graph:

nmem tui

If you launch the TUI with NMEM_SPACE="Research Agent", the Memories and Threads tabs stay inside that space. This is useful for agent workstations or terminal-only servers where one shell session belongs to one project or agent lane.

For moving many records between spaces, use the app or the nmem m move / nmem t move commands. The TUI keeps browsing and editing scoped, but it does not add a separate multi-select move workflow.

In the Settings tab, you can also manage Access Anywhere (Quick link / stable Cloudflare account mode) from terminal-only environments. This is the same remote-access feature documented in Access Mem Anywhere.

nmem tui main nmem tui memory nmem tui thread nmem tui graph

Troubleshooting

"command not found: nmem"

PyPI install: pip install nmem-cli (Python 3.11+)
Run without installing: uvx --from nmem-cli nmem --help
macOS desktop: Settings → Preferences → Developer Tools → Install CLI
Windows: open a new terminal after app installation

"Cannot connect to server"

Ensure Nowledge Mem is running
Try: nmem --api-url http://127.0.0.1:14242 status
Check for proxy or VPN blocking localhost

Installation

Option 1: Standalone PyPI Package

Install on any machine. Works with a local or remote Nowledge Mem server:

pip install nmem-cli

# or with uv
uv pip install nmem-cli

# or run without installing
uvx --from nmem-cli nmem --help

Requirements: Python 3.11+, Nowledge Mem running locally or reachable remotely.

Remote Access

The standalone package lets you reach your Nowledge Mem from servers, CI/CD pipelines, or remote workstations. See Access Mem Anywhere. View on PyPI.

Option 2: Bundled with Desktop App

macOS

Go to Settings → Preferences → Developer Tools and click Install CLI.

Installs to /usr/local/bin/nmem.

0:00

--:--

Windows

The CLI is automatically available after app installation. Open a new terminal window to use nmem.

Linux

Included with deb/rpm packages. The binary is placed in /usr/local/bin/nmem.

Quick Start

nmem status                              # Check connection
nmem m search "project notes"           # Search memories
nmem m search "project notes" --space work
nmem m add "Key insight" --title "Learning"
nmem wm                                  # Read today's Working Memory
nmem wm --space work                     # Read Working Memory for one space
nmem spaces                              # List known spaces
nmem f --days 1                          # Today's activity
nmem g expand <memory-id>               # Explore graph connections
nmem tui                                 # Interactive terminal UI

Global Options

Option	Description
`-j, --json`	Machine-readable JSON output
`--api-url <url>`	API URL (default: `http://127.0.0.1:14242`)
`--space <space>`	Run the command inside one named space when you want a non-default context
`-v, --version`	Show version
`-h, --help`	Show help

Aliases: m = memories · t = threads · wm = working-memory · g = graph · f = feed · c = communities

Memory Commands (`nmem m`)

Spaces are optional

If you do not use spaces, ignore --space and keep working in the default space. When you do need separate project or agent contexts, the same commands work with --space "<space name>".

List memories

nmem m                        # Recent 10 memories
nmem m -n 50                  # List 50
nmem m --importance 0.7       # Minimum importance filter

Search

nmem m search "authentication patterns"
nmem m search "authentication patterns" --space work
nmem m search "API design" --importance 0.8
nmem m search "deploy" -l devops -l backend    # Filter by labels (AND)
nmem m search "sprint" --mode deep             # Graph + LLM-enhanced results

Bi-temporal search. Distinguish when something happened from when you saved it:

nmem m search "database decision" --event-from 2025-01 --event-to 2025-06
nmem m search "meeting notes" --recorded-from 2026-01-01

Option	Description
`-n`	Max results
`-l, --label`	Filter by label (repeatable)
`--importance`	Minimum importance (0–1)
`--mode`	`normal` (default, fast) or `deep` (graph + LLM-enhanced)
`--event-from/to`	When the fact happened (YYYY, YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD)
`--recorded-from/to`	When it was saved to Nowledge Mem (YYYY-MM-DD)

Add

nmem m add "We chose PostgreSQL for task events"
nmem m add "Prefer functional components in React" \
  --title "Frontend conventions" \
  --unit-type preference \
  --importance 0.8 \
  -l frontend -l react

# Record when something actually happened (bi-temporal)
nmem m add "Decided to sunset the legacy API" \
  --unit-type decision \
  --event-start 2025-11 \
  --when past

Option	Description
`-t, --title`	Memory title
`-i, --importance`	Importance 0–1
`-l, --label`	Add label (repeatable)
`--unit-type`	`fact` `preference` `decision` `plan` `procedure` `learning` `context` `event`
`--event-start`	When it happened (YYYY, YYYY-MM, YYYY-MM-DD)
`--event-end`	End of a time range
`--when`	`past` `present` `future` `timeless` (default: timeless)

Show

nmem m show <id>
nmem m show <id> --content-limit 500

Update

nmem m update <id> --title "New title"
nmem m update <id> --importance 0.9
nmem m update <id> --content "Updated content"

Move between spaces

Use this when you already saved memories in one space and want to move them into another one.

nmem m move <id> --space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive"
nmem m move <id1> <id2> --space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive" -f
nmem m move --all-in-space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive" --dry-run
nmem m move --all-in-space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive" -f

--space is the source space. --to-space is the destination. For whole-space moves, use --dry-run first if you want to preview the count before changing anything.

Delete

nmem m delete <id>
nmem m delete <id> -f          # Skip confirmation
nmem m delete <id1> <id2>      # Multiple IDs

nmem m delete is interactive by default. For scripts, agents, CI, or any non-interactive shell, use -f so the command does not block waiting for confirmation.

Thread Commands (`nmem t`)

List and search

nmem t                                  # Recent threads
nmem t list --source openclaw -n 20     # Recent OpenClaw threads only
nmem t list --offset 20 -n 20           # Next page of recent threads
nmem t search "architecture decisions"

Use list when you want the newest threads in order. Use search when you want full-text matches inside thread content.

Show

nmem t show <id>
nmem t show <id> -n 50                 # Show up to 50 messages
nmem t show <id> --content-limit 200

Create

# From text
nmem t create -t "Quick note" -c "Remember to review the API changes"

# From a file
nmem t create -t "Meeting notes" -f notes.md

# With structured messages
nmem t create -t "Chat session" \
  -m '[{"role":"user","content":"Hello"},{"role":"assistant","content":"Hi!"}]'

# With a stable ID (idempotent, safe to re-run)
nmem t create -t "OpenClaw session" --id "openclaw-abc123-session"

Append

Add messages to an existing thread. Safely idempotent: duplicate messages are filtered by content hash or external ID.

# Single message
nmem t append <id> -c "Follow-up note"

# Structured messages
nmem t append <id> \
  -m '[{"role":"user","content":"Question"},{"role":"assistant","content":"Answer"}]'

# With idempotency key (safe for retries / repeated hook fires)
nmem t append <id> \
  -m '[{"role":"user","content":"msg"}]' \
  --idempotency-key "oc-batch-session-001"

Save Claude Code / Codex / Gemini CLI session

nmem t save --from claude-code         # Save Claude Code session
nmem t save --from codex               # Save Codex session
nmem t save --from codex -s "Summary"  # With session summary
nmem t save --from gemini-cli           # Save Gemini CLI session

By default, nmem reads Claude Code from ~/.claude and Codex from ~/.codex. If you keep those tools in a custom location, CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR and CODEX_HOME are respected automatically.

Option	Description
`--from`	`claude-code`, `codex`, or `gemini-cli` (required)
`-p, --project`	Project directory path (default: current dir)
`-m, --mode`	`current` (latest) or `all` sessions
`--session-id`	Specific session ID (Codex only)
`-s, --summary`	Brief session summary
`--truncate`	Truncate large tool results (>10KB)

Delete

nmem t delete <id>
nmem t delete <id> -f                  # Force
nmem t delete <id> --cascade           # Also delete associated memories

Move between spaces

nmem t move <id> --space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive"
nmem t move <id1> <id2> --space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive" -f
nmem t move --all-in-space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive" --dry-run
nmem t move --all-in-space "Research Agent" --to-space "Archive" -f

As with memories, --space is the source guard and --to-space is the destination. Mem resolves whole-space moves on the server, so scripts do not need to page through every result first.

Library Sources (`nmem sources`)

nmem sources aliases to nmem s.

List, add, show, delete

nmem sources list                       # Sources in the current space
nmem sources add notes.pdf               # Import a file
nmem sources add https://example.com/doc # Capture a URL
nmem sources show src_abc123             # Metadata for one source
nmem sources delete src_abc123 -f        # Delete (non-interactive)

Search across the Library

nmem sources search "meeting notes"
nmem sources search roadmap -n 10

Full-text match against filenames and parsed summaries. Returns source IDs you can feed into the commands below.

Read parsed content

nmem sources read src_abc123                         # First 8000 characters
nmem sources read src_abc123 --offset 8000           # Next page
nmem sources read src_abc123 --limit 16000           # Larger window

Returns the parsed text of one document, paged by character offset. Useful for feeding a specific section into another tool.

Search inside a single document

nmem sources search-chunks src_abc123 "risk factors"
nmem sources search-chunks src_abc123 budget -n 3

Analyze tabular sources

nmem sources analyze src_abc123                                # All columns
nmem sources analyze src_abc123 --column price --column region # Specific columns

Runs structured analysis on CSV, TSV, XLSX, or XLS sources: column stats, distributions, and basic shape. For narrative documents, use search-chunks and read instead.

Same tools your agents use

Working Memory (`nmem wm`)

Working Memory is the AI-generated daily briefing: focus areas, open questions, and recent activity. Background Intelligence updates it each morning.

The Default space keeps the familiar compatibility file at ~/ai-now/memory.md. If spaces are enabled, nmem wm can read or edit the briefing for any space with --space "<space name>".

Read

nmem wm                                # Today's Working Memory
nmem wm --space work                    # Working Memory for one space
nmem wm --date 2026-02-12             # Archived date
nmem wm history                        # List available archived dates

Edit

nmem wm edit                           # Opens $EDITOR
nmem wm edit --space work              # Edit one space
nmem wm edit -m "## Focus Areas\n- Ship v0.6"   # Set directly

Patch a section (non-destructive)

Replace or append to one section without touching the rest of the document:

# Replace a section
nmem wm patch --heading "## Focus Areas" --content "- Finish OpenClaw plugin release"

# Append to a section
nmem wm patch --heading "## Notes" --append "Reminder: deploy to staging tonight"

The heading is matched case-insensitively and partially. "Focus" matches "## Focus Areas".

Spaces (`nmem spaces`)

Use this only when you want more than the default space.

nmem spaces
nmem spaces create "Research Agent"
nmem spaces update "Research Agent" --instructions "Prefer research notes and hypotheses"
nmem spaces show "Research Agent"

If you need a stable storage key for automation, --id is still available as an advanced option. Most people should let Mem generate it.

Graph Commands (`nmem g`)

Expand graph neighborhood

Explore connected memories, entities, crystals, and source documents around a given memory:

nmem g expand <memory-id>
nmem g expand <memory-id> --depth 2   # Two hops out
nmem g expand <memory-id> -n 10       # Limit neighbors per hop

Show EVOLVES version chain

See how a memory has been refined or superseded over time:

nmem g evolves <memory-id>

Feed (`nmem f`)

The activity feed shows what was saved, learned, synthesized, or ingested, in chronological order.

nmem f                                  # Last 7 days (high-signal events)
nmem f --days 1                         # Today only
nmem f --days 30                        # Last 30 days
nmem f --type crystal_created           # Only crystal synthesis events
nmem f --from 2026-02-10 --to 2026-02-14   # Exact date range
nmem f --all                            # Include low-signal background events
nmem f -n 50                            # Limit events (default: 100)

Option	Description
`--days`	How many days back (default: 7; use 1 for today)
`--type`	Filter by event type
`-n, --limit`	Max events to fetch (default: 100)
`--all`	Include low-signal background events
`--from`, `--to`	Exact date range (YYYY-MM-DD)

Event types: memory_created · crystal_created · insight_generated · source_ingested · source_extracted · daily_briefing · url_captured

Knowledge Communities (`nmem c`)

Browse topic clusters automatically detected in your knowledge graph:

nmem c                                  # List communities
nmem c -n 20
nmem c show <community-id>              # Show community details (entities, memories)
nmem c detect                            # Trigger community detection (background)

Configuration & Models

Search Index Model

nmem models status                      # Check current model status
nmem models download                    # Download the Search Index Model
nmem models reindex                     # Rebuild the search index

LLM provider

nmem config provider list
nmem config provider set openai --api-key sk-xxx --model gpt-4o
nmem config provider test

Processing settings

nmem config settings                               # Show all settings
nmem config settings set briefingHour 8            # Change morning briefing time

Client connection settings

Use this when the current machine needs to connect to a remote Mem server:

nmem config client show
nmem config client set url https://mem.example.com
nmem config client set api-key nmem_...
nmem config client clear api-key

License

nmem license status
nmem license activate <key> [email]   # Email is inferred from the license key when possible
nmem license renew                    # Refresh or renew this device's authorization
nmem license deactivate                 # Deactivate license on this device

Remote Access

# LAN / private network
export NMEM_API_URL=http://192.168.1.100:14242
nmem status

# Cloudflare tunnel (from desktop app: Settings → Access Mem Anywhere)
export NMEM_API_URL=https://<your-url>
export NMEM_API_KEY=nmem_...
nmem m search "notes"

# One-off without env vars
nmem --api-url https://<your-url> status

Variable	Description	Default
`NMEM_API_URL`	API server URL	`http://127.0.0.1:14242`
`NMEM_API_KEY`	API key (Bearer auth)	(unset)

Full guide: Access Mem Anywhere.

JSON Output

Add --json (or -j) before the subcommand for machine-readable output:

nmem --json m search "API design" | jq '.memories[0].id'
nmem --json m add "Note" | jq -r '.id'
nmem --json f --days 1 | jq '.events[].title'

Search response

{
  "query": "API design",
  "total": 3,
  "search_mode": "fast_bm25_vector",
  "memories": [
    {
      "id": "abc123-def456-...",
      "title": "REST API versioning decision",
      "content": "We use /v1/ prefix for all public endpoints...",
      "score": 0.91,
      "relevance_reason": "Text Match (89%) + Semantic Match (73%) | decay[imp:high]",
      "importance": 0.8,
      "labels": ["architecture", "api"],
      "event_start": "2025-09",
      "temporal_context": "past",
      "source": "cli"
    }
  ]
}

Feed response

{
  "events": [
    {
      "id": "evt-...",
      "event_type": "memory_created",
      "severity": "info",
      "title": "Memory or event title",
      "description": "Summary text...",
      "metadata": { "source": "claude", "unit_type": "fact" },
      "related_memory_ids": ["..."],
      "created_at": "2026-02-20T02:35:28+00:00"
    }
  ]
}

Error response

{
  "error": "api_error",
  "status_code": 404,
  "detail": "Memory not found"
}

Status and Statistics

nmem status
# nmem v0.6.2
#   status   ok
#   api      http://127.0.0.1:14242
#   database connected
#   search   ready

nmem stats
# Database Statistics
#   memories    83
#   threads     27
#   entities    248
#   labels      177
#   communities 32

If search needs attention, nmem status tells you which case you are in:

search rebuild needed: run nmem models reindex
search updating metadata: Mem is filling new search metadata in the background. No rebuild is needed.

AI Agent Integration

The --json flag and stable exit codes make nmem easy to drive from AI agents.

# Search for context before responding
nmem --json m search "authentication flow" | jq '.memories[:3]'

# Save an insight
nmem m add "Rate limiting is per-user, not per-IP" \
  --unit-type learning --importance 0.8 -l backend

# Save a decision with when it was made
nmem m add "Chose Postgres over MySQL for task events" \
  --unit-type decision --event-start 2026-02 -l architecture

# Browse what was worked on last week
nmem --json f --days 7 | jq '.events[].title'

# Create a session thread backup
nmem t create -t "Debug session $(date +%Y%m%d)" \
  -m '[{"role":"user","content":"Investigate auth failures"},{"role":"assistant","content":"Found rate limit issue"}]'

TUI

An interactive terminal UI for browsing memories, threads, and the knowledge graph:

nmem tui

nmem tui main nmem tui memory nmem tui thread nmem tui graph

Troubleshooting

"command not found: nmem"

PyPI install: pip install nmem-cli (Python 3.11+)
Run without installing: uvx --from nmem-cli nmem --help
macOS desktop: Settings → Preferences → Developer Tools → Install CLI
Windows: open a new terminal after app installation

"Cannot connect to server"

Ensure Nowledge Mem is running
Try: nmem --api-url http://127.0.0.1:14242 status
Check for proxy or VPN blocking localhost

Nowledge Mem CLI

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Nowledge Mem CLI

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