Access Mem Anywhere

Nowledge Mem runs on your machine — your data never leaves your control. Access Anywhere lets you reach that same instance from any other device, agent, or browser through a secure tunnel.

One Mem, many ways to connect: your laptop at a coffee shop, a browser tab on your phone, a coding agent on a CI runner, AI Now on a second desktop. The Mem on your always-on machine is the hub. Everything else connects to it.

This is also how sync works in Mem today: one always-on Mem instance, many connected clients. If you want the short product explanation first, read Sync Across Devices.

Choose Your Connection Type

Before You Start

• Quick link needs no Cloudflare account and no domain.
• Cloudflare account mode requires a domain already managed in your Cloudflare account.
• If you do not have a domain in Cloudflare yet, use Quick link first.
• In Cloudflare account mode, the final public URL appears only after you create a hostname route.

Path A: Quick Link (No Account)

export NMEM_API_URL="https://<your-quick-link>"
export NMEM_API_KEY="nmem_..."
nmem status

export TUNNEL_TRANSPORT_PROTOCOL=http2

Path B: Cloudflare Account (Stable URL)

sudo cloudflared service install ... <TOKEN>

export NMEM_API_URL="https://mem.example.com"
export NMEM_API_KEY="nmem_..."
nmem status

Use It on Other Clients

Pick the connection path that matches your situation:

• Use the mobile app for native iOS or Android access from your phone or tablet
• Use the desktop app from a second computer for the full experience including AI Now
• Use the web browser for quick visual access from any device (phone, tablet, guest machine)
• Use the tool's native integration when it has one (browser extension, Claude Code, Cursor, etc.)
• Use ~/.nowledge-mem/config.json for nmem CLI and shell-based workflows
• Use direct MCP only for MCP clients without a better dedicated path

Mobile App (iOS & Android)

The mobile app is a native wrapper that connects to your Mem server — no local database, no local Python backend. It gives you the full mobile experience: search, memories, threads, library, graph, and feed.

1. Install the app (TestFlight for iOS, APK for Android)
2. Enter your Mem URL and API key
3. Tap Connect

The app stores your credentials locally and reconnects automatically on subsequent launches.

Desktop App (Client Mode)

Install Nowledge Mem on a second computer and connect to your main instance:

1. Open Settings → Access Anywhere
2. Enter the URL and API key from your main Mem
3. Click Connect

You get the full desktop experience — search, memories, threads, library, graph, and AI Now. AI Now runs locally on the device you're sitting at but uses the LLM provider configured on the remote server. No extra LLM setup needed on the client.

The title bar shows Remote to indicate you're connected to another Mem, and Local AI on the AI Now tab to show the agent is running on your device.

Web Browser

Open your Mem URL with /app appended — for example https://mem.example.com/app — in any modern browser.

Enter your API key to log in. You get search, memories, threads, and graph views. AI Now is not available in the browser — for that, use the desktop app in client mode (above).

This is the fastest way to check your knowledge base from a machine where you haven't installed the desktop or mobile app.

On mobile, the native app (above) is recommended. If you prefer the browser, tap Share → Add to Home Screen (iOS) or the install banner (Android) to save it as a shortcut. It opens full-screen without browser chrome.

nmem CLI

Option A: Config file (recommended for daily use)

Create ~/.nowledge-mem/config.json so every nmem command connects automatically:

{
  "apiUrl": "https://<your-url>",
  "apiKey": "nmem_..."
}

nmem status          # reads from config.json
nmem m search "project notes"

Option B: Environment variables

export NMEM_API_URL="https://<your-url>"
export NMEM_API_KEY="nmem_..."
nmem status

Priority: CLI flags > env vars > config file > defaults.

Browser Extension (SidePanel)

Open any supported AI chat page, then open Nowledge Mem Exchange in the browser SidePanel:

1. Click Settings
2. In Access Mem Anywhere, paste the terminal setup copied from Mem Desktop:

export NMEM_API_URL="https://<your-url>"
export NMEM_API_KEY="nmem_..."

3. Click Fill URL + key
4. Click Save
5. Click Test connection (should show success)

You can also type URL + key manually in the same section.

OpenClaw Plugin

Two options. Pick whichever fits your setup:

Option A: Plugin config (recommended)

Add apiUrl and apiKey directly to your plugin entry in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "plugins": {
    "slots": { "memory": "openclaw-nowledge-mem" },
    "entries": {
      "openclaw-nowledge-mem": {
        "enabled": true,
        "config": {
          "sessionContext": false,
          "maxContextResults": 5,
          "apiUrl": "https://<your-url>",
          "apiKey": "nmem_..."
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

The key is passed to the nmem subprocess via environment variable only. It never appears in logs or process arguments.

Option B: Environment variables

Set these in your shell before starting OpenClaw:

export NMEM_API_URL="https://<your-url>"
export NMEM_API_KEY="nmem_..."

Both options are equivalent. Use Option A if OpenClaw runs as a service or you want the config self-contained. Use Option B to keep credentials out of config files.

Alma Plugin

Two options. Pick whichever fits your setup:

Option A: Plugin settings (recommended)

In Alma, open Settings and configure the Nowledge Mem plugin:

• nowledgeMem.apiUrl: your remote URL (e.g. https://mem.example.com). Leave empty for local.
• nowledgeMem.apiKey: your Mem API key (nmem_...). Passed via environment variable only, never logged or shown in process arguments.

The plugin shows mode=remote or mode=local in its activation log so you can confirm which mode is active.

Option B: Environment variables

Set these in your shell before starting Alma:

export NMEM_API_URL="https://<your-url>"
export NMEM_API_KEY="nmem_..."

Both options are equivalent. Use Option A for a self-contained setup. Use Option B to keep credentials out of config files.

MCP / Agent Nodes

MCP clients connect via HTTP. Pass your API key in the Authorization header, or use the X-NMEM-API-Key header.

Use the exact MCP endpoint with a trailing slash: https://<your-url>/mcp/.

Cursor (~/.cursor/mcp.json or workspace .cursor/mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nowledge-mem": {
      "url": "https://<your-url>/mcp/",
      "type": "streamableHttp",
      "headers": {
        "APP": "Cursor",
        "Authorization": "Bearer nmem_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

or

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nowledge-mem": {
      "url": "https://<your-url>/mcp/",
      "type": "streamableHttp",
      "headers": {
        "APP": "Cursor",
        "X-NMEM-API-Key": "nmem_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop. If you use the Nowledge Mem extension, just fill in Remote URL and API Key in the extension settings. No JSON editing needed.

Alternatively, add an MCP server entry to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nowledge-mem": {
      "url": "https://<your-url>/mcp/",
      "type": "streamableHttp",
      "headers": {
        "APP": "Claude",
        "Authorization": "Bearer nmem_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Codex CLI (~/.codex/config.toml, advanced direct MCP fallback):

If you are using the dedicated Codex CLI guide, prefer that reusable package path first. Use direct MCP here only when you specifically want Codex talking to Mem over MCP.

[mcp_servers.nowledge-mem]
url = "https://<your-url>/mcp/"

[mcp_servers.nowledge-mem.http_headers]
APP = "Codex"
Authorization = "Bearer nmem_..."

Claude Code. Install the Nowledge Mem plugin for automatic Working Memory, search, and session capture. For remote mode, create ~/.nowledge-mem/config.json with your connection settings — the plugin's nmem commands read it automatically:

{
  "apiUrl": "https://<your-url>",
  "apiKey": "nmem_..."
}

Or use environment variables:

export NMEM_API_URL="https://<your-url>"
export NMEM_API_KEY="nmem_..."

CI / other shell-based agents. Same environment variables work in any shell context.

Quick Health Check

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $NMEM_API_KEY" "$NMEM_API_URL/health"

Expected: health JSON response.

If wrong key:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer wrong_key" "$NMEM_API_URL/health"

Expected: 401.

If your proxy strips auth headers:

curl "$NMEM_API_URL/health?nmem_api_key=$NMEM_API_KEY"

Security and Operations

• API key is required for every remote request, both tunnel and LAN connections.
• When LAN access is enabled, connections from other devices on your network require the API key. Connections from the same computer are always allowed without a key, unless you enable Require API key on localhost in Settings.
• Rotate key anytime in Settings (old key becomes invalid immediately).
• After your first successful Start, tunnel reconnects automatically on app restart until you click Stop.
• Browse-Now / Browser Bridge automation endpoints are local-only and are not exposed through Access Anywhere.
• Stop tunnel when remote access is not needed.

Troubleshooting

• Start timed out: your network/proxy may block Cloudflare traffic. Retry, or switch to Cloudflare account mode.
• 401 Missing API key: proxy likely removed auth headers. Update nmem, or use query fallback for manual checks.
• 429 Too many invalid auth attempts: wrong key was retried repeatedly. Re-copy key or click Rotate.