mem0 CLI (Node.js)

The official command-line interface for mem0 — the memory layer for AI agents. TypeScript implementation.

Built for AI agents. Pass --agent (or --json) as a global flag on any command to get structured JSON output optimized for programmatic consumption — sanitized fields, no colors or spinners, and errors as JSON too.

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+
pnpm (npm install -g pnpm) — for development only

Installation

bash

npm install -g @mem0/cli

Quick start

bash

# Interactive setup wizard
mem0 init

# Or login via email
mem0 init --email [email protected]

# Or authenticate with an existing API key
mem0 init --api-key m0-xxx

# Add a memory
mem0 add "I prefer dark mode and use vim keybindings" --user-id alice

# Search memories
mem0 search "What are Alice's preferences?" --user-id alice

# List all memories for a user
mem0 list --user-id alice

# Get a specific memory
mem0 get <memory-id>

# Update a memory
mem0 update <memory-id> "I switched to light mode"

# Delete a memory
mem0 delete <memory-id>

Commands

`mem0 init`

Interactive setup wizard. Prompts for your API key and default user ID.

bash

mem0 init
mem0 init --api-key m0-xxx --user-id alice
mem0 init --email [email protected]

If an existing configuration is detected, the CLI asks for confirmation before overwriting. Use --force to skip the prompt (useful in CI/CD).

bash

mem0 init --api-key m0-xxx --user-id alice --force

Flag	Description
`--api-key`	API key (skip prompt)
`-u, --user-id`	Default user ID (skip prompt)
`--email`	Login via email verification code
`--code`	Verification code (use with `--email` for non-interactive login)
`--force`	Overwrite existing config without confirmation

`mem0 add`

Add a memory from text, a JSON messages array, a file, or stdin.

bash

mem0 add "I prefer dark mode" --user-id alice
mem0 add --file conversation.json --user-id alice
echo "Loves hiking on weekends" | mem0 add --user-id alice

Flag	Description
`-u, --user-id`	Scope to a user
`--agent-id`	Scope to an agent
`--messages`	Conversation messages as JSON
`-f, --file`	Read messages from a JSON file
`-m, --metadata`	Custom metadata as JSON
`--categories`	Categories (JSON array or comma-separated)
`--graph / --no-graph`	Enable or disable graph memory extraction
`-o, --output`	Output format: `text`, `json`, `quiet`

`mem0 search`

Search memories using natural language.

bash

mem0 search "dietary restrictions" --user-id alice
mem0 search "preferred tools" --user-id alice --output json --top-k 5

Flag	Description
`-u, --user-id`	Filter by user
`-k, --top-k`	Number of results (default: 10)
`--threshold`	Minimum similarity score (default: 0.3)
`--rerank`	Enable reranking
`--keyword`	Use keyword search instead of semantic
`--filter`	Advanced filter expression (JSON)
`--graph / --no-graph`	Enable or disable graph in search
`-o, --output`	Output format: `text`, `json`, `table`

`mem0 list`

List memories with optional filters and pagination.

bash

mem0 list --user-id alice
mem0 list --user-id alice --category preferences --output json
mem0 list --user-id alice --after 2024-01-01 --page-size 50

Flag	Description
`-u, --user-id`	Filter by user
`--page`	Page number (default: 1)
`--page-size`	Results per page (default: 100)
`--category`	Filter by category
`--after`	Created after date (YYYY-MM-DD)
`--before`	Created before date (YYYY-MM-DD)
`-o, --output`	Output format: `text`, `json`, `table`

`mem0 get`

Retrieve a specific memory by ID.

bash

mem0 get 7b3c1a2e-4d5f-6789-abcd-ef0123456789
mem0 get 7b3c1a2e-4d5f-6789-abcd-ef0123456789 --output json

`mem0 update`

Update the text or metadata of an existing memory.

bash

mem0 update <memory-id> "Updated preference text"
mem0 update <memory-id> --metadata '{"priority": "high"}'
echo "new text" | mem0 update <memory-id>

`mem0 delete`

Delete a single memory, all memories for a scope, or an entire entity.

bash

# Delete a single memory
mem0 delete <memory-id>

# Delete all memories for a user
mem0 delete --all --user-id alice --force

# Delete all memories project-wide
mem0 delete --all --project --force

# Preview what would be deleted
mem0 delete --all --user-id alice --dry-run

Flag	Description
`--all`	Delete all memories matching scope filters
`--entity`	Delete the entity and all its memories
`--project`	With `--all`: delete all memories project-wide
`--dry-run`	Preview without deleting
`--force`	Skip confirmation prompt

`mem0 import`

Bulk import memories from a JSON file.

bash

mem0 import data.json --user-id alice

The file should be a JSON array where each item has a memory (or text or content) field and optional user_id, agent_id, and metadata fields.

`mem0 config`

View or modify the local CLI configuration.

bash

mem0 config show              # Display current config (secrets redacted)
mem0 config get api_key       # Get a specific value
mem0 config set user_id bob   # Set a value

`mem0 entity`

List or delete entities (users, agents, apps, runs).

bash

mem0 entity list users
mem0 entity list agents --output json
mem0 entity delete --user-id alice --force

`mem0 event`

Inspect background processing events created by async operations (e.g. bulk deletes, large add jobs).

bash

# List recent events
mem0 event list

# Check the status of a specific event
mem0 event status <event-id>

Flag	Description
`-o, --output`	Output format: `text`, `json`

`mem0 status`

Verify your API connection and display the current project.

bash

mem0 status

`mem0 version`

Print the CLI version.

bash

mem0 version

Agent mode

Pass --agent (or its alias --json) as a global flag on any command to get output designed for AI agent tool loops:

bash

mem0 --agent search "user preferences" --user-id alice
mem0 --agent add "User prefers dark mode" --user-id alice
mem0 --agent list --user-id alice
mem0 --agent delete --all --user-id alice --force

Every command returns the same envelope shape:

json

{
  "status": "success",
  "command": "search",
  "duration_ms": 134,
  "scope": { "user_id": "alice" },
  "count": 2,
  "data": [
    { "id": "abc-123", "memory": "User prefers dark mode", "score": 0.97, "created_at": "2026-01-15", "categories": ["preferences"] }
  ]
}

What agent mode does differently from --output json:

Sanitized data: only the fields an agent needs (id, memory, score, etc.) — no internal API noise
No human output: spinners, colors, and banners are suppressed entirely
Errors as JSON: errors go to stdout as {"status": "error", "command": "...", "error": "..."} with a non-zero exit code

Use mem0 help --json to get the full command tree as JSON — useful for agents that need to self-discover available commands.

Output formats

Control how results are displayed with --output:

Format	Description
`text`	Human-readable with colors and formatting (default)
`json`	Structured JSON for piping to `jq` (raw API response)
`table`	Tabular format (default for `list`)
`quiet`	Minimal — just IDs or status codes
`agent`	Structured JSON envelope with sanitized fields (set by `--agent`/`--json`)

Global flags

These flags are available on all commands:

Flag	Description
`--json`	Enable agent mode: structured JSON envelope output, no colors or spinners
`--agent`	Alias for `--json`
`--api-key`	Override the configured API key for this request
`--base-url`	Override the configured API base URL for this request
`-o, --output`	Set the output format

Environment variables

Variable	Description
`MEM0_API_KEY`	API key (overrides config file)
`MEM0_BASE_URL`	API base URL
`MEM0_USER_ID`	Default user ID
`MEM0_AGENT_ID`	Default agent ID
`MEM0_APP_ID`	Default app ID
`MEM0_RUN_ID`	Default run ID
`MEM0_ENABLE_GRAPH`	Enable graph memory (`true` / `false`)

Environment variables take precedence over values in the config file, which take precedence over defaults.

Development

bash

cd cli/node
pnpm install

# Development mode (runs TypeScript directly, no build needed)
pnpm dev --help
pnpm dev add "test memory" --user-id alice
pnpm dev search "test" --user-id alice

# Or build first, then run the compiled JS
pnpm build
node dist/index.js --help

Documentation

Full documentation is available at docs.mem0.ai/platform/cli.

License

Apache-2.0