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Mem0 Import

mem0-plugin/skills/import/SKILL.md

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Mem0 Import

Import memories from a mem0 export file into the current project.

Execution

Step 1: Determine the export file to import

If the user provided a filename as an argument to /mem0:import <filename>, use that file.

Otherwise, list .md files in the current directory whose names contain mem0-export:

bash
ls -1 *.md 2>/dev/null | grep mem0-export || echo "No export files found"

If multiple files are found, ask the user which one to import. If none are found, print:

No mem0-export files found in the current directory.
Run /mem0:export first, or provide the filename: /mem0:import <path-to-file>

Step 2: Parse the export file

Determine the plugin root. Use the appropriate variable for the current platform:

  • Claude Code: ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}
  • Codex: ${CODEX_PLUGIN_ROOT}
  • Cursor: ${CURSOR_PLUGIN_ROOT}

Run the parser script to extract memory records as JSON:

bash
python3 "<PLUGIN_ROOT>/scripts/parse_export_file.py" "<path-to-export-file>"

This outputs a JSON array where each element has:

  • id — original memory ID (for reference only; a new ID will be assigned on import)
  • type — metadata type
  • confidence — metadata confidence value
  • branch — metadata branch
  • files — list of associated files
  • categories — list of categories
  • content — the memory text

If the script fails or outputs [], print:

Failed to parse <filename> or file contains no valid memory blocks.

and stop.

Step 3: Resolve identity

Determine the active identity:

  • user_id from MEM0_USER_ID env var, else $USER, else "default"
  • project_id (used as app_id) from MEM0_PROJECT_ID env var, or via the project resolver

Step 4: Import each memory

For each record in the parsed JSON array, call add_memory with:

  • text="<record.content>"
  • user_id=<active_user_id>
  • app_id=<active_project_id>
  • metadata={
    • "type": "<record.type>" (if non-empty)
    • "confidence": "<record.confidence>" (if non-empty)
    • "branch": "<record.branch>" (if non-empty)
    • "files": <record.files> (the list, if non-empty)
    • "source": "import"
    • }
  • infer=False

Notes:

  • Do NOT pass the original id — the platform assigns a new ID.
  • Skip records where content is empty (the parser already filters these, but be defensive).
  • Continue importing even if individual records fail; track the count of successes.

Step 5: Print results

Imported <N> memories into project <project_id>

Where <N> is the number of successfully imported memories.

If any failed:

Imported <N>/<total> memories into project <project_id> (<failed> failed)

Importing from competing AI tools (--tools)

When invoked with --tools (e.g., /mem0:import --tools), detect and import from competing AI tool configuration files:

Supported tools

ToolFile/directory
Cursor.cursorrules
GitHub Copilot.github/copilot-instructions.md
Clinememory-bank/ (directory of .md files)
Continue.continue/rules.md

T1: Detect

bash
test -f .cursorrules && echo "cursor: .cursorrules"
test -f .github/copilot-instructions.md && echo "copilot: .github/copilot-instructions.md"
test -d memory-bank/ && echo "cline: memory-bank/"
test -f .continue/rules.md && echo "continue: .continue/rules.md"

T2: Ask user

List found files, ask which to import (numbers, comma-separated, or "all"). If none found:

No competing tool configuration files found.
Checked: .cursorrules, .github/copilot-instructions.md, memory-bank/, .continue/rules.md

T3: Run import

For each selected tool:

bash
python3 "<PLUGIN_ROOT>/scripts/import_competing_tools.py" <tool> --path <file>

Tools: cursorrules, copilot, cline, continue.

T4: Report

Imported <N> memories into <project_id> (cursor: <N>, copilot: <N>)

Notes: infer=False, tagged metadata.source=<tool>-import, sections <50 chars skipped, chunks >10k chars truncated, safe to re-run (deduplication handles it).


Importing Claude Code's native MEMORY.md

When invoked with a path to Claude Code's native MEMORY.md file (typically ~/.claude/projects/<proj-key>/memory/MEMORY.md), or when on_session_start.sh detects native auto-memory and the user chooses to import:

  1. Read the file. It contains newline-separated memory entries (one fact per line, sometimes with - bullet prefix).
  2. Split by non-empty lines. Each line becomes one memory.
  3. Skip lines shorter than 20 characters or lines that are just headers (#).
  4. For each line, call add_memory with:
    • text="<line>"
    • user_id=<active_user_id>
    • app_id=<active_project_id>
    • metadata={"type": "task_learning", "source": "memory-md-import", "confidence": 0.8}
    • infer=False
  5. Report: Imported <N> memories from MEMORY.md into project <project_id>
  6. Suggest disabling native auto-memory:
    To avoid duplicate memory systems, add to ~/.claude/settings.json:
      "autoMemoryEnabled": false
    

This handles the cold-start gap when a user has been using Claude Code's native memory and switches to mem0.

Error Handling

  • If the parser script is not found at <PLUGIN_ROOT>/scripts/parse_export_file.py, print an error and stop.
  • If add_memory calls fail consistently (e.g. auth error), report the issue and stop early.