Mem0 CLI -- the command-line interface for mem0 memory operations. TRIGGER when: user mentions "mem0 cli", "mem0 command line", "@mem0/cli", "mem0-cli", "pip install mem0-cli", "npm install -g @mem0/cli", or is running mem0 commands in a terminal/shell (mem0 add, mem0 search, mem0 list, mem0 get, mem0 init, mem0 config, mem0 import). Also triggers when query includes CLI flags like --user-id, --output, --json, --agent, or describes bash/zsh/terminal/shell usage. DO NOT TRIGGER when: user asks about programmatic SDK integration in Python/TS code (use mem0 skill), or Vercel AI SDK provider (use mem0-vercel-ai-sdk skill).
The official command-line interface for the Mem0 memory platform. Add, search, list, update, and delete memories from the terminal -- for developers, AI agents, and CI/CD pipelines.
Node.js (npm):
npm install -g @mem0/cli
Python (pip):
pip install mem0-cli
Both packages install a mem0 binary with identical commands, options, and output formats.
Interactive wizard:
mem0 init
Or set the environment variable directly:
export MEM0_API_KEY="m0-xxx"
Get an API key at: https://app.mem0.ai/dashboard/api-keys
mem0 add "I prefer dark mode" --user-id alice
mem0 search "preferences" --user-id alice
mem0 list --user-id alice
mem0 get <memory-id>
mem0 update <memory-id> "new text"
mem0 delete <memory-id>
mem0 delete --all --user-id alice --force
Use --json or --agent to get structured output suitable for LLM consumption. Every command wraps its response in a standard envelope:
{
"status": "success",
"command": "search",
"duration_ms": 245,
"scope": { "user_id": "alice" },
"count": 3,
"error": null,
"data": [
{ "id": "mem-abc", "memory": "User prefers dark mode", "score": 0.92 }
]
}
On error:
{
"status": "error",
"command": "search",
"error": "Authentication failed. Your API key may be invalid or expired.",
"data": null
}
The --agent flag is an alias for --json. Both write spinners and progress to stderr so stdout is always clean, parseable JSON.
Both the Node.js (@mem0/cli) and Python (mem0-cli) CLIs are implemented from the same specification (cli-spec.json). They share:
Choose whichever runtime you already have installed. The behavior is the same.
mem0 add, memories process asynchronously. Wait 2-3 seconds before searching for newly added content. Use mem0 event list to check processing status.--all vs --entity delete modes: mem0 delete --all -u alice deletes all memories for user alice. mem0 delete --entity -u alice deletes the entity itself AND all its memories (cascade). These are mutually exclusive modes.--user-id), the CLI uses ONLY the explicit IDs and ignores config defaults. If no scope flags are given, all configured defaults apply.add, search, and update.Load these on demand for deeper detail:
| Topic | File |
|---|---|
| Command reference (all commands, flags, options, examples) | references/command-reference.md |
| Configuration (config file, env vars, precedence, init wizard) | references/configuration.md |
| Workflows (piping, scripting, CI/CD, agent mode recipes) | references/workflows.md |
| Skill | When to use | Link |
|---|---|---|
| mem0 | Python/TypeScript SDK, REST API, framework integrations | local / GitHub |
| mem0-vercel-ai-sdk | Vercel AI SDK provider with automatic memory | local / GitHub |