Local
CLI basics
Common commands for projects, notes, and search.
The CLI is the fastest way to manage projects and run MCP tools directly from the terminal.
Use the short alias
bm is a short alias for basic-memory.
List and create projects
bm project list
bm project add "research" ~/Documents/research
Set the default project
bm project default "research"
Search notes
bm tool search-notes --query "authentication"
Semantic modes:
bm tool search-notes --query "authentication architecture" --search-type hybrid
bm tool search-notes --query "login flow" --search-type vector
Read and write notes
bm tool read-note "docs/api-auth.md"
echo "New note content" | bm tool write-note --title "Notes" --folder "drafts"
Schema workflows
bm schema infer person
bm schema validate person
bm schema diff person
Watch for file changes
bm watch
bm watch --project research