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Basic Memory Cloud CLI Guide

The Basic Memory Cloud CLI provides seamless integration between local and cloud knowledge bases using project-scoped synchronization. Each project can optionally sync with the cloud, giving you fine-grained control over what syncs and where.

Overview

The cloud CLI enables you to:

  • Toggle cloud mode - All regular bm commands work with cloud when enabled
  • Project-scoped sync - Each project independently manages its sync configuration
  • Explicit operations - Sync only what you want, when you want
  • Bidirectional sync - Keep local and cloud in sync with rclone bisync
  • Offline access - Work locally, sync when ready

Prerequisites

Before using Basic Memory Cloud, you need:

  • Active Subscription: An active Basic Memory Cloud subscription is required to access cloud features
  • Subscribe: Visit https://basicmemory.com/subscribe to sign up
  • Optional: Cloud is optional. Local-first open-source usage continues without cloud.
  • OSS Discount: Use code {{OSS_DISCOUNT_CODE}} for 20% off for 3 months.

If you attempt to log in without an active subscription, you'll receive a "Subscription Required" error with a link to subscribe.

Architecture: Project-Scoped Sync

The Problem

Old approach (SPEC-8): All projects lived in a single ~/basic-memory-cloud-sync/ directory. This caused:

  • ❌ Directory conflicts between mount and bisync
  • ❌ Auto-discovery creating phantom projects
  • ❌ Confusion about what syncs and when
  • ❌ All-or-nothing sync (couldn't sync just one project)

New approach (SPEC-20): Each project independently configures sync.

How It Works

Projects can exist in three states:

  1. Cloud-only - Project exists on cloud, no local copy
  2. Cloud + Local (synced) - Project has a local working directory that syncs
  3. Local-only - Project exists locally (when cloud mode is disabled)

Example:

# You have 3 projects on cloud:
# - research: wants local sync at ~/Documents/research
# - work: wants local sync at ~/work-notes
# - temp: cloud-only, no local sync needed

bm project add research --local-path ~/Documents/research
bm project add work --local-path ~/work-notes
bm project add temp  # No local sync

# Now you can sync individually (after initial --resync):
bm project bisync --name research
bm project bisync --name work
# temp stays cloud-only

What happens under the covers:

  • Config stores cloud_projects dict mapping project names to local paths
  • Each project gets its own bisync state in ~/.basic-memory/bisync-state/{project}/
  • Rclone syncs using single remote: basic-memory-cloud
  • Projects can live anywhere on your filesystem, not forced into sync directory

Quick Start

1. Enable Cloud Mode

Authenticate and enable cloud mode:

bm cloud login

What this does:

  1. Opens browser to Basic Memory Cloud authentication page
  2. Stores authentication token in ~/.basic-memory/auth/token
  3. Enables cloud mode - all CLI commands now work against cloud
  4. Validates your subscription status

Result: All bm project, bm tools commands now work with cloud. Apply OSS discount code {{OSS_DISCOUNT_CODE}} during checkout to receive 20% off for 3 months.

2. Set Up Sync

Install rclone and configure credentials:

bm cloud setup

What this does:

  1. Installs rclone automatically (if needed)
  2. Fetches your tenant information from cloud
  3. Generates scoped S3 credentials for sync
  4. Configures single rclone remote: basic-memory-cloud

Result: You're ready to sync projects. No sync directories created yet - those come with project setup.

3. Add Projects with Sync

Create projects with optional local sync paths:

# Create cloud project without local sync
bm project add research

# Create cloud project WITH local sync
bm project add research --local-path ~/Documents/research

# Or configure sync for existing project
bm project sync-setup research ~/Documents/research

What happens under the covers:

When you add a project with --local-path:

  1. Project created on cloud at /app/data/research
  2. Local path stored in config: cloud_projects.research.local_path = "~/Documents/research"
  3. Local directory created if it doesn't exist
  4. Bisync state directory created at ~/.basic-memory/bisync-state/research/

Result: Project is ready to sync, but no files synced yet.

4. Sync Your Project

Establish the initial sync baseline. Best practice: Always preview with --dry-run first:

# Step 1: Preview the initial sync (recommended)
bm project bisync --name research --resync --dry-run

# Step 2: If all looks good, run the actual sync
bm project bisync --name research --resync

What happens under the covers:

  1. Rclone reads from ~/Documents/research (local)
  2. Connects to basic-memory-cloud:bucket-name/app/data/research (remote)
  3. Creates bisync state files in ~/.basic-memory/bisync-state/research/
  4. Syncs files bidirectionally with settings:
    • conflict_resolve=newer (most recent wins)
    • max_delete=25 (safety limit)
    • Respects .bmignore patterns

Result: Local and cloud are in sync. Baseline established.

Why --resync? This is an rclone requirement for the first bisync run. It establishes the initial state that future syncs will compare against. After the first sync, never use --resync unless you need to force a new baseline.

See: https://rclone.org/bisync/#resync

--resync
This will effectively make both Path1 and Path2 filesystems contain a matching superset of all files. By default, Path2 files that do not exist in Path1 will be copied to Path1, and the process will then copy the Path1 tree to Path2.

5. Subsequent Syncs

After the first sync, just run bisync without --resync:

bm project bisync --name research

What happens:

  1. Rclone compares local and cloud states
  2. Syncs changes in both directions
  3. Auto-resolves conflicts (newer file wins)
  4. Updates last_sync timestamp in config

Result: Changes flow both ways - edit locally or in cloud, both stay in sync.

6. Verify Setup

Check status:

bm cloud status

You should see:

  • Mode: Cloud (enabled)
  • Cloud instance is healthy
  • Instructions for project sync commands

Working with Projects

Understanding Project Commands

Key concept: When cloud mode is enabled, use regular bm project commands (not bm cloud project).

# In cloud mode:
bm project list              # Lists cloud projects
bm project add research      # Creates cloud project

# In local mode:
bm project list              # Lists local projects
bm project add research ~/Documents/research  # Creates local project

Creating Projects

Use case 1: Cloud-only project (no local sync)

bm project add temp-notes

What this does:

  • Creates project on cloud at /app/data/temp-notes
  • No local directory created
  • No sync configuration

Result: Project exists on cloud, accessible via MCP tools, but no local copy.

Use case 2: Cloud project with local sync

bm project add research --local-path ~/Documents/research

What this does:

  • Creates project on cloud at /app/data/research
  • Creates local directory ~/Documents/research
  • Stores sync config in ~/.basic-memory/config.json
  • Prepares for bisync (but doesn't sync yet)

Result: Project ready to sync. Run bm project bisync --name research --resync to establish baseline.

Use case 3: Add sync to existing cloud project

# Project already exists on cloud
bm project sync-setup research ~/Documents/research

What this does:

  • Updates existing project's sync configuration
  • Creates local directory
  • Prepares for bisync

Result: Existing cloud project now has local sync path. Run bisync to pull files down.

Listing Projects

View all projects:

bm project list

What you see:

  • All projects in cloud (when cloud mode enabled)
  • Default project marked
  • Project paths shown

Future: Will show sync status (synced/not synced, last sync time).

File Synchronization

Understanding the Sync Commands

There are three sync-related commands:

  1. bm project sync - One-way: local → cloud (make cloud match local)
  2. bm project bisync - Two-way: local ↔ cloud (recommended)
  3. bm project check - Verify files match (no changes)

One-Way Sync: Local → Cloud

Use case: You made changes locally and want to push to cloud (overwrite cloud).

bm project sync --name research

What happens:

  1. Reads files from ~/Documents/research (local)
  2. Uses rclone sync to make cloud identical to local
  3. Respects .bmignore patterns
  4. Shows progress bar

Result: Cloud now matches local exactly. Any cloud-only changes are overwritten.

When to use:

  • You know local is the source of truth
  • You want to force cloud to match local
  • You don't care about cloud changes

Two-Way Sync: Local ↔ Cloud (Recommended)

Use case: You edit files both locally and in cloud UI, want both to stay in sync.

# First time - establish baseline
bm project bisync --name research --resync

# Subsequent syncs
bm project bisync --name research

What happens:

  1. Compares local and cloud states using bisync metadata
  2. Syncs changes in both directions
  3. Auto-resolves conflicts (newer file wins)
  4. Detects excessive deletes and fails safely (max 25 files)

Conflict resolution example:

# Edit locally
echo "Local change" > ~/Documents/research/notes.md

# Edit same file in cloud UI
# Cloud now has: "Cloud change"

# Run bisync
bm project bisync --name research

# Result: Newer file wins (based on modification time)
# If cloud was more recent, cloud version kept
# If local was more recent, local version kept

When to use:

  • Default workflow for most users
  • You edit in multiple places
  • You want automatic conflict resolution

Verify Sync Integrity

Use case: Check if local and cloud match without making changes.

bm project check --name research

What happens:

  1. Compares file checksums between local and cloud
  2. Reports differences
  3. No files transferred

Result: Shows which files differ. Run bisync to sync them.

# One-way check (faster)
bm project check --name research --one-way

Preview Changes (Dry Run)

Use case: See what would change without actually syncing.

bm project bisync --name research --dry-run

What happens:

  1. Runs bisync logic
  2. Shows what would be transferred/deleted
  3. No actual changes made

Result: Safe preview of sync operations.

Advanced: List Remote Files

Use case: See what files exist on cloud without syncing.

# List all files in project
bm project ls --name research

# List files in subdirectory
bm project ls --name research --path subfolder

What happens:

  1. Connects to cloud via rclone
  2. Lists files in remote project path
  3. No files transferred

Result: See cloud file listing.

Multiple Projects

Syncing Multiple Projects

Use case: You have several projects with local sync, want to sync all at once.

# Setup multiple projects
bm project add research --local-path ~/Documents/research
bm project add work --local-path ~/work-notes
bm project add personal --local-path ~/personal

# Establish baselines
bm project bisync --name research --resync
bm project bisync --name work --resync
bm project bisync --name personal --resync

# Daily workflow: sync everything
bm project bisync --name research
bm project bisync --name work
bm project bisync --name personal

Future: --all flag will sync all configured projects:

bm project bisync --all  # Coming soon

Mixed Usage

Use case: Some projects sync, some stay cloud-only.

# Projects with sync
bm project add research --local-path ~/Documents/research
bm project add work --local-path ~/work

# Cloud-only projects
bm project add archive
bm project add temp-notes

# Sync only the configured ones
bm project bisync --name research
bm project bisync --name work

# Archive and temp-notes stay cloud-only

Result: Fine-grained control over what syncs.

Per-Project Cloud Routing (API Key)

Instead of toggling global cloud mode, you can route individual projects through the cloud using an API key. This lets you keep some projects local while others route through the cloud.

Setting Up API Key Auth

Option A: Create a key in the web app, then save it locally:

bm cloud set-key bmc_abc123...

Option B: Create a key via CLI (requires OAuth login first):

bm cloud login                     # One-time OAuth login
bm cloud create-key "my-laptop"    # Creates key and saves it locally

The API key is account-level — it grants access to all your cloud projects. It's stored in ~/.basic-memory/config.json as cloud_api_key.

Setting Project Modes

# Route a project through cloud
bm project set-cloud research

# Revert to local mode
bm project set-local research

# View project modes
bm project list

What happens:

  • set-cloud: validates the API key exists, then sets the project mode to cloud in config
  • set-local: reverts the project to local mode (removes the mode entry from config)
  • MCP tools and CLI commands for that project will route to cloud_host/proxy with the API key as Bearer token

How It Works

When an MCP tool or CLI command runs for a cloud-mode project:

  1. get_client(project_name="research") checks the project's mode in config
  2. If mode is cloud, creates an HTTP client pointed at cloud_host/proxy with Authorization: Bearer bmc_...
  3. If mode is local (default), uses the in-process ASGI transport as usual

Routing priority (highest to lowest):

  1. Factory injection (cloud app, tests)
  2. BASIC_MEMORY_FORCE_LOCAL env var
  3. Per-project cloud mode (API key)
  4. Global cloud mode (OAuth — deprecated fallback)
  5. Local ASGI transport (default)

Configuration Example

{
  "projects": {
    "personal": "/Users/me/notes",
    "research": "/Users/me/research"
  },
  "project_modes": {
    "research": "cloud"
  },
  "cloud_api_key": "bmc_abc123...",
  "cloud_host": "https://cloud.basicmemory.com",
  "default_project": "personal"
}

In this example, personal stays local and research routes through cloud. Projects not listed in project_modes default to local.

Sync Behavior

Cloud-mode projects are automatically skipped during local file sync (background sync and file watching). Their files live on the cloud instance, not locally.

Disable Cloud Mode

Return to local mode (global):

bm cloud logout

What this does:

  1. Disables global cloud mode in config
  2. All commands now work locally (unless individual projects are set to cloud via set-cloud)
  3. Auth token remains (can re-enable with login)

Result: All bm commands work with local projects again. Per-project cloud routing via API key continues to work independently of global cloud mode.

Filter Configuration

Understanding .bmignore

The problem: You don't want to sync everything (e.g., .git, node_modules, database files).

The solution: .bmignore file with gitignore-style patterns.

Location: ~/.basic-memory/.bmignore

Default patterns:

# Version control
.git/**

# Python
__pycache__/**
*.pyc
.venv/**
venv/**

# Node.js
node_modules/**

# Basic Memory internals
memory.db/**
memory.db-shm/**
memory.db-wal/**
config.json/**
watch-status.json/**
.bmignore.rclone/**

# OS files
.DS_Store/**
Thumbs.db/**

# Environment files
.env/**
.env.local/**

How it works:

  1. On first sync, .bmignore created with defaults
  2. Patterns converted to rclone filter format (.bmignore.rclone)
  3. Rclone uses filters during sync
  4. Same patterns used by all projects

Customizing:

# Edit patterns
code ~/.basic-memory/.bmignore

# Add custom patterns
echo "*.tmp/**" >> ~/.basic-memory/.bmignore

# Next sync uses updated patterns
bm project bisync --name research

Troubleshooting

Authentication Issues

Problem: "Authentication failed" or "Invalid token"

Solution: Re-authenticate:

bm cloud logout
bm cloud login

Subscription Issues

Problem: "Subscription Required" error

Solution:

  1. Visit subscribe URL shown in error
  2. Sign up for subscription
  3. Run bm cloud login again

Note: Access is immediate when subscription becomes active.

Bisync Initialization

Problem: "First bisync requires --resync"

Explanation: Bisync needs a baseline state before it can sync changes.

Solution:

bm project bisync --name research --resync

What this does:

  • Establishes initial sync state
  • Creates baseline in ~/.basic-memory/bisync-state/research/
  • Syncs all files bidirectionally

Result: Future syncs work without --resync.

Empty Directory Issues

Problem: "Empty prior Path1 listing. Cannot sync to an empty directory"

Explanation: Rclone bisync doesn't work well with completely empty directories. It needs at least one file to establish a baseline.

Solution: Add at least one file before running --resync:

# Create a placeholder file
echo "# Research Notes" > ~/Documents/research/README.md

# Now run bisync
bm project bisync --name research --resync

Why this happens: Bisync creates listing files that track the state of each side. When both directories are completely empty, these listing files are considered invalid by rclone.

Best practice: Always have at least one file (like a README.md) in your project directory before setting up sync.

Bisync State Corruption

Problem: Bisync fails with errors about corrupted state or listing files

Explanation: Sometimes bisync state can become inconsistent (e.g., after mixing dry-run and actual runs, or after manual file operations).

Solution: Clear bisync state and re-establish baseline:

# Clear bisync state
bm project bisync-reset research

# Re-establish baseline
bm project bisync --name research --resync

What this does:

  • Removes all bisync metadata from ~/.basic-memory/bisync-state/research/
  • Forces fresh baseline on next --resync
  • Safe operation (doesn't touch your files)

Note: This command also runs automatically when you remove a project to clean up state directories.

Too Many Deletes

Problem: "Error: max delete limit (25) exceeded"

Explanation: Bisync detected you're about to delete more than 25 files. This is a safety check to prevent accidents.

Solution 1: Review what you're deleting, then force resync:

# Check what would be deleted
bm project bisync --name research --dry-run

# If correct, establish new baseline
bm project bisync --name research --resync

Solution 2: Use one-way sync if you know local is correct:

bm project sync --name research

Project Not Configured for Sync

Problem: "Project research has no local_sync_path configured"

Explanation: Project exists on cloud but has no local sync path.

Solution:

bm project sync-setup research ~/Documents/research
bm project bisync --name research --resync

Connection Issues

Problem: "Cannot connect to cloud instance"

Solution: Check status:

bm cloud status

If instance is down, wait a few minutes and retry.

Security

  • Authentication: OAuth 2.1 with PKCE flow
  • Tokens: Stored securely in ~/.basic-memory/basic-memory-cloud.json
  • Transport: All data encrypted in transit (HTTPS)
  • Credentials: Scoped S3 credentials (read-write to your tenant only)
  • Isolation: Your data isolated from other tenants
  • Ignore patterns: Sensitive files automatically excluded via .bmignore

Command Reference

Cloud Mode Management

bm cloud login              # Authenticate and enable global cloud mode (OAuth)
bm cloud logout             # Disable global cloud mode
bm cloud status             # Check cloud mode and instance health
bm cloud promo --off        # Disable CLI cloud promo notices

API Key Management

bm cloud set-key <key>      # Save a cloud API key (bmc_ prefixed)
bm cloud create-key <name>  # Create API key via cloud API (requires OAuth login)

Setup

bm cloud setup              # Install rclone and configure credentials

Project Management

When cloud mode is enabled:

bm project list                           # List projects with mode column
bm project add <name>                     # Create cloud project (no sync)
bm project add <name> --local-path <path> # Create with local sync
bm project sync-setup <name> <path>       # Add sync to existing project
bm project rm <name>                      # Delete project

Per-Project Routing

bm project set-cloud <name>  # Route project through cloud (requires API key)
bm project set-local <name>  # Revert project to local mode

File Synchronization

# One-way sync (local → cloud)
bm project sync --name <project>
bm project sync --name <project> --dry-run
bm project sync --name <project> --verbose

# Two-way sync (local ↔ cloud) - Recommended
bm project bisync --name <project>          # After first --resync
bm project bisync --name <project> --resync # First time / force baseline
bm project bisync --name <project> --dry-run
bm project bisync --name <project> --verbose

# Integrity check
bm project check --name <project>
bm project check --name <project> --one-way

# List remote files
bm project ls --name <project>
bm project ls --name <project> --path <subpath>

Summary

Basic Memory Cloud uses project-scoped sync:

  1. Enable cloud mode - bm cloud login
  2. Install rclone - bm cloud setup
  3. Add projects with sync - bm project add research --local-path ~/Documents/research
  4. Preview first sync - bm project bisync --name research --resync --dry-run
  5. Establish baseline - bm project bisync --name research --resync
  6. Daily workflow - bm project bisync --name research

Key benefits:

  • ✅ Each project independently syncs (or doesn't)
  • ✅ Projects can live anywhere on disk
  • ✅ Explicit sync operations (no magic)
  • ✅ Safe by design (max delete limits, conflict resolution)
  • ✅ Full offline access (work locally, sync when ready)

Future enhancements:

  • --all flag to sync all configured projects
  • Project list showing sync status
  • Watch mode for automatic sync