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basicmachines-co-basic-memory/v15-docs/cloud-mode-usage.md
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Paul Hernandez 8d2e70cfc8 refactor: async client context manager pattern for cloud consolidation (#344) 
Signed-off-by: phernandez <paul@basicmachines.co>
Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
2025-10-09 19:09:47 -05:00

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Using CLI Tools in Cloud Mode

Status: DEPRECATED - Use cloud_mode instead of api_url Related: cloud-authentication.md, cloud-bisync.md

DEPRECATION NOTICE

This document describes the old api_url / BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL approach which has been replaced by cloud_mode / BASIC_MEMORY_CLOUD_MODE.

New approach: Use cloud_mode config or BASIC_MEMORY_CLOUD_MODE environment variable instead.

Quick Start

Enable Cloud Mode

# Set cloud API URL
export BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL=https://api.basicmemory.cloud

# Or in config.json
{
  "api_url": "https://api.basicmemory.cloud"
}

# Authenticate
bm cloud login

# Now CLI tools work against cloud
bm sync --project my-cloud-project
bm status
bm tools search --query "notes"

How It Works

Local vs Cloud Mode

Local Mode (default):

CLI Tools → Local ASGI Transport → Local API → Local SQLite + Files

Cloud Mode (with api_url set):

CLI Tools → HTTP Client → Cloud API → Cloud SQLite + Cloud Files

Mode Detection

Basic Memory automatically detects mode:

from basic_memory.config import ConfigManager

config = ConfigManager().config

if config.api_url:
    # Cloud mode: use HTTP client
    client = HTTPClient(base_url=config.api_url)
else:
    # Local mode: use ASGI transport
    client = ASGITransport(app=api_app)

Configuration

Via Environment Variable

# Set cloud API URL
export BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL=https://api.basicmemory.cloud

# All commands use cloud
bm sync
bm status

Via Config File

Edit ~/.basic-memory/config.json:

{
  "api_url": "https://api.basicmemory.cloud",
  "cloud_client_id": "client_abc123",
  "cloud_domain": "https://auth.basicmemory.cloud",
  "cloud_host": "https://api.basicmemory.cloud"
}

Temporary Override

# One-off cloud command
BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL=https://api.basicmemory.cloud bm sync --project notes

# Back to local mode
bm sync --project notes

Available Commands in Cloud Mode

Sync Commands

# Sync cloud project
bm sync --project cloud-project

# Sync specific project
bm sync --project work-notes

# Watch mode (cloud sync)
bm sync --watch --project notes

Status Commands

# Check cloud sync status
bm status

# Shows cloud project status

MCP Tools

# Search in cloud project
bm tools search \
  --query "authentication" \
  --project cloud-notes

# Continue conversation from cloud
bm tools continue-conversation \
  --topic "search implementation" \
  --project cloud-notes

# Basic Memory guide
bm tools basic-memory-guide

Project Commands

# List cloud projects
bm project list

# Add cloud project (if permitted)
bm project add notes /app/data/notes

# Switch default project
bm project default notes

Workflows

Multi-Device Cloud Workflow

Device A (Primary):

# Configure cloud mode
export BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL=https://api.basicmemory.cloud

# Authenticate
bm cloud login

# Use bisync for primary work
bm cloud bisync-setup
bm sync --watch

# Local files in ~/basic-memory-cloud-sync/
# Synced bidirectionally with cloud

Device B (Secondary):

# Configure cloud mode
export BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL=https://api.basicmemory.cloud

# Authenticate
bm cloud login

# Work directly with cloud (no local sync)
bm tools search --query "meeting notes" --project work

# Or mount for file access
bm cloud mount

Development vs Production

Development (local):

# Local mode
unset BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL

# Work with local files
bm sync
bm tools search --query "test"

Production (cloud):

# Cloud mode
export BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL=https://api.basicmemory.cloud

# Work with cloud data
bm sync --project production-kb

Testing Cloud Integration

# Test against staging
export BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL=https://staging-api.basicmemory.cloud
bm cloud login
bm sync --project test-project

# Test against production
export BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL=https://api.basicmemory.cloud
bm cloud login
bm sync --project prod-project

MCP Integration

Local MCP (default)

// claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "basic-memory": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["basic-memory", "mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Uses local files via ASGI transport.

Cloud MCP

// claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "basic-memory-cloud": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["basic-memory", "mcp"],
      "env": {
        "BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL": "https://api.basicmemory.cloud"
      }
    }
  }
}

Uses cloud API via HTTP client.

Hybrid Setup (Both)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "basic-memory-local": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["basic-memory", "mcp"]
    },
    "basic-memory-cloud": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["basic-memory", "mcp"],
      "env": {
        "BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL": "https://api.basicmemory.cloud"
      }
    }
  }
}

Access both local and cloud from same LLM.

Authentication

Cloud Mode Requires Authentication

# Must login first
bm cloud login

# Then cloud commands work
export BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL=https://api.basicmemory.cloud
bm sync --project notes

Token Management

Cloud mode uses JWT authentication:

  • Token stored in ~/.basic-memory/cloud-auth.json
  • Auto-refreshed when expired
  • Includes subscription validation

Authentication Flow

# 1. Login
bm cloud login
# → Opens browser for OAuth
# → Stores JWT token

# 2. Set cloud mode
export BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL=https://api.basicmemory.cloud

# 3. Use tools (automatically authenticated)
bm sync --project notes
# → Sends Authorization: Bearer {token} header

Project Management in Cloud Mode

Cloud Projects vs Local Projects

Local mode:

  • Projects are local directories
  • Defined in ~/.basic-memory/config.json
  • Full filesystem access

Cloud mode:

  • Projects are cloud-managed
  • Retrieved from cloud API
  • Constrained by BASIC_MEMORY_PROJECT_ROOT on server

Working with Cloud Projects

# Enable cloud mode
export BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL=https://api.basicmemory.cloud

# List cloud projects
bm project list
# → Fetches from cloud API

# Sync specific cloud project
bm sync --project cloud-notes
# → Syncs cloud project to cloud database

# Search in cloud project
bm tools search --query "auth" --project cloud-notes
# → Searches cloud-indexed content

Switching Between Local and Cloud

Switch to Cloud Mode

# Save local state
bm sync  # Ensure local is synced

# Switch to cloud
export BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL=https://api.basicmemory.cloud
bm cloud login

# Work with cloud
bm sync --project cloud-project

Switch to Local Mode

# Switch back to local
unset BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL

# Work with local files
bm sync --project local-project

Context-Aware Scripts

#!/bin/bash

if [ -n "$BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL" ]; then
  echo "Cloud mode: $BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL"
  bm cloud login  # Ensure authenticated
else
  echo "Local mode"
fi

bm sync --project notes

Performance Considerations

Network Latency

Cloud mode requires network:

  • API calls over HTTPS
  • Latency depends on connection
  • Slower than local ASGI transport

Caching

MCP in cloud mode has limited caching:

  • Results not cached locally
  • Each request hits cloud API
  • Consider using bisync for frequent access

Best Practices

  1. Use bisync for primary work:

    # Sync local copy
bm cloud bisync

# Work locally (fast)
unset BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL
bm tools search --query "notes"

  2. Use cloud mode for occasional access:

    # Quick check from another device
export BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL=https://api.basicmemory.cloud
bm tools search --query "meeting" --project work

  3. Hybrid approach:

    • Primary device: bisync for local work
    • Other devices: cloud mode for quick access

Troubleshooting

Not Authenticated Error

$ bm sync --project notes
Error: Not authenticated. Please run 'bm cloud login' first.

Solution:

bm cloud login

Connection Refused

$ bm sync
Error: Connection refused: https://api.basicmemory.cloud

Solutions:

  1. Check API URL: echo $BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL
  2. Verify network: curl https://api.basicmemory.cloud/health
  3. Check cloud status: https://status.basicmemory.com

Wrong Projects Listed

Problem: bm project list shows unexpected projects

Check mode:

# What mode am I in?
echo $BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL

# If set → cloud projects
# If not set → local projects

Solution: Set/unset API_URL as needed

Subscription Required

$ bm sync --project notes
Error: Active subscription required
Subscribe at: https://basicmemory.com/subscribe

Solution: Subscribe or renew subscription

Configuration Examples

Development Setup

# .bashrc / .zshrc
export BASIC_MEMORY_ENV=dev
export BASIC_MEMORY_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG

# Local mode by default
# Cloud mode on demand
alias bm-cloud='BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL=https://api.basicmemory.cloud bm'

Production Setup

# systemd service
[Service]
Environment="BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL=https://api.basicmemory.cloud"
Environment="BASIC_MEMORY_LOG_LEVEL=INFO"
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/basic-memory serve

Docker Setup

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  basic-memory:
    environment:
      BASIC_MEMORY_API_URL: https://api.basicmemory.cloud
      BASIC_MEMORY_LOG_LEVEL: INFO
    volumes:
      - ./cloud-auth:/root/.basic-memory/cloud-auth.json:ro

Security

API Authentication

  • All cloud API calls authenticated with JWT
  • Token in Authorization header
  • Subscription validated per request

Network Security

  • All traffic over HTTPS/TLS
  • No credentials in URLs or logs
  • Tokens stored securely (mode 600)

Multi-Tenant Isolation

  • Tenant ID from JWT claims
  • Each request isolated to tenant
  • Cannot access other tenants' data

See Also

  • cloud-authentication.md - Authentication setup
  • cloud-bisync.md - Bidirectional sync workflow
  • cloud-mount.md - Direct cloud file access
  • MCP server configuration documentation
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