Import & Export

memories.sh provides three ways to move data in and out:

• Export/Import — Portable JSON or YAML for backup, sharing, and migration
• Ingest — Extract memories from existing IDE rule files

Export Memories

Export your memories to a portable format:

# Export all to JSON
memories export -o backup.json

# Export project rules to YAML
memories export --project-only --type rule -f yaml -o rules.yaml

# Export to stdout
memories export | jq '.memories | length'

See memories export for full options.

Import Memories

Import from a previously exported file:

# Import from JSON
memories import backup.json

# Preview what would be imported
memories import shared-rules.json --dry-run

# Import all as global
memories import team-standards.json --global

See memories import for full options.

Ingest from IDE Files

Already have rules in .cursorrules, CLAUDE.md, or other IDE config files? Ingest extracts and imports them:

# Ingest from a specific tool
memories ingest cursor
memories ingest claude

# Scan all known locations
memories ingest --all

# Preview first
memories ingest --all --dry-run

The ingester:

• Extracts bullet points, numbered items, and significant paragraphs
• Auto-classifies content as rules, decisions, or facts based on keywords
• Deduplicates against existing memories
• Skips files that were generated by memories.sh

See memories ingest for full options.

Sharing with Teams

To share a set of team standards:

1. Export the rules you want to share:

   memories export --global --type rule -o team-rules.json

2. Share the file (commit it, send it, etc.)

3. Team members import it:

   memories import team-rules.json --global