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Is Forgetful CLI Setup free to use?

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Who published Forgetful CLI Setup?

scottrbk (@scottrbk) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Forgetful CLI Setup by scottrbk — Agent Skill

Name: Forgetful CLI Setup
Author: scottrbk

Forgetful CLI Setup

Set up the Forgetful CLI and connect from a terminal — install, local or remote mode, auth, and verification. Use when connecting a human or headless agent via shell, wiring CI with token auth, or operating a local server (serve, database selection, feature flags, re-embedding). Also covers the machine contract: --json output, exit codes, and the discovery ladder.

scottrbk 1f62bbb 3.4 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Setting up the Forgetful CLI

The CLI is the shell-native surface: same tool registry as MCP, reachable by anything that can run a command. Setup ends with a verified round-trip, not an installed binary.

Install

uvx forgetful-ai --version     # ephemeral, no install
pip install forgetful-ai       # or: uv tool install forgetful-ai

Both forgetful and forgetful-ai invoke the same CLI.

Choose a mode

Connection precedence: --local > --server URL > FORGETFUL_SERVER env > local default.

Local (default): runs in-process against the locally configured database — zero config, no server needed. Right for a personal knowledge base on one machine.
Remote: drives a deployed server. Interactive use: forgetful auth login --server <url> (browser OAuth; tokens cached under ~/.config/forgetful/, server written to the user config). Headless/CI use: set FORGETFUL_SERVER and FORGETFUL_TOKEN (bearer) in the environment — no browser involved.

Config merges shell env over ~/.config/forgetful/.env. Check state anytime with forgetful auth status.

Verify — the completion criterion

forgetful tools list                          # registry categories come back
forgetful project list --json                 # one real call round-trips

Done when: both succeed against the intended target (local or the remote URL).

The machine contract

For scripts and agents, pass --json on data commands — tools, call, memory, and project verbs: results are machine JSON, errors arrive as {"error": ...} on stderr. auth subcommands are human-oriented and don't take --json. Exit codes are contractual — 0 success, 1 tool or runtime error, 2 usage error. Parse output, branch on exit code.

The discovery ladder

Curated verbs for the common paths: forgetful memory search|save|get|recent, forgetful project list.
forgetful tools list [--category <c>] to discover every registry operation.
forgetful tools info <operation> for the schema.
forgetful call <operation> --args '<JSON>' to invoke anything the registry has.

The judgment for what to store, query, and link lives in the domain skills (forgetful-remember, forgetful-recall, ...) — the ladder is how the CLI reaches the same operations.

Operating a local server

forgetful serve --transport http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8020 (or --transport stdio for MCP clients that spawn a process).
Database via env: DATABASE=SQLite with SQLITE_PATH (file) or SQLITE_MEMORY=true (ephemeral), or DATABASE=Postgres with POSTGRES_HOST/PORT/DB/USER/PASSWORD.
Feature flags (default off): SKILLS_ENABLED, FILES_ENABLED, PLANNING_ENABLED — discovery reflects whatever is enabled.
After changing embedding provider or model: forgetful re-embed --dry-run to preview, then forgetful re-embed (batch size tunable via --batch-size).

Done when: /health answers (HTTP) or an MCP client lists the three meta-tools (stdio).

---name: forgetful-cli-setupdescription: Set up the Forgetful CLI and connect from a terminal — install, local or remote mode, auth, and verification. Use when connecting a human or headless agent via shell, wiring CI with token auth, or operating a local server (serve, database selection, feature flags, re-embedding). Also covers the machine contract: --json output, exit codes, and the discovery ladder.license: MIT---# Setting up the Forgetful CLIThe CLI is the shell-native surface: same tool registry as MCP, reachable by anything thatcan run a command. Setup ends with a verified round-trip, not an installed binary.## Install```bashuvx forgetful-ai --version # ephemeral, no installpip install forgetful-ai # or: uv tool install forgetful-ai```Both `forgetful` and `forgetful-ai` invoke the same CLI.## Choose a modeConnection precedence: `--local` > `--server URL` > `FORGETFUL_SERVER` env > local default.- **Local** (default): runs in-process against the locally configured database — zero config, no server needed. Right for a personal knowledge base on one machine.- **Remote**: drives a deployed server. Interactive use: `forgetful auth login --server <url>` (browser OAuth; tokens cached under `~/.config/forgetful/`, server written to the user config). Headless/CI use: set `FORGETFUL_SERVER` and `FORGETFUL_TOKEN` (bearer) in the environment — no browser involved.Config merges shell env over `~/.config/forgetful/.env`. Check state anytime with`forgetful auth status`.## Verify — the completion criterion```bashforgetful tools list # registry categories come backforgetful project list --json # one real call round-trips```Done when: both succeed against the intended target (local or the remote URL).## The machine contractFor scripts and agents, pass `--json` on data commands — `tools`, `call`, `memory`, and`project` verbs: results are machine JSON, errors arrive as `{"error": ...}` on stderr. `auth`subcommands are human-oriented and don't take `--json`. Exit codes are contractual — `0`success, `1` tool or runtime error, `2` usage error. Parse output, branch on exit code.## The discovery ladder1. **Curated verbs** for the common paths: `forgetful memory search|save|get|recent`, `forgetful project list`.2. **`forgetful tools list [--category <c>]`** to discover every registry operation.3. **`forgetful tools info <operation>`** for the schema.4. **`forgetful call <operation> --args '<JSON>'`** to invoke anything the registry has.The judgment for what to store, query, and link lives in the domain skills(`forgetful-remember`, `forgetful-recall`, ...) — the ladder is how the CLI reaches thesame operations.## Operating a local server- `forgetful serve --transport http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8020` (or `--transport stdio` for MCP clients that spawn a process).- Database via env: `DATABASE=SQLite` with `SQLITE_PATH` (file) or `SQLITE_MEMORY=true` (ephemeral), or `DATABASE=Postgres` with `POSTGRES_HOST/PORT/DB/USER/PASSWORD`.- Feature flags (default off): `SKILLS_ENABLED`, `FILES_ENABLED`, `PLANNING_ENABLED` — discovery reflects whatever is enabled.- After changing embedding provider or model: `forgetful re-embed --dry-run` to preview, then `forgetful re-embed` (batch size tunable via `--batch-size`).Done when: `/health` answers (HTTP) or an MCP client lists the three meta-tools (stdio).

Frequently asked questions