Import Commands - Basic Memory

Import commands allow you to bring data from external sources into your Basic Memory knowledge base.

bm import claude conversations

Import chat conversations from Claude.ai.

bm import claude conversations [CONVERSATIONS_JSON] [OPTIONS]

Arguments

CONVERSATIONS_JSON - Path to conversations.json file (default: conversations.json)

Options

--folder TEXT - Folder to place the files in (default: conversations)

How to Export from Claude.ai

Visit Claude.ai
Go to Settings → Data & Privacy
Click “Export data”
Download the conversations.json file

Examples

# Import from default location
bm import claude conversations

# Import from specific file
bm import claude conversations ~/Downloads/conversations.json

# Import to specific folder
bm import claude conversations --folder claude-chats

What Gets Imported

The importer:

Reads chat data and nested messages
Creates markdown files for each conversation
Formats content in clean, readable markdown
Preserves conversation structure and timestamps

Output

Importing chats from conversations.json...writing to ~/Documents/research/conversations

╭───────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Import complete!                              │
│                                               │
│ Imported 15 conversations                     │
│ Containing 247 messages                       │
╰───────────────────────────────────────────────╯

Run 'bm reindex --search' to index the new files.

File Format

Each conversation is saved as:

---
title: Conversation Title
date: 2024-01-15
tags: [conversation, claude]
---

# Conversation Title

## User

User message content here...

## Assistant

Claude's response here...

bm import chatgpt

Import conversations from ChatGPT JSON export.

bm import chatgpt [CONVERSATIONS_JSON] [OPTIONS]

Arguments

CONVERSATIONS_JSON - Path to ChatGPT conversations.json file (default: conversations.json)

Options

--folder TEXT - Folder to place the files in (default: conversations)

How to Export from ChatGPT

Visit ChatGPT
Click your profile → Settings
Go to Data Controls
Click “Export data”
Wait for email with download link
Download and extract conversations.json

Examples

# Import from default location
bm import chatgpt

# Import from specific file
bm import chatgpt ~/Downloads/conversations.json

# Import to specific folder
bm import chatgpt --folder chatgpt-history

What Gets Imported

The importer:

Reads the complex tree structure of messages
Converts them to linear markdown conversations
Saves as clean, readable markdown files
Preserves message ordering and timestamps

Output

Importing chats from conversations.json...writing to ~/Documents/research/conversations

╭───────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Import complete!                              │
│                                               │
│ Imported 23 conversations                     │
│ Containing 412 messages                       │
╰───────────────────────────────────────────────╯

Run 'bm reindex --search' to index the new files.

File Format

Each conversation is saved as:

---
title: Conversation Title
date: 2024-01-15
tags: [conversation, chatgpt]
---

# Conversation Title

## User

User message content here...

## Assistant

ChatGPT's response here...

bm import memory-json

Import entities and relations from a memory.json file.

bm import memory-json [JSON_PATH] [OPTIONS]

Arguments

JSON_PATH - Path to memory.json file (default: memory.json)

Options

--destination-folder TEXT - Optional destination folder within the project

File Format

The memory.json file should contain JSON Lines format (one JSON object per line):

{"entities": [{"name": "Alice", "observations": ["[role] Software Engineer"]}, {"name": "Bob"}], "relations": [{"from": "Alice", "to": "Bob", "relation_type": "works_with"}]}
{"entities": [{"name": "Project X", "observations": ["[status] active"]}]}

Examples

# Import from default location
bm import memory-json

# Import from specific file
bm import memory-json ~/Downloads/memory.json

# Import to specific folder
bm import memory-json --destination-folder imported

# Import to subfolder
bm import memory-json memory.json --destination-folder people/imported

What Gets Imported

The importer:

Reads entities and relations from the JSON file
Creates markdown files for each entity
Includes outgoing relations in each entity’s markdown
Preserves observations and metadata

Output

Importing from memory.json...writing to ~/Documents/research

╭───────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Import complete!                              │
│                                               │
│ Created 12 entities                           │
│ Added 8 relations                             │
│ Skipped 2 entities                            │
╰───────────────────────────────────────────────╯

File Format

Each entity is saved as:

---
title: Alice
tags: [imported]
---

# Alice

- [role] Software Engineer
- works_with [[Bob]]

Post-Import Steps

After importing data, you should reindex your knowledge base:

# Reindex for full-text search
bm reindex --search

# Reindex for semantic search (if enabled)
bm reindex --embeddings

This ensures:

New content is searchable
Relations are resolved
Knowledge graph is updated
Embeddings are generated (if semantic search is enabled)

Import Workflows

Import Claude Conversations

# 1. Export from Claude.ai
# 2. Download conversations.json to ~/Downloads/

# 3. Import to Basic Memory
bm import claude conversations ~/Downloads/conversations.json --folder claude

# 4. Reindex
bm reindex --search

# 5. Search imported content
bm tool search-notes "topic" --tag claude

Import ChatGPT History

# 1. Export from ChatGPT
# 2. Extract conversations.json from archive

# 3. Import to Basic Memory
bm import chatgpt conversations.json --folder chatgpt

# 4. Reindex
bm reindex --search

# 5. View recent imports
bm tool recent-activity --tag chatgpt

Import Memory JSON

# 1. Prepare memory.json file with entities and relations

# 2. Import to Basic Memory
bm import memory-json memory.json --destination-folder imported

# 3. Reindex
bm reindex --search

# 4. Check imported entities
bm tool search-notes --tag imported

Import Best Practices

Before Importing

Backup your data - Create a snapshot if using cloud
```
bm cloud snapshot create "before import"
```
Review the source file - Make sure it’s the correct export
```
head -n 20 conversations.json
```

Test with dry run - Use a test project first

bm project add test-import ~/Documents/test
bm import claude conversations --folder test

During Import

Monitor progress - Watch for errors in output
Check file count - Verify expected number of files created
Verify disk space - Ensure sufficient space for large imports

After Importing

Reindex immediately
```
bm reindex --search
```

Spot check content

bm tool search-notes --after_date 1h
bm tool read-note <sample-note>

Update project info
```
bm project info
```

Troubleshooting

Import Failed

Error during import: File not found: conversations.json

Solution: Check file path and ensure file exists:

ls -lh conversations.json
bm import claude conversations ~/Downloads/conversations.json

Invalid JSON Format

Error during import: Invalid JSON format

Solution: Validate JSON file:

# Check if valid JSON
jq . conversations.json > /dev/null

# Show first few lines
head -n 10 conversations.json

Duplicate Content

If you import the same data twice, Basic Memory will:

Overwrite existing files with the same name
Preserve your manual edits if filenames differ

Solution: Import to different folders:

bm import claude conversations --folder claude-2024-01
bm import claude conversations --folder claude-2024-02

No Files Created

Import complete!

Imported 0 conversations
Containing 0 messages

Solution: Check export file format and contents:

# View file structure
jq 'keys' conversations.json

# Count conversations
jq '. | length' conversations.json

Data Privacy

All import operations:

Run locally on your machine
Never send data to external services
Store files in your local project directory
Can be used offline

Your conversation history remains private and under your control.

bm reindex - Reindex imported content
bm project info - View project statistics
bm tool search-notes - Search imported content

MCP Tools

CLI Reference

REST API

​bm import claude conversations

​Arguments

​Options

​How to Export from Claude.ai

​Examples

​What Gets Imported

​Output

​File Format

​bm import chatgpt

​Arguments

​Options

​How to Export from ChatGPT

​Examples

​What Gets Imported

​Output

​File Format

​bm import memory-json

​Arguments

​Options

​File Format

​Examples

​What Gets Imported

​Output

​File Format

​Post-Import Steps

​Import Workflows

​Import Claude Conversations

​Import ChatGPT History

​Import Memory JSON

​Import Best Practices

​Before Importing

​During Import

​After Importing

​Troubleshooting

​Import Failed

​Invalid JSON Format

​Duplicate Content

​No Files Created

​Data Privacy

​Related Commands

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

bm import claude conversations

Arguments

Options

How to Export from Claude.ai

Examples

What Gets Imported

Output

File Format

bm import chatgpt

Arguments

Options

How to Export from ChatGPT

Examples

What Gets Imported

Output

File Format

bm import memory-json

Arguments

Options

File Format

Examples

What Gets Imported

Output

File Format

Post-Import Steps

Import Workflows

Import Claude Conversations

Import ChatGPT History

Import Memory JSON

Import Best Practices

Before Importing

During Import

After Importing

Troubleshooting

Import Failed

Invalid JSON Format

Duplicate Content

No Files Created

Data Privacy

Related Commands