longmem export - LongMem

The longmem export command exports your AI’s memory to JSON or Markdown format for backup, analysis, or migration.

Syntax

longmem export [options]

Options

Option	Alias	Description	Default
`--project <name>`	`-p`	Filter by project name	All projects
`--days <n>`	`-d`	Only include last N days (max: 365)	All time
`--format <fmt>`	`-f`	Output format: `json` or `markdown`	`json`
`--raw`	`-r`	Include raw tool_input/tool_output	false
`--output <file>`	`-o`	Write to file instead of stdout	stdout
`--help`	`-h`	Show help message	-

Examples

Export Everything to JSON

longmem export > backup.json

Export Last 30 Days to Markdown

longmem export --format markdown --days 30 > report.md

Export Specific Project

longmem export --project myapp -o myapp-memory.json

Export with Raw Tool Data

longmem export --raw --days 7 > detailed-export.json

Export to File Directly

longmem export -f markdown -d 30 -o monthly-report.md

Requirements

The daemon must be running to export data. If the daemon is stopped, you’ll see:

$ longmem export
Error: Daemon not running. Start with: longmem start

JSON Format

The default JSON export includes:

{
  "sessions": [
    {
      "id": "abc123def456",
      "project": "myapp",
      "timestamp": "2024-03-15T10:30:00Z",
      "ended_at": "2024-03-15T12:45:00Z",
      "observations": [
        {
          "id": "obs_001",
          "type": "tool_use",
          "timestamp": "2024-03-15T10:30:15Z",
          "tool_name": "read_file",
          "summary": "Read configuration file"
        },
        {
          "id": "obs_002",
          "type": "user_message",
          "timestamp": "2024-03-15T10:31:00Z",
          "content": "Update the API endpoint"
        }
      ],
      "concepts": [
        {
          "id": "concept_001",
          "timestamp": "2024-03-15T12:45:30Z",
          "content": "User configured new API endpoint for production environment",
          "observation_count": 12
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "exported_at": "2024-03-16T09:00:00Z",
    "total_sessions": 1,
    "total_observations": 234,
    "total_concepts": 12,
    "filters": {
      "project": null,
      "days": null
    }
  }
}

With `--raw` Flag

When using --raw, each observation includes full tool_input and tool_output:

{
  "id": "obs_001",
  "type": "tool_use",
  "tool_name": "read_file",
  "summary": "Read configuration file",
  "tool_input": {
    "path": "/path/to/config.json"
  },
  "tool_output": {
    "content": "{ \"api_url\": \"https://api.example.com\" }"
  }
}

Warning: Raw exports can be very large (10-100x larger than standard exports).

Markdown Format

The Markdown format produces a human-readable report:

# LongMem Memory Export

Exported: 2024-03-16 09:00:00

## Summary

- Total Sessions: 5
- Total Observations: 234
- Total Concepts: 12
- Filters: Last 30 days

---

## Session: myapp (2024-03-15 10:30:00)

**Duration:** 2h 15m  
**Observations:** 45  
**Concepts:** 3

### Timeline

**10:30:15** - tool_use: read_file  
Read configuration file

**10:31:00** - user_message  
Update the API endpoint

**10:32:30** - tool_use: edit_file  
Updated config.json with new endpoint

### Concepts

**Concept 1** (12 observations)  
User configured new API endpoint for production environment

**Concept 2** (8 observations)  
Debugged CORS issue by adding proper headers

---

## Session: another-project (2024-03-14 14:20:00)

...

Filtering Options

By Project

Export only memory related to a specific project:

longmem export --project myapp

The project name matches the project field set during session start.

By Time Range

Limit export to recent memory:

# Last 7 days
longmem export --days 7

# Last 30 days
longmem export --days 30

# Last 90 days
longmem export --days 90

Maximum value is 365 days.

Combine Filters

longmem export --project myapp --days 30 > myapp-recent.json

Output Options

Write to stdout (Default)

longmem export > backup.json

Write to File Directly

longmem export -o backup.json

When using -o, the command prints:

Exported to backup.json

Use Cases

Regular Backups

#!/bin/bash
# backup-longmem.sh
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)
longmem export -o ~/backups/longmem-$DATE.json

Run daily with cron:

0 2 * * * ~/backup-longmem.sh

Generate Weekly Reports

longmem export --format markdown --days 7 > weekly-report.md

Migrate Between Systems

# On old system
longmem export > export.json
scp export.json newserver:~

# On new system
# (Import functionality depends on future API)

Analyze Memory

# Export to JSON and analyze with jq
longmem export | jq '.sessions | length'
longmem export | jq '.sessions[].concepts | length' | awk '{sum+=$1} END {print sum}'

# Export last 7 days for specific project as Markdown
longmem export --project myapp --format markdown --days 7 > context.md

# Share context.md with team

Error Handling

Daemon Not Running

Error: Daemon not running. Start with: longmem start

Fix: Start the daemon first

Invalid Days Value

Error: --days must be between 1 and 365

Fix: Use a value between 1 and 365

Connection Timeout

Error: Export failed

If the export takes longer than 60 seconds (large databases), it will timeout. Fix:

Use more specific filters (—project, —days)
Restart daemon to clear any locks
Check database size: ls -lh ~/.longmem/longmem.db

No Data to Export

If filters match no data, the export will be empty:

{
  "sessions": [],
  "metadata": {
    "total_sessions": 0
  }
}

Exit Codes

0 - Export completed successfully
1 - Error occurred (daemon not running, invalid options, export failed)

Performance

Export Times

Typical export times:

Database Size	Sessions	Export Time
<10 MB	<50	<1s
10-100 MB	50-500	1-5s
100-500 MB	500-2000	5-30s
>500 MB	>2000	30-60s

Optimization Tips

Use filters to reduce export size:

longmem export --days 30  # Much faster than full export

Avoid —raw unless necessary:

# Standard export is 10-100x smaller
longmem export  # Good
longmem export --raw  # Very large

Export to file instead of piping:

longmem export -o backup.json  # Faster
longmem export > backup.json   # Slightly slower (stdout buffering)

longmem stats - View summary statistics
longmem status - Check daemon status
longmem start - Start daemon for export

Get Started

Core Concepts

CLI Commands

Configuration

Integrations

Guides

​Syntax

​Options

​Examples

​Export Everything to JSON

​Export Last 30 Days to Markdown

​Export Specific Project

​Export with Raw Tool Data

​Export to File Directly

​Requirements

​JSON Format

​With --raw Flag

​Markdown Format

​Filtering Options

​By Project

​By Time Range

​Combine Filters

​Output Options

​Write to stdout (Default)

​Write to File Directly

​Use Cases

​Regular Backups

​Generate Weekly Reports

​Migrate Between Systems

​Analyze Memory

​Share Project Context

​Error Handling

​Daemon Not Running

​Invalid Days Value

​Connection Timeout

​No Data to Export

​Exit Codes

​Performance

​Export Times

​Optimization Tips

​Related Commands

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