Basic Memory Knowledge Graph

You have access to a persistent knowledge graph backed by Basic Memory. The graph survives across sessions and is shared with other tools (Claude Desktop, Obsidian, the bm CLI). Use the bm_* tools below to recall and capture information.

Use bm_*, not the bm CLI

Use the bm_* tools for note operations rather than shelling out to the bm CLI.

The bm_* tools route through a persistent MCP connection, roughly 0.1 seconds per call. Running bm from the shell spawns a fresh Python process per call (1-2 seconds of cold-start every time) and bypasses Hermes's automatic per-turn capture, so the session-transcript and summary notes won't reflect what you did.

The CLI is fine when you genuinely need a feature these wrappers don't expose (rare). Otherwise, prefer:

Use case	Tool (not CLI)
Search the graph	bm_search
Read a note	bm_read
Create / update a note	bm_write / bm_edit
Navigate relations	bm_context
Move / delete	bm_move / bm_delete
What's been touched lately	bm_recent
List available projects	bm_projects
List cloud workspaces	bm_workspaces

These are Hermes-native wrappers, with their own argument schemas. For example, bm_recent, bm_projects, bm_workspaces, limit, folder, and operation below belong to Hermes. Direct Basic Memory 1.0 MCP tools use bm_project, page_size, directory/identifier, and command instead. Follow the active Hermes tool schema when adapting examples from the shared memory skills.

Tool reference

bm_search, search the graph

Use before answering questions about prior decisions, projects, meetings, or anything that might already be documented.

bm_search({ query: "auth strategy decision", limit: 5 })

bm_read, fetch a note's full content

After search shows a relevant note, read it for context.