Authentication

MemNexus uses API keys for authentication. Keys follow the format cmk_live_<id>.<secret> and are passed as Bearer tokens.

Logging in

Interactive mode (recommended)

mx auth login --interactive

This masks your input so the key isn't visible in your terminal history.

Direct mode

mx auth login --api-key cmk_live_xxx.yyy

The key is stored in your local config file.

Checking status

mx auth status

This shows your authentication state, API URL, and output format.

Logging out

mx auth logout

This removes your stored credentials.

Managing API keys

List keys

mx apikeys list

Shows key metadata (ID, label, creation date). Actual key secrets are never displayed.

Create a key

mx apikeys create --label "My CLI Key"

The full key is shown only once during creation. Save it immediately.

To create a key with an expiration:

mx apikeys create --label "Temporary Key" --expires-at "2026-12-31T23:59:59Z"

Delete a key

mx apikeys delete key_abc123

Add --force to skip the confirmation prompt.

Using environment variables

For CI/CD pipelines and automation, use environment variables instead of the config file:

export MX_API_KEY="cmk_live_xxx.yyy"

Environment variables take precedence over config file values.

Security best practices

• Never commit API keys to version control
• Use separate keys for different environments (dev, staging, production)
• Set expirations on temporary keys
• Use environment variables in CI/CD, not config files
• Rotate keys periodically — create a new key, update your systems, then delete the old one

Next steps

• Managing Memories — Full CRUD operations
• Search — Find memories by meaning or keywords