CLI Reference

Complete reference for all Lore CLI commands.

Setup & Auth

Command	Description
`lore setup`	Guided wizard — configure API keys, sign in, create data repo
`lore setup --openai-key <key> --anthropic-key <key> --email <email>`	Non-interactive setup (sends OTP, exits)
`lore setup ... --code <code>`	Complete non-interactive setup with OTP code
`lore auth login`	Sign in with email OTP
`lore auth login -e user@example.com`	Sign in with specified email
`lore auth login -e user@example.com --send-only`	Send OTP and exit
`lore auth login -e user@example.com --code <code>`	Verify OTP non-interactively
`lore auth logout`	Clear session
`lore auth whoami`	Show current authentication status

Search & Research

Command	Description
`lore search <query>`	Hybrid search (semantic + keyword)
`lore search <query> --mode semantic`	Vector similarity only
`lore search <query> --mode keyword`	Full-text search only
`lore search <query> --project <name>`	Filter to project
`lore search <query> --since 7d`	Only sources from last 7 days
`lore search <query> --since "last week" --before 2025-01-01`	Date range filter
`lore search <query> --sort recent`	Sort by date instead of relevance
`lore research <query>`	AI-powered deep research (standard depth)
`lore research <query> --depth quick`	Quick research (~30-60s, 3-5 sources)
`lore research <query> --depth deep`	Exhaustive research (~4-8 min)
`lore ask <question>`	AI-powered Q&A — searches sources, synthesizes answer with citations
`lore browse`	Interactive TUI browser with edit, search, and re-indexing

Project Briefs

Command	Description
`lore brief <project>`	View the current brief for a project
`lore brief generate <project>`	Generate or refresh a project brief
`lore brief generate <project> --focus "UX"`	Generate with a specific focus area
`lore brief list`	List all briefs with staleness info
`lore brief history <project>`	Show version history
`lore brief diff <project>`	Compare latest brief with previous version

Project briefs are living synthesis documents that evolve as new sources enter. They track current state, key evidence with citations, open questions, and project trajectory. Briefs auto-update when new content is ingested into a project (with a 5-second debounce), so they stay current without manual intervention.

Project Context & Corrections

Command	Description
`lore context add <project>`	Add project knowledge into `./.lore/` for coding agents
`lore context add <project> --target <repo>`	Add Lore context to a specific repo or workspace
`lore context add <project> --limit <n>`	Add a smaller working copy for a narrow task
`lore context list`	Show repos with daemon-managed Lore context
`lore context status`	Show clean, modified, missing, stale, deleted, and conflicted snapshots
`lore context remove`	Remove the generated `.lore/` working copy from the repo
`lore corrections list`	List active and recent correction proposals
`lore corrections diff [id]`	Show colorized correction diffs; omit `id` to show all active diffs
`lore corrections approve <id>`	Apply a reviewed correction to canonical Lore and re-index one source
`lore corrections reject <id>`	Discard a proposal and refresh/remove the working snapshot; `restore` is an alias
`lore corrections reconcile <id>`	Use AI to create a merged proposal for conflicted corrections
`lore browse --context-target <repo>`	Open Browse with that repo's correction inbox

lore context add includes all non-deleted project sources by default, writes copied snapshots instead of symlinks, and registers the repo for daemon refresh. It also writes .lore/.gitignore so generated context stays out of the host repo unless you intentionally change that. Empty projects are allowed: Lore creates the scaffold now and the daemon populates it after sources for that project exist.

A repo-local .lore/ working copy currently tracks one Lore project. Running lore context add <other-project> replaces clean context; active proposals must be reviewed or explicitly discarded with --force.

lore context remove is the safe off switch. It unregisters daemon refresh, removes only the generated working copy, refuses to discard active proposals unless you pass --force, and leaves canonical Lore unchanged.

Ingest

Command	Description
`lore ingest "content"`	Ingest inline content
`lore ingest --file ./notes.md`	Ingest from a file
`echo "..." \| lore ingest`	Ingest from stdin/pipe
`lore ingest "content" -p myproject -t "My Title"`	With project and title
`lore ingest --file doc.md --type meeting --url https://...`	With metadata

Log

Command	Description
`lore log "message" -p <project>`	Add a log entry
`lore log update <id> <message>`	Update a log entry
`lore log delete <id>`	Delete a log entry
`lore log show -p <project>`	Show log entries
`lore log clear -p <project>`	Clear all log entries for a project

Log entries are lightweight status updates, decisions, and progress notes. They are searchable via search and included in project briefs, but hidden from list_sources by default.

Sync & Sources

Command	Description
`lore sync`	Sync all configured sources
`lore sync --dry-run`	Preview what would sync
`lore sync add`	Add a source directory (interactive)
`lore sync add --name "Notes" --path ~/notes --project notes`	Add non-interactively (syncs all files)
`lore sync add --name "Docs" --path ~/docs --glob "*/.md" --project docs`	Add with specific file type filter
`lore sync enable <name>`	Enable a sync source
`lore sync disable <name>`	Disable a sync source
`lore sync remove <name>`	Remove a sync source
`lore sync list`	List configured source directories
`lore sync start`	Start background sync daemon
`lore sync stop`	Stop background sync daemon
`lore sync restart`	Restart daemon (picks up new config)
`lore sync status`	Show daemon status, last sync info, and context refresh counts
`lore sync logs`	View daemon log file (last 50 lines)
`lore sync logs -f`	Follow daemon logs in real-time
`lore sync watch`	Watch directories and sync in foreground (live output)
`lore sync repair`	Repair generated data-repo metadata and deletion cache state
`lore sync repair --dry-run`	Preview safe repairs without changing files
`lore sync repair --no-push`	Apply local repairs without pushing optional Git history

Supported file formats: Markdown, JSON, JSONL, plain text, CSV, HTML, XML, PDF, and images (JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP). The default glob is **/* (all files). Use --glob to restrict to specific types.

Lore Cloud/Supabase is the primary sync layer. Git in LORE_DATA_DIR is optional local history; generated files such as sources/.paths.json and deleted-hashes.json are caches and should not block daemon refresh. If lore sync status reports repair-needed Git state, run lore sync repair.

Documents

Command	Description
`lore docs list`	List all indexed documents
`lore docs list --deleted`	List soft-deleted documents (with deletion dates)
`lore docs get <id>`	View a document by ID
`lore docs create <content> -p <project>`	Create a note or insight
`lore docs delete <id>`	Soft-delete a document (recoverable)
`lore docs restore <id>`	Restore a soft-deleted document

Deleted documents are excluded from search, briefs, and list results. They can be restored at any time with lore docs restore.

Projects

Command	Description
`lore projects`	List all projects with source counts
`lore projects archive <name>`	Archive a project
`lore projects delete <name>`	Delete a project and all its documents

MCP Server

Command	Description
`lore mcp`	Start the MCP server (for AI tool integration)

Skills

Command	Description
`lore skills list`	List available agent skills
`lore skills install <name>`	Install a skill
`lore skills show <name>`	Show skill details

Browse TUI

lore browse opens a split-pane terminal UI with Vim-style navigation.

List view:

Key	Action
`j` / `k`	Navigate up/down
`Enter`	Open document in full view
`/`	Hybrid search (semantic + keyword)
`:`	Regex search (grep local files)
`a`	Ask a question (AI-powered Q&A)
`R`	Research mode (agentic deep research)
`p`	Filter by project
`c`	Filter by content type
`t`	Change content type
`L`	Toggle log entries
`m`	Move document to another project
`i`	Edit document title
`e`	Edit in `$EDITOR` — saves changes to disk and re-indexes (summary, embedding) in the background
`u`	Open the correction inbox for the current context target
`s`	Sync now
`Tab`	Toggle flat/grouped view
`Ctrl-p`	Show all projects
`Ctrl-c`	Clear type filter
`Del`	Delete document or project
`q` / `Esc`	Quit
`?`	Help

Document view:

Key	Action
`j` / `k`	Scroll
`/`	Search within document (regex)
`n` / `N`	Next/previous match
`y`	Copy to clipboard
`e`	Edit in `$EDITOR`
`q` / `Esc`	Back to list

Updates

Command	Description
`lore update`	Check for and install the latest version, restart daemon
`lore update --check`	Check for updates without installing

Environment Variables

These can be set via environment or via lore setup (stored in ~/.config/lore/config.json):

Variable	Description
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	Required for embeddings
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Required for research agent and sync
`SUPABASE_URL`	Supabase project URL (has default)
`SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY`	Supabase publishable key (has default)
`SUPABASE_SERVICE_KEY`	Service key — bypasses RLS, env-only
`LORE_DATA_DIR`	Data directory path (default: `~/.lore`)
`LORE_AUTO_GIT_PULL`	Auto git pull every 5 min (default: true)
`LORE_AUTO_INDEX`	Auto-index new sources (default: true)