---
title: "CLI"
description: "Binary signing, backend flags, and local credential quirks."
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://machine-memory.jfa.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# CLI

## macOS: `zsh: killed` after download or upgrade

**Cause:** Ad-hoc code signature no longer matches the binary (common after `curl` install or `machine-memory upgrade`).

**Fix:**

```sh
xattr -c machine-memory
codesign --force --sign - machine-memory
codesign -v --strict machine-memory
```

`chmod +x` alone does not fix this. Same steps after [upgrade](/human/upgrade).

## `--local` ignored when remote credentials exist

**Historical cause:** With keychain remote credentials present and `MACHINE_MEMORY_DB_PATH` unset, config could fall through to remote even when `--local` was passed.

**Status:** Fixed — `--local` forces the local backend. Upgrade the CLI if an old build still mis-routes. Prefer an explicit `--local` or `--remote` on every database command.

## Init / keychain on Linux

`machine-memory init` and remote setup use Bun Secrets. Linux needs a working `libsecret` session. In headless sandboxes, skip keychain and use [`.env` remote credentials](/troubleshooting/sandbox#cli-remote-without-keychain) or [MCP-only init](/docs/mcp/init).

Source: https://machine-memory.jfa.dev/troubleshooting/cli/index.mdx