How to use the Claude-Mem Cloud Pairing agent skill (mem-setup)

What an agent skill is and what mem-setup does

An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file. The file tells an AI agent when to use the skill and what steps to follow. This one is named mem-setup.

The skill walks the agent through connecting the claude-mem-cowork plugin to your cmem.ai account. You give the agent three values from the cmem.ai Connect page. The agent saves them into the plugin's config.json so the plugin's hooks can capture and recall memory. It then runs a status check that reports masked output, so your secret token is not displayed.

• Sync token (starts with cm_): used as the bearer API key
• User id (a UUID)
• SyncHub URL (https://sync.cmem.ai)

What you need before installing

You need a cmem.ai account with a sync token from the Connect page, the claude-mem-cowork plugin installed in Cowork, and Node.js, which runs the verification script cmem-hook.mjs.

A local claude-mem install is only needed if your machine has a ~/.claude-mem/ directory and you want the local pairing step. The skill cannot create a cmem.ai account, so without one there are no credentials to enter.

• cmem.ai account with a sync token (starts with cm_)
• claude-mem-cowork plugin installed in Cowork
• Node.js
• Optional: local claude-mem install with a ~/.claude-mem/ directory

Install the skill

Download the ZIP from the skill's page on this directory and unzip it. For a personal install, place the unzipped folder in ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, place it in that project's .claude/skills/ folder.

In the Claude apps, you can instead upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

• Personal: ~/.claude/skills/
• Per project: .claude/skills/ inside the project folder
• Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Trigger the skill with a natural request

You do not need a special command. The skill is meant to be used when you ask in plain language. Its description lists phrases such as "set up claude-mem", "pair claude-mem", "connect cmem", "add my cmem key", and "set up cloud sync in Cowork". You can also paste the Connect values directly.

If you paste the whole Connect blurb, the agent extracts the three values from it. If any are missing, it asks for the sync token at minimum, since the other two are optional.

• "Pair claude-mem with my cmem.ai account."
• "Connect cmem. My sync token is cm_... and my user id is ..."
• "Set up cloud sync in Cowork."
• Paste the full Connect page text and ask the agent to set it up.

What the agent does during setup

The agent first locates the installed plugin root and updates its config.json, setting apiKey, userId and syncHubUrl. It leaves other settings alone unless you ask, such as the inject toggles. Project naming is automatic and not configurable.

Cowork containers are ephemeral, so edits to the installed copy only last for the current session. To make pairing permanent, the agent packages the plugin directory as <plugin-name>.plugin and sends it to you to reinstall. The skill tells you this is the reason.

If ~/.claude-mem/ exists, the agent also writes the same values to ~/.claude-mem/settings.json with mode 0600, using the keys CLAUDE_MEM_CLOUD_SYNC_TOKEN, CLAUDE_MEM_CLOUD_SYNC_USER_ID and CLAUDE_MEM_CLOUD_SYNC_HUB_URL. It then restarts the worker and runs the claude-mem cloud-sync skill's Verify step. Success is reported only when that step shows configured: true and hub.reachable: true.

Verify the connection

The skill checks the setup by running the status command below. The output is masked, so the token is not shown. A MISSING key means the write did not land. A 404 on /api/hooks/context is expected until the Pro endpoints deploy, according to the skill, and search and injection still work through /api/mcp.

Safety notes: scripts, network and secrets

This skill runs scripts and uses the network. The skill's rules say the agent must never echo the token back in conversation, place it in a shell argument, or log it. It moves the token only through file writes and file reads.

The token is written to plain files. Do not use this skill on a shared or public machine, because other people with access could read those files. Environment variables can also set the values without editing files: CMEM_API_KEY, CMEM_USER_ID, CMEM_SYNC_HUB_URL and CMEM_API_BASE, and these override the file values.

• Use only on a machine you control
• Token is stored in plain files
• Environment variables override file settings