---
source: src/main.rs
expression: root_help
---
Lossless storage and semantic search for sessions from any AI agent client
pond [VERSION]

Usage: pond [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>

Commands:
  Setup
    init         Set up pond (idempotent: safe to re-run)
    adapters     Choose which adapters pond sync ingests
    storage      Probe and switch storage destinations
    creds        Manage URL-scoped credential sets
    schedule     Manage the automatic sync schedule
    config       Inspect configuration

  Data flow
    sync         Make pond current: import, embed, index
    optimize     Embed the backlog, then fold the indexes
    copy         Copy data between stores, archives, JSONL

  Query
    search       Search stored messages
    get          Fetch a session or message
    sql          Run one read-only SQL query
    status       Show pond health, data, and adapters

  Serve
    serve        Run the HTTP API server
    mcp          Serve the MCP tools over stdio

  Shell
    completions  Generate shell completions
    skill        Print the agent-onboarding SKILL.md
    help         Print this message or a subcommand's help

Options:
      --storage-path <URL>
          Storage destination: a local path or remote URL.
          
          Accepts a bare path, `~/path`, `file://`, `s3://bucket/prefix`, `s3+https://host/bucket/prefix`, `gs://`, `az://`, or the keyword `local` (the platform default local data dir). Default: `[storage].path` from config, then the platform data dir (`~/.local/share/pond`).
          
          [env: POND_STORAGE_PATH]

      --config-file <PATH>
          Config file to read (default: `~/.config/pond/config.toml`)
          
          [env: POND_CONFIG_FILE]

  -v, --verbose...
          Increase logging verbosity

  -q, --quiet...
          Decrease logging verbosity

  -h, --help
          Print help (see a summary with '-h')

  -V, --version
          Print version

Getting started:
  pond init                                  set up storage, adapters, MCP, and scheduling
  pond sync                                  import new sessions, embed, update indexes
  pond search "that auth refactor"           find past work
  claude mcp add -s user pond -- pond mcp    register pond as an MCP server in Claude Code

Every command documents itself: `pond <command> --help` carries examples.
