Nia Sync is a standalone CLI daemon that continuously synchronizes your local data sources with Nia, enabling AI agents to search your personal knowledge base.
Privacy First : Local folders are private to your account. They’re searched separately from public repositories and documentation.
Quick Install curl -fsSL https://app.trynia.ai/install-sync | bash
Or install via pip:
Getting Started
Login
Authenticate with your Nia account: This opens your browser for secure OAuth authentication.
Add a Source
Add a local folder or database to sync: nia add ~/Documents/notes
The CLI auto-detects known database paths (iMessage, browser history, etc.).
Start Syncing
Start the sync daemon: The daemon watches for file changes and syncs incrementally in real-time. CLI Commands Core Commands Command Description niaStart sync daemon (watch mode by default) nia loginBrowser-based OAuth authentication nia logoutClear stored credentials nia statusShow all configured sources with sync status nia status --jsonOutput status as JSON for scripting nia onceRun one-time sync then exit nia add <path>Add new source for sync nia link <ID> <path>Link cloud source to local path nia remove <ID>Remove source from sync nia upgradeCheck and install updates
Search & Query Search your indexed sources directly from the terminal:
# Basic search with streaming AI response nia search "meeting notes from last week" # Search specific folders nia search "project updates" --local-folder my-notes --local-folder work-docs # Show source snippets alongside the answer nia search "authentication code" --sources # Raw text output (no markdown rendering) nia search "api endpoints" --no-markdown # JSON output for scripting nia search "config values" --json --no-stream
Flag Description -l, --local-folderLimit search to specific folder(s). Accepts ID prefix or display name --sourcesShow source snippets used to generate the answer --markdown/--no-markdownToggle rich Markdown rendering (default: on) --stream/--no-streamToggle streaming response (default: on) -j, --jsonOutput raw JSON for programmatic use -n, --limitMax source snippets to display
Monitoring & Debugging Command Description nia info <ID>Show detailed info for a source (chunk count, last sync, errors) nia logsShow sync logs for all sources nia logs <ID>Show sync logs for a specific source nia logs --tailContinuously tail new logs nia logs --errorsOnly show error logs nia diffDry-run: show what would sync without uploading nia diff <ID>Dry-run for a specific source nia doctorRun diagnostics for common issues (auth, API, disk access) nia whoamiShow current authenticated user nia versionShow CLI version nia version --checkCheck for available updates
Sync Control Command Description nia pause <ID>Pause continuous sync for a source nia resume <ID>Resume continuous sync for a source nia resync <ID>Force full resync by resetting cursor nia resync --allForce full resync for all sources
Web Integration Open Nia web app pages directly from the CLI:
nia open dashboard # Open main dashboard nia open activity # Open activity feed nia open local-sync # Open local sync settings nia open api-keys # Open API keys page nia open billing # Open billing page nia open docs # Open documentation nia open < source-i d > # Open specific source detail page
Configuration Management Config Commands Manage CLI settings directly from the terminal:
# View all config nia config list # Get a specific value nia config get api_url # Set a value nia config set api_url "https://api.trynia.ai"
Ignore Patterns Customize which files are excluded from sync:
# List current ignore patterns nia ignore list # Ignore a directory name nia ignore add --dir node_modules # Ignore a file name nia ignore add --file .DS_Store # Ignore a file extension nia ignore add --ext .log # Ignore a path substring nia ignore add --path /build/ # Remove an ignore pattern nia ignore remove --ext .log
Watch Directories Configure which directories are scanned for auto-linking sources:
# List watched directories nia watch list # Add a directory to watch nia watch add ~/Projects # Remove a watch directory nia watch remove ~/Projects
When you create a folder in a watched directory that matches an unlinked source’s name, Nia automatically discovers and links it.
Source ID Shortcuts You don’t need to type full UUIDs. Nia accepts:
ID prefixes : nia info a3f2 matches a3f2b1c8-...Display names : nia pause "My Notes" matches by folder name
If a prefix is ambiguous (matches multiple sources), you’ll be prompted with the matches.
Daemon Mode Running nia without arguments starts the sync daemon with real-time file watching:
NIA Nia Sync Engine ● real-time file watching ● 3 source(s) active ● Auto-refresh every 30s Ctrl+C to stop
The daemon:
Watches for file changes using native filesystem events
Syncs changes within seconds of detection
Periodically refreshes the source list from the web UI
Auto-discovers new folders matching unlinked sources
Sends heartbeats to mark daemon as online
Daemon Flags Flag Default Description --watch/--poll--watchReal-time watching vs interval polling -f, --fallback600 Fallback sync interval in seconds (catches missed events) -r, --refresh30 How often to check for new sources from web UI
Supported Data Sources Nia Sync automatically extracts and indexes content from various data sources:
Chat & Messages
iMessage (~/Library/Messages/chat.db)Telegram (JSON exports, ZIP files)
Browser History
Safari (~/Library/Safari/History.db)Chrome / Brave / Edge Firefox
Databases
Generic SQLite databases
Auto-extracts tables into searchable text
Folders
Regular folders with text files
Code, notes, documentation
Database content is extracted into virtual text files for semantic search:
Source Virtual Path Format iMessage messages/{contact}/{date}_{row_id}_{direction}.txtSafari/Chrome/Firefox history/{domain}/{date}_{id}.txtTelegram telegram/{chat_name}/{date}_{msg_id}.txt
Web UI You can also manage synced sources from the Nia web app:
Go to app.trynia.ai
Navigate to Settings → Local Sync
View sync status, add/remove sources, and configure sync intervals
Sync Intervals Configure how often sources are synced:
Interval Description 5mEvery 5 minutes hourlyEvery hour 6hEvery 6 hours dailyOnce per day
Searching Local Folders Once synced, your local folders are searchable via MCP tools:
# Search across local folders search( query = "meeting notes from last week" , local_folders = [ "folder-id-here" ]) # Read files from a local folder nia_read( source_type = "local_folder" , local_folder_id = "folder-id-here" , path = "/notes/meeting.txt" ) # Grep in local folders nia_grep( source_type = "local_folder" , local_folder_id = "folder-id-here" , pattern = "TODO" ) # Explore folder structure nia_explore( source_type = "local_folder" , local_folder_id = "folder-id-here" , action = "tree" )
Local folders are private and searched separately from public repositories. Use local_folders parameter in search() to include them.
Configuration Environment Variables Variable Default Description NIA_API_URLhttps://api.trynia.aiOverride API base URL
Config File Credentials are stored in ~/.nia-sync/config.json with secure permissions (mode 0600).
Limits Limit Value Max files per folder 5,000 Max total upload size 100 MB per folder Max individual file size 5 MB Max database size 1 GB Max rows per table 100,000
Security 350+ exclusion patterns automatically protect sensitive files from being synced.
The following are never synced :
Credentials : .env, .pem, .key, SSH keys, *credentials*, *secrets*, *token*Version control : .git, .svnDependencies : node_modules, venv, __pycache__Build outputs : dist/, build/, .next/
API keys are stored locally with user-only read/write permissions and are never logged or transmitted in plaintext.
