From 559b5eab71dcd000c592033661af1bde7500dc43 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Peter Steinberger <steipete@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2026 01:41:49 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] fix(cli): support --query in memory search command (#25904)

---
 CHANGELOG.md               |  1 +
 src/cli/memory-cli.test.ts | 43 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 src/cli/memory-cli.ts      | 14 +++++++++++--
 3 files changed, 56 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2f227da4c9e..a528cbfcb71 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - macOS/Menu bar: stop reusing the injector delegate for the "Usage cost (30 days)" submenu to prevent recursive submenu injection loops when opening cost history. (#25341) Thanks @yingchunbai.
 - Control UI/Chat images: route image-click opens through a shared safe-open helper (allowing only safe URL schemes) and open new tabs with opener isolation to block tabnabbing. (#18685, #25444, #25847) Thanks @Mariana-Codebase and @shakkernerd.
 - CLI/Doctor: correct stale recovery hints to use valid commands (`openclaw gateway status --deep` and `openclaw configure --section model`). (#24485) Thanks @chilu18.
+- CLI/Memory search: accept `--query <text>` for `openclaw memory search` (while keeping positional query support), and emit a clear error when neither form is provided. (#25904, #25857) Thanks @niceysam and @stakeswky.
 - Security/Sandbox: canonicalize bind-mount source paths via existing-ancestor realpath so symlink-parent + non-existent-leaf paths cannot bypass allowed-source-roots or blocked-path checks. Thanks @tdjackey.
 - Doctor/Plugins: auto-enable now resolves third-party channel plugins by manifest plugin id (not channel id), preventing invalid `plugins.entries.<channelId>` writes when ids differ. (#25275) Thanks @zerone0x.
 
diff --git a/src/cli/memory-cli.test.ts b/src/cli/memory-cli.test.ts
index 8a83bc5e906..3d6dfa7d2a2 100644
--- a/src/cli/memory-cli.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/memory-cli.test.ts
@@ -382,6 +382,49 @@ describe("memory cli", () => {
     expect(close).toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
+  it("accepts --query for memory search", async () => {
+    const close = vi.fn(async () => {});
+    const search = vi.fn(async () => []);
+    mockManager({ search, close });
+
+    const log = spyRuntimeLogs();
+    await runMemoryCli(["search", "--query", "deployment notes"]);
+
+    expect(search).toHaveBeenCalledWith("deployment notes", {
+      maxResults: undefined,
+      minScore: undefined,
+    });
+    expect(log).toHaveBeenCalledWith("No matches.");
+    expect(close).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(process.exitCode).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it("prefers --query when positional and flag are both provided", async () => {
+    const close = vi.fn(async () => {});
+    const search = vi.fn(async () => []);
+    mockManager({ search, close });
+
+    spyRuntimeLogs();
+    await runMemoryCli(["search", "positional", "--query", "flagged"]);
+
+    expect(search).toHaveBeenCalledWith("flagged", {
+      maxResults: undefined,
+      minScore: undefined,
+    });
+    expect(close).toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("fails when neither positional query nor --query is provided", async () => {
+    const error = spyRuntimeErrors();
+    await runMemoryCli(["search"]);
+
+    expect(error).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      "Missing search query. Provide a positional query or use --query <text>.",
+    );
+    expect(getMemorySearchManager).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(process.exitCode).toBe(1);
+  });
+
   it("prints search results as json when requested", async () => {
     const close = vi.fn(async () => {});
     const search = vi.fn(async () => [
diff --git a/src/cli/memory-cli.ts b/src/cli/memory-cli.ts
index 6449653f8ac..f530d5b510e 100644
--- a/src/cli/memory-cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli/memory-cli.ts
@@ -702,19 +702,29 @@ export function registerMemoryCli(program: Command) {
   memory
     .command("search")
     .description("Search memory files")
-    .argument("<query>", "Search query")
+    .argument("[query]", "Search query")
+    .option("--query <text>", "Search query (alternative to positional argument)")
     .option("--agent <id>", "Agent id (default: default agent)")
     .option("--max-results <n>", "Max results", (value: string) => Number(value))
     .option("--min-score <n>", "Minimum score", (value: string) => Number(value))
     .option("--json", "Print JSON")
     .action(
       async (
-        query: string,
+        queryArg: string | undefined,
         opts: MemoryCommandOptions & {
+          query?: string;
           maxResults?: number;
           minScore?: number;
         },
       ) => {
+        const query = opts.query ?? queryArg;
+        if (!query) {
+          defaultRuntime.error(
+            "Missing search query. Provide a positional query or use --query <text>.",
+          );
+          process.exitCode = 1;
+          return;
+        }
         const cfg = loadConfig();
         const agentId = resolveAgent(cfg, opts.agent);
         await withMemoryManagerForAgent({