> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.lyzr.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Add Memories

> Store conversation messages in Cognis. Facts and preferences are extracted and indexed automatically.

The `add` method stores conversation messages in Cognis memory. The extraction layer automatically pulls discrete facts, preferences, and context from the messages and indexes them as searchable memory records.

## Method signature

```python theme={null}
cog.add(
    messages: List[Dict[str, str] | CognisMessage],
    owner_id: str | None = None,
    agent_id: str | None = None,
    session_id: str | None = None,
) -> Dict[str, Any]
```

At least one of `owner_id`, `agent_id`, or `session_id` must be provided.

## Parameters

| Parameter    | Type                                    | Required    | Description                                                                                          |
| ------------ | --------------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `messages`   | `List[Dict[str, str] \| CognisMessage]` | Yes         | Conversation messages. Each message must have `role` (`"user"` or `"assistant"`) and `content` keys. |
| `owner_id`   | `str`                                   | Conditional | User or owner identifier for memory scoping.                                                         |
| `agent_id`   | `str`                                   | Conditional | Agent identifier for memory scoping.                                                                 |
| `session_id` | `str`                                   | Conditional | Session identifier for memory scoping.                                                               |

## Response

```json theme={null}
{
  "success": true,
  "session_id": "sess_abc123",
  "memories_created": 2
}
```

## Basic usage

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Hosted (lyzr-adk)">
    ```python theme={null}
    from lyzr import Cognis

    cog = Cognis(api_key="sk-your-api-key")

    result = cog.add(
        messages=[
            {"role": "user", "content": "My name is Alice and I work at Acme Corp."},
            {"role": "assistant", "content": "Nice to meet you, Alice!"},
        ],
        owner_id="user_alice",
    )
    print(result)
    # {"success": True, "session_id": "...", "memories_created": 2}
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Open Source (lyzr-cognis)">
    ```python theme={null}
    from cognis import Cognis

    m = Cognis(owner_id="user_alice")

    result = m.add([
        {"role": "user", "content": "My name is Alice and I work at Acme Corp."},
        {"role": "assistant", "content": "Nice to meet you, Alice!"},
    ])
    print(result)
    # {"success": True, "message": "Extracted 2 memories from 2 messages", ...}

    m.close()
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Using CognisMessage objects

Use `CognisMessage` instead of plain dictionaries for type safety.

```python theme={null}
from lyzr import Cognis, CognisMessage

cog = Cognis(api_key="sk-your-api-key")

result = cog.add(
    messages=[
        CognisMessage(role="user", content="I prefer dark mode in all apps."),
        CognisMessage(role="assistant", content="Noted, I'll keep that preference in mind."),
    ],
    owner_id="user_alice",
)
```

## Multi-turn conversations

Pass longer conversations as a flat list of message pairs.

```python theme={null}
result = cog.add(
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "I'm working on a Python project."},
        {"role": "assistant", "content": "What kind of project?"},
        {"role": "user", "content": "A REST API using FastAPI."},
        {"role": "assistant", "content": "FastAPI is a great choice."},
        {"role": "user", "content": "I need help with authentication."},
        {"role": "assistant", "content": "I'd recommend OAuth2 with JWT tokens."},
    ],
    owner_id="user_alice",
    session_id="project_session",
)
```

## Scoping with multiple identifiers

```python theme={null}
# User and agent scoped
cog.add(messages=messages, owner_id="user_alice", agent_id="support_bot")

# All three identifiers (narrowest scope)
cog.add(messages=messages, owner_id="user_alice", agent_id="support_bot", session_id="sess_001")
```

## Async usage

```python theme={null}
import asyncio
from lyzr import Cognis

async def main():
    async with Cognis(api_key="sk-your-api-key") as cog:
        result = await cog.aadd(
            messages=[
                {"role": "user", "content": "I love hiking on weekends."},
                {"role": "assistant", "content": "That sounds fun!"},
            ],
            owner_id="user_alice",
        )

asyncio.run(main())
```

Send messages in natural user/assistant pairs for best extraction results. Richer, multi-turn conversations produce more useful memory records.