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

# memanto policy apply-preset

> Adopt a predefined policy bundle, replacing the current policy.

# memanto policy apply-preset

Adopt one of the shipped presets as the agent's expiry policy. The preset is
printed **in full first**, then you are asked to confirm — so the answer is an
informed one rather than a blind yes.

```bash theme={null}
memanto policy apply-preset NAME [OPTIONS]
```

**Arguments:**

* `NAME` - Preset name: `conservative`, `balanced`, or `aggressive` (required)

**Options:**

* `-a, --agent TEXT` - Agent identifier (defaults to active agent)
* `-y, --yes` - Skip the confirmation prompt

**Examples:**

```bash theme={null}
memanto policy apply-preset balanced
memanto policy apply-preset aggressive --agent my-agent
memanto policy apply-preset conservative --yes
```

**Output:**

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Preset: balanced                                            │
│ Sensible defaults for a working agent: transient state ages │
│ out in weeks, semantic knowledge in months, durable truths  │
│ never.                                                      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

       Retention by type                          Rules
   … full table and rules printed here …

Purge: disabled — expired memories are kept forever.
Agent: my-agent

This replaces the entire policy for 'my-agent'.
Adopt preset 'balanced'? [y/N]: y

Adopted preset 'balanced' for 'my-agent'.
Preview what this would expire: memanto policy apply --dry-run
```

<Warning>
  Adopting a preset **replaces the entire policy**, including any rules you wrote
  yourself. Declining the prompt writes nothing.
</Warning>

**Notes:**

* Adopting a preset expires nothing on its own — run [`memanto policy apply`](/cli/policy/apply) afterwards, or let the nightly [schedule](/cli/schedule/enable) job pick it up.
* The resulting policy is written to `~/.memanto/policies/<agent-id>.yaml` and can be edited by hand.
* Preview a preset without adopting it via [Get Policy Preset](/api-reference/policy/get-policy-preset).
* Backed by the [Apply Policy Preset](/api-reference/policy/apply-policy-preset) API endpoint.