diff --git a/cli/node/src/commands/init.ts b/cli/node/src/commands/init.ts
index a00a35430..f03c45c26 100644
--- a/cli/node/src/commands/init.ts
+++ b/cli/node/src/commands/init.ts
@@ -196,6 +196,7 @@ async function setupPlatform(config: Mem0Config): Promise<void> {
 		process.exit(1);
 	}
 	config.platform.apiKey = apiKey;
+	config.platform.createdVia = "api_key";
 }
 
 async function setupDefaults(config: Mem0Config): Promise<void> {
@@ -359,6 +360,7 @@ export async function runInit(
 		config.platform.apiKey = apiKeyVal;
 		config.platform.baseUrl = baseUrl;
 		config.platform.userEmail = email;
+		config.platform.createdVia = "email";
 		config.defaults.userId =
 			opts.userId || process.env.USER || process.env.USERNAME || "mem0-cli";
 
@@ -403,6 +405,7 @@ export async function runInit(
 	// Non-interactive: both flags provided
 	if (opts.apiKey && opts.userId) {
 		config.platform.apiKey = opts.apiKey;
+		config.platform.createdVia = "api_key";
 		config.defaults.userId = opts.userId;
 		await validatePlatform(config);
 		saveConfig(config);
@@ -450,6 +453,7 @@ export async function runInit(
 			config.platform.apiKey = apiKeyVal;
 			config.platform.baseUrl = baseUrl;
 			config.platform.userEmail = email;
+			config.platform.createdVia = "email";
 			config.defaults.userId =
 				opts.userId || process.env.USER || process.env.USERNAME || "mem0-cli";
 
diff --git a/cli/node/src/index.ts b/cli/node/src/index.ts
index ff9bb61aa..f29a8887f 100644
--- a/cli/node/src/index.ts
+++ b/cli/node/src/index.ts
@@ -141,6 +141,11 @@ program
 	.description(
 		`◆ Mem0 CLI v${CLI_VERSION} · Node.js SDK\n\nThe Memory Layer for AI Agents`,
 	)
+	// Positional options: flags AFTER a subcommand name belong to that
+	// subcommand, not the global program. Without this, `mem0 init --agent`
+	// routes `--agent` to the program-level alias (for --json) and init's own
+	// `--agent` (Agent Mode bootstrap) silently never fires.
+	.enablePositionalOptions()
 	.option("--version", "Show version and exit.")
 	.on("option:version", () => {
 		console.log(`  ${colors.brand("◆ Mem0")} CLI v${CLI_VERSION}`);
@@ -149,7 +154,7 @@ program
 	.option("--json", "Output as JSON for agent/programmatic use.")
 	.option(
 		"--agent",
-		"Output as JSON for agent/programmatic use. (alias: --json)",
+		"Output as JSON for agent/programmatic use. (alias: --json) Place BEFORE the subcommand: `mem0 --agent <cmd>`. On `init`, `mem0 init --agent` is the Agent Mode bootstrap flag instead.",
 	)
 	.usage("<command> [options]")
 	.helpOption("--help", "Show this message and exit.")
diff --git a/cli/python/src/mem0_cli/commands/init_cmd.py b/cli/python/src/mem0_cli/commands/init_cmd.py
index f0a83b60a..775d41992 100644
--- a/cli/python/src/mem0_cli/commands/init_cmd.py
+++ b/cli/python/src/mem0_cli/commands/init_cmd.py
@@ -284,6 +284,7 @@ def run_init(
         config.platform.api_key = api_key_val
         config.platform.base_url = base_url
         config.platform.user_email = email
+        config.platform.created_via = "email"
         config.defaults.user_id = (
             user_id or os.environ.get("USER") or os.environ.get("USERNAME") or "mem0-cli"
         )
@@ -325,6 +326,7 @@ def run_init(
     # Fully non-interactive when both flags provided
     if api_key and user_id:
         config.platform.api_key = api_key
+        config.platform.created_via = "api_key"
         config.defaults.user_id = user_id
         _validate_platform(config)
         save_config(config)
@@ -365,6 +367,7 @@ def run_init(
             config.platform.api_key = api_key_val
             config.platform.base_url = base_url
             config.platform.user_email = email_addr
+            config.platform.created_via = "email"
             config.defaults.user_id = (
                 user_id or os.environ.get("USER") or os.environ.get("USERNAME") or "mem0-cli"
             )
@@ -383,6 +386,7 @@ def run_init(
     # API key flow
     if api_key:
         config.platform.api_key = api_key
+        config.platform.created_via = "api_key"
     else:
         _setup_platform(config)
 
@@ -422,6 +426,7 @@ def _setup_platform(config: Mem0Config) -> None:
         raise typer.Exit(1)
 
     config.platform.api_key = api_key
+    config.platform.created_via = "api_key"
 
 
 def _setup_defaults(config: Mem0Config) -> None: