In the title compound, C(13)H(13)N(3)O, the tetra-hydro-benzene ring adopts a half-boat (envelope) conformation. The mean plane of the tetra-hydro-naphthalene ring system forms a dihedral angle of 9.56 (6)° with the mean plane of the cyano-acetohydrazide group. In the crystal, inversion dimers linked by pairs of N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds generate R(2) (2)(8) loops. The dimers are connected by C-H⋯N hydrogen bonds into a chain propagating along [101]. The crystal packing also features C-H⋯π inter-actions.