Memory Management Skill

Use AutoMem to maintain persistent context across Claude Code sessions. This skill teaches the 3-Phase Memory Pattern: Recall → Store → Summarize.

Phase 1: SESSION START (Recall)

Always Recall For

• Project context questions (architecture, tooling, deployment)
• Architecture discussions or decisions
• User preferences and code style
• Debugging issues (search for similar past problems)
• Refactoring (understand why current structure exists)
• Integration or API work (check past implementations)
• Performance optimization discussions

Adaptive Recall Based on Context

• Files open → Recall memories tagged with those components
• Error messages → Search for similar error patterns
• Multiple files → Recall architectural decisions
• PR/commit context → Recall related feature implementations

Skip Recall For

• Pure syntax questions ("How does Array.map work?")
• Trivial edits (typos, formatting, simple renames)
• Direct factual queries about current code
• File content requests that can be answered by reading

Recall Examples

// Basic project recall
mcp__memory__recall_memory({
  query: "project architecture decisions",
  tags: ["project-name"],
  limit: 5
})

// Debug similar errors
mcp__memory__recall_memory({
  query: "TypeError authentication timeout",
  tags: ["bug-fix"],
  time_query: "last 30 days",
  limit: 5
})

// Multi-hop reasoning (find related context)
mcp__memory__recall_memory({
  query: "Who worked on the auth system?",
  expand_entities: true,
  limit: 10
})

// Context-aware coding recall
mcp__memory__recall_memory({
  query: "error handling patterns",
  language: "typescript",
  context: "coding-style",
  context_types: ["Style", "Pattern"]
})

Phase 2: DURING WORK (Store)

What to Store with Importance Levels

Storage Format

Content: "Brief title. Context and details. Impact/outcome."
Tags: [project-name, component, YYYY-MM, type]
Type: Decision | Pattern | Insight | Preference | Style | Habit | Context

Storage Examples

Decision:

mcp__memory__store_memory({
  content: "Chose PostgreSQL over MongoDB. Need ACID guarantees for transactions. Impact: Ensures data consistency.",
  type: "Decision",
  tags: ["myapp", "database", "decision", "2025-12"],
  importance: 0.9,
  metadata: {
    alternatives_considered: ["MongoDB", "DynamoDB"],
    deciding_factors: ["ACID", "relationships", "team_expertise"]
  }
})

Bug Fix:

mcp__memory__store_memory({
  content: "Auth timeout on slow connections. Root: Missing retry logic. Solution: Added exponential backoff with 3 retries.",
  type: "Insight",
  tags: ["myapp", "auth", "bug-fix", "2025-12"],
  importance: 0.8,
  metadata: {
    error_signature: "TimeoutError: Authentication request timed out",
    solution_pattern: "exponential-backoff-retry",
    files_modified: ["src/auth/client.ts"]
  }
})

User Preference:

mcp__memory__store_memory({
  content: "User prefers early returns over nested conditionals in validation code.",
  type: "Preference",
  tags: ["preferences", "code-style", "2025-12"],
  importance: 0.8
})

After Storing: Create Associations

Link related memories to build a knowledge graph:

mcp__memory__associate_memories({
  memory1_id: "new-memory-id",
  memory2_id: "related-memory-id",
  type: "DERIVED_FROM",  // or LEADS_TO, EVOLVED_INTO, RELATES_TO
  strength: 0.9
})

Relationship Types:

• LEADS_TO - Bug → Solution, Problem → Fix
• EVOLVED_INTO - Updated approaches or decisions
• DERIVED_FROM - Implementation from planning
• EXEMPLIFIES - Concrete examples of patterns
• CONTRADICTS - Conflicting approaches
• REINFORCES - Supporting evidence
• INVALIDATED_BY - Obsoleted solutions
• RELATES_TO - General connections

Phase 3: SESSION END (Summarize)

Store a session summary when:

• Multiple files modified
• Significant refactoring completed
• New features implemented
• Important decisions made

mcp__memory__store_memory({
  content: "Added authentication system with JWT. Supports login, logout, and token refresh. Impact: Users can now login securely.",
  type: "Context",
  tags: ["myapp", "auth", "feature", "2025-12"],
  importance: 0.9,
  metadata: {
    files_modified: ["src/auth/UserAuth.ts", "src/middleware/auth.ts"],
    feature: "authentication"
  }
})

Best Practices

Do

• Load context automatically at session start
• Store high-signal events (decisions, bugs, patterns)
• Create specific relationship types (not just RELATES_TO)
• Include rich metadata in every memory
• Present recalled information naturally
• Tag consistently: project, component, type, YYYY-MM

Don't

• Store secrets, API keys, or sensitive data
• Store trivial changes (typos, formatting)
• Create associations without verifying relevance
• Skip tagging or use inconsistent formats
• Announce "I'm searching my memory" constantly
• Store large code blocks (store patterns/decisions instead)

Natural Integration

When recalling memories, weave context seamlessly into responses. Avoid robotic phrases like "searching my memory database" - present memories as if you've always known them.

Bad: "Let me search my memory... I found that you previously decided to use PostgreSQL."

Good: "Since you chose PostgreSQL for its ACID guarantees, we should use transactions here."