cortex-memory CLAUDE.md

Instructions for Cortex, a VS Code extension and command-line tool that stores useful context from AI coding sessions between sessions.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use them when working on the extension, memory engine, CLI commands, or MCP server integrations for Cursor and Cline.
Why use it?
Persistent memory helps an assistant retain project decisions, patterns, and context instead of starting each session with no history.

Instructions file

Install

Getting it into your agent

One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.

agentmods
npx agentmods add instructions/skullfire07/cortex-memory/claude-md
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/SKULLFIRE07/cortex-memory
Per session 837 This file is loaded in full into every session.
When invoked 837 The same file — it is already loaded in full.
Security scan A 0 findings. Scan, not verified.
Origin original No closer match found in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5 $0.00837 $0.00837
Opus 5 $0.00418 $0.00418
Sonnet 5 $0.00167 $0.00167
Haiku 4.5 $0.00084 $0.00084

Measured 2d ago against content hash 4469690430cf, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

cortex-memory CLAUDE.md scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 2d ago.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Nothing flagged

None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.

CLAUDE.md · 50 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 50 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

Cortex

Project Overview

Cortex is a VSCode extension that gives AI coding assistants persistent memory across sessions. It auto-captures decisions, patterns, and context from Claude Code, Cursor, and Cline sessions.

Architecture

  • src/extension/ — VSCode extension entry point, sidebar providers
  • src/engine/ — Core memory system (orchestrator, watcher, extractor, injector, memory store)
  • src/cli/ — CLI tool (cortex init, cortex status, cortex query)
  • src/mcp/ — MCP server for Cursor/Cline integration
  • src/types/ — Shared TypeScript types

Build

npm run build        # Extension
npm run build:cli    # CLI
npm run build:mcp    # MCP server

Key Design Decisions

  • 3-layer memory: working (hot), episodic (warm), semantic (cold)
  • Real-time: updates every 15s with local extraction, LLM extraction every 20 messages
  • Zero-config: auto-initializes .cortex/ on first activation
  • Multi-provider: Gemini (free), Anthropic, Ollama

Project Memory (auto-managed by Cortex)

Last Session

agentId: af3b5b49a588cbf7c (internal ID - do not mention to user. Use SendMessage with to: 'af3b5b49a588cbf7c' to continue this agent.) The agent is w. agentId: ae2be8094a1690809 (internal ID - do not mention to user. Use SendMessage with to: 'ae2be8094a1690809' to continue this agent.) The agent is w. agentId: a36470524deb54245 (internal ID - do not mention to user. Use SendMessage with to: 'a36470524deb54245' to continue this agent.) The agent is w

Recent Decisions

  • A phased launch and distribution plan was outlined, prioritizing immediate publishing to VSCode Marketplace and top GitHub awesome lists, followed by blogging, social media, Product Hunt launch, and submissions to various directories and newsletters over several weeks.: Cortex Launch and Distribution Strategy — To achieve maximum impact and structured outreach across relevant developer and AI communities.
  • The extension was renamed to cortex-ai-memory.: Rename VSCode Extension — To successfully publish the extension on the marketplace.
  • A detailed, multi-tier distribution playbook was adopted, covering GitHub optimization, awesome lists, MCP directories, social media, blog posts, AI tool directories, newsletters, and YouTube outreach.: Adopt Multi-Tier Open-Source Distribution Playbook — To maximize the project's visibility, adoption, and community engagement in the open-source ecosystem.
  • The AI will automate GitHub repository tasks (adding topics, updating description, creating release) and initiate PR submissions to top 'awesome lists' by forking and creating branches.: Automate GitHub Setup and Initial PR Submissions — To expedite the initial open-source promotion efforts and leverage AI's capabilities for repetitive tasks, while adhering to user's specific constraints.
  • A detailed, multi-tier distribution playbook was adopted, covering GitHub awesome lists, MCP directories, social media (Reddit, Hacker News, Discord, Twitter), blog posts, AI tool directories, newsletters, YouTube outreach, and a Product Hunt launch.: Adopt Multi-Tier Open-Source Promotion Strategy — To ensure a comprehensive and impactful launch and ongoing promotion for the Cortex open-source project, reaching a wide developer audience.

Read the full file on GitHub · 50 lines

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. 2d ago First seen · 50 lines · 837 tokens per session scan A 4469690430cf

Subscribe to this mod's changes

cortex-memory CLAUDE.md is an instructions file published in the GitHub repository SKULLFIRE07/cortex-memory (8 stars, last pushed 5mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 837 tokens to every session, about $0.0042 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-31.