memory

Memory - Read & Access Operations

Unified read-side memory skill with subcommands for searching, loading, syncing, history, and visualization.

Cross-session read strategy (Opus 5.5 / CC 2.1.111+): Opus 5.5 reads filesystem memory reliably across sessions. When loading context at session start, prefer the layered read order:

1. ~/.claude/projects/<slug>/memory/MEMORY.md (durable index — load first, always)
2. .claude/chain/state.json + most recent NN-*.json handoff (session continuation)
3. MCP mcp__memory__search_nodes for anything the filesystem index doesn't answer (typed graph traversal)

Layer 1 is cheap (small index file), Layer 2 is scoped (session-specific), Layer 3 is selective (only when needed). Avoid dumping the full knowledge graph into context — use the index to narrow the search first.

Argument Resolution

SUBCOMMAND = "$ARGUMENTS[0]"  # First token: search, load, history, viz, status
QUERY = "$ARGUMENTS[1]"       # Second token onward: search query or flags
# $ARGUMENTS is the full string (CC 2.1.59 indexed access)

Usage

memory search <query>  # Search knowledge graph
memory load             # Load context at session start
memory history          # View decision timeline
memory viz              # Visualize knowledge graph
memory status           # Show memory system health

CRITICAL: Use AskUserQuestion When No Subcommand

If invoked without a subcommand, ask the user what they want:

AskUserQuestion(
  questions=[{
    "question": "What memory operation do you need?",
    "header": "Operation",
    "options": [
      {"label": "search", "description": "Search decisions and patterns in knowledge graph"},
      {"label": "load", "description": "Load relevant context for this session"},
      {"label": "history", "description": "Decision timeline + knowledge-graph viz (--mermaid)"},
      {"label": "status", "description": "Check memory system health"}
    ],
    "multiSelect": false
  }]
)