Agent skill

memory

Persistent knowledge storage using basic-memory CLI. Use to save notes, search memories semantically, and build context for topics across sessions.

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Install this agent skill to your Project

npx add-skill https://github.com/johnlindquist/claude/tree/main/skills/memory

SKILL.md

Memory - Persistent Knowledge Storage

Store and retrieve knowledge across sessions using semantic search.

Prerequisites

Install basic-memory:

bash
pip install basic-memory

CLI Reference

Write a Note

bash
# Basic note
basic-memory tool write-note --title "Note Title" --content "Note content in markdown"

# With tags
basic-memory tool write-note --title "React Patterns" --content "# Content here" --tags "react,patterns,frontend"

# To specific folder
basic-memory tool write-note --title "Meeting Notes" --content "# Notes" --folder "meetings"

# With specific project
basic-memory tool write-note --title "Project Notes" --content "# Notes" --project myproject

Read a Note

bash
# By identifier/permalink
basic-memory tool read-note "note-title"

# From specific project
basic-memory tool read-note "note-title" --project myproject

Search Memories

bash
# Semantic search (query is positional)
basic-memory tool search-notes "your search query"

# Limit results
basic-memory tool search-notes "react hooks" --page-size 10

# Search by permalink
basic-memory tool search-notes "pattern" --permalink

# Search by title
basic-memory tool search-notes "meeting" --title

# Filter by date
basic-memory tool search-notes "feature" --after_date "7d"

# With specific project
basic-memory tool search-notes "authentication" --project myproject

Build Context for a Topic

bash
# Get related notes for a URL/topic (URL is positional)
basic-memory tool build-context "memory://topic/authentication"

# With depth and timeframe
basic-memory tool build-context "memory://note/my-note" --depth 2 --timeframe 30d

# With specific project
basic-memory tool build-context "memory://topic/api" --project myproject

List Recent Activity

bash
# Default (depth 1, 7 days)
basic-memory tool recent-activity

# With depth
basic-memory tool recent-activity --depth 3

# With timeframe
basic-memory tool recent-activity --timeframe 30d

# Combined
basic-memory tool recent-activity --depth 3 --timeframe 14d

Continue Conversation

bash
# Get prompt to continue previous work
basic-memory tool continue-conversation "previous topic or context"

Sync Database

bash
basic-memory sync

Check Status

bash
basic-memory status

Note Format

Notes are stored as markdown with YAML frontmatter:

markdown
---
title: My Note
tags: [tag1, tag2]
created: 2024-01-15
---

# My Note

Content here in markdown format.

## Sections

More content...

Workflow Patterns

Save Learning

When you discover something useful:

bash
basic-memory tool write-note \
  --title "TypeScript Utility Types" \
  --content "# Utility Types\n\n- Partial<T> - Makes all properties optional\n- Required<T> - Makes all properties required\n- Pick<T, K> - Picks specific properties" \
  --tags "typescript,types,reference"

Save Decision

When making an architectural decision:

bash
basic-memory tool write-note \
  --title "Auth Strategy Decision" \
  --content "# Decision: Use JWT for API auth\n\n## Context\n...\n\n## Decision\n...\n\n## Consequences\n..." \
  --tags "architecture,auth,decision" \
  --folder "decisions"

Retrieve Context

Before starting related work:

bash
# Search for relevant notes
basic-memory tool search-notes "authentication jwt tokens"

# Or build comprehensive context
basic-memory tool build-context "memory://topic/api-authentication"

Review Recent Work

bash
basic-memory tool recent-activity --depth 5 --timeframe 7d

Use Cases

Personal Wiki

  • Store code snippets and patterns
  • Document project decisions
  • Keep reference material

Learning Log

  • Record things you learn
  • Tag by topic for later retrieval
  • Build knowledge over time

Project Context

  • Save project-specific knowledge
  • Retrieve relevant context at session start
  • Share knowledge across sessions

Best Practices

  1. Use meaningful titles - They become permalinks
  2. Add tags - Improves search and organization
  3. Use markdown - Full markdown support in content
  4. Organize with folders - Group related notes
  5. Search before writing - Check if knowledge already exists
  6. Keep notes focused - One topic per note
  7. Update, don't duplicate - Revise existing notes

Integration Pattern

Session Start

bash
# Get context for today's work
basic-memory tool build-context "memory://topic/feature-youre-building"

During Work

bash
# Save discoveries
basic-memory tool write-note --title "Discovery Title" --content "What I learned"

Session End

bash
# Sync to ensure persistence
basic-memory sync

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