| name | recall |
| description | Use when the user references prior work, asks "what did we decide about X", or starts a topic that may have been explored before — loads `.claude/memory/index.md`, picks the matching tier-2 topic file, and brings the relevant facts into the current turn. Performs a tier-aware retrieval (pointer → topic → optional transcript) instead of dumping everything. |
| when_to_use | Reach for this at the start of a session that continues prior work, when a user phrase matches a known memory topic, or when grounding a decision against past context. Do NOT use for writing or updating memories — use `/remember` instead. Do NOT use for auditing memory hygiene — use `/memory-index` instead. |
| disable-model-invocation | true |
| allowed-tools | ["Read","Glob","Grep","Bash"] |
| logical | matched topic content surfaced ranked by relevance × staleness × confidence, with conflicts resolved toward the higher-trust entry; source path and staleness label included |
/recall — Retrieve from Memory
Retrieval Process
Step 1: Read the index
Read .claude/memory/index.md to see all stored pointers. This is Tier 1 — always small.
Step 2: Load relevant topics
For each pointer that matches the current need, read the full topic file from .claude/memory/topics/<slug>.md. This is Tier 2 — loaded on demand.
Step 3: Search transcripts (rare)
If Tier 1 and Tier 2 don't have what you need, search session transcripts with grep:
grep -r "keyword" ~/.claude/projects/*/
This is Tier 3 — never load whole files, only grep for specific terms.
Retrieval Ranking and Staleness Protocol
Every topic file has a Last verified: date and an optional Confidence: field (high | medium | low; omitted ⇒ medium). When multiple topics match a query, order them by:
composite_trust = relevance × staleness_weight × confidence_weight
Where the weights derive from what the topic file already carries:
Age of Last verified: | staleness_weight |
|---|
| < 7 days | 1.0 |
| 7–30 days | 0.7 |
| > 30 days | 0.4 |
Confidence: value | confidence_weight |
|---|
high | 1.0 |
medium (or omitted) | 0.7 |
low | 0.4 |
This is a ranking convention for Claude to apply by reading the files, not a computed score. (§4.2, Table 1 — arXiv:2605.26112)
Conflict resolution: when two topic files address the same need, prefer the one with the higher composite_trust score and surface the other as superseded-but-recorded (e.g. "Older entry also found: — lower confidence/staleness weight, shown for completeness").
Display labels (human-facing presentation, unchanged):
- < 7 days old: Present as current knowledge
- 7-30 days old: Present as "Previously noted (may be outdated)"
- > 30 days old: Present as "Noted on — verify before acting on this"
Before recommending from memory:
- If the memory names a file path: check the file exists
- If the memory names a function or flag: grep for it
- If the user is about to act on your recommendation: verify first
"The memory says X exists" is not the same as "X exists now."
Output Format
When presenting recalled memories:
Previously noted (<date>):
- <memory content>
- <memory content>
⚠ Verify before acting — memory may be stale.