Bootstrap Cortex for a new project or import existing session history. Use when the user says 'set up Cortex', 'seed this project', 'import my history', 'backfill memories', 'bootstrap memory', 'initialize Cortex for this project', or when starting to use Cortex on an existing codebase that already has Claude Code conversation history.
Author first-class wiki pages (ADRs, specs, file docs, notes) that live alongside Cortex memory. Use when the user says 'this is an ADR', 'document this decision', 'write an ADR', 'add a spec', 'spec this out', 'document this file', 'add a note about', 'link these pages', 'bookmark this as a spec', or when finalizing a design decision that should persist as a human-readable document.
Import memories from other AI memory systems into Cortex. Supports claude-mem (SQLite), Claude Desktop sessions, ChatGPT web export (JSON), Gemini Takeout (JSON), Cursor conversations, and Claude Code JSONL. Use when the user says 'import from claude-mem', 'migrate memories', 'import ChatGPT history', 'import from Gemini', 'transfer memories', or when Cortex detects another memory system is installed.
Search and retrieve global memories — knowledge that applies across all projects. Use when the user asks 'what are our coding standards', 'what conventions do we follow', 'what's our infrastructure setup', 'do we have a rule about', 'what applies to all projects', 'shared knowledge', 'global rules', or when you need cross-project context like architecture decisions, server configs, or team policies.
Store a global memory that is visible across all projects. Use when the user shares architecture rules, coding conventions, infrastructure facts, security policies, team agreements, or any knowledge that applies beyond a single project. Triggers on 'remember this everywhere', 'this applies to all projects', 'global rule', 'shared convention', 'infrastructure note', 'cross-project', or when the content is clearly universal (clean architecture, SOLID, deployment configs, server addresses).
Debug and fix memory system issues — validate memories, rate quality, manage protection, forget bad memories, and restore from checkpoints. Use when the user says 'fix memory', 'bad memory', 'wrong memory', 'delete this', 'protect this', 'this memory is wrong', 'memory quality', 'rate this memory', 'restore checkpoint', 'undo', or when memories are returning incorrect or stale results.
Set up automation — prospective memory triggers, neuro-symbolic rules, and CLAUDE.md sync. Use when the user says 'remind me when', 'trigger when', 'create a rule', 'auto-remember', 'sync to CLAUDE.md', 'push insights', 'set up trigger', 'when I open this file', 'when this keyword appears', or when you want to automate memory behavior based on conditions.
Run memory maintenance — decay old memories, compress stale content, consolidate episodic memories into semantic knowledge, and run sleep-like replay. Use when the user says 'clean up memories', 'consolidate', 'run maintenance', 'compress old memories', 'memory cleanup', or periodically to keep the memory system healthy. Also use after importing many memories or at the end of a long session.