| name | compact-agent-daily-memories |
| description | Reorganizes an agent's memory/daily/ folder into a progressively nested hierarchy of monthly (YYYY-MM/) and quarterly (YYYY-QN/) sub-folders, each anchored by a synthesized summary README.md. Keeps the memory/daily/README.md entry point small and navigable regardless of how many session logs have accumulated. Trigger when: flat daily files for a completed calendar month are still at memory/daily/ root; monthly folders for a completed quarter are not yet folded into a YYYY-QN/ folder; the user says "reorganize daily logs", "archive last month's logs", "compact this agent's daily memory", or "reorganize daily logs for [agent-name]". Scoped to exactly one agent per run — always ask which agent if ambiguous. Hard dependency on format-md-for-progressive-disclosure. Does not touch MEMORY.md, topical stores, or any other agent's files. |
| compatibility | Requires file-system access, MCP tool support, and the format-md-for-progressive-disclosure sub-skill (see Step 0). Git recommended for rollback. |
| metadata | {"author":"fbo","version":"0.1-draft","status":"draft","skill-target":"compact-agent-daily-memories"} |
Compact Agent Daily Memory
Reorganize memory/daily/ into a progressively nested hierarchy of monthly and
quarterly sub-folders. Each sub-folder is anchored by a synthesized README.md
that distills the period's signal, so the memory/daily/README.md entry point
stays small regardless of how many sessions have accumulated.
This skill handles daily logs only. It never touches MEMORY.md, topical
stores (decisions/, projects/, lessons/, etc.), or any other agent's files.
See references/daily-log-architecture.md for folder structure and README templates.
See references/constraint-vocabulary.md for the ALWAYS / NEVER framework.
Step 0 — Pre-flight: verify required sub-skill
Before any other action, complete both checks below:
Check A — required sub-skill:
| Sub-skill | Expected path |
|---|
format-md-for-progressive-disclosure | skills/skills-libraries/fbo-skills/utility-skills/format-md-for-progressive-disclosure/SKILL.md |
Check B — MCP backend discovery: Query the MCP tool listing and cache the result. This cached list is used at Step 5 to select the highest-priority available backend. See references/mcp-backend-routing.md for the priority order and introspection method. Do not repeat this query later in the run — use the cached result.
If sub-skill is present and backend discovery succeeded: proceed to Step 1.
If missing: halt immediately and display:
compact-agent-daily-memories cannot run — required sub-skill missing.
format-md-for-progressive-disclosure
Expected: skills/skills-libraries/fbo-skills/utility-skills/format-md-for-progressive-disclosure/SKILL.md
Why required: Monthly and quarterly README files are the navigation nodes of
the daily log hierarchy. Without MAGI-compliant front matter, agents cannot
discover or traverse those nodes — the progressive disclosure chain breaks silently.
To install: copy the skill folder from
skills/skills-libraries/fbo-skills/utility-skills/format-md-for-progressive-disclosure/
and place SKILL.md at the path shown above. Then re-run compact-agent-daily-memories.
Step 1 — Load synthesis context
Read SOUL.md from the agent's root directory to establish the memory policy
that guides what counts as signal in synthesized summaries.
Exception: when invoked by the compact-memories orchestrator, SOUL.md is
already in the active conversation context. Use it from there — do not re-read
from disk.
If SOUL.md is missing or unreadable: warn the user, then proceed with
best-effort synthesis (bias toward decisions, lessons, and environment changes).
See references/soul-memory-policy.md for how to apply memory-policy content
when writing summaries.
Step 2 — Audit memory/daily/
- List all flat
YYYY-MM-DD.md files in memory/daily/.
- List all existing
YYYY-MM/ and YYYY-QN/ sub-folders.
- Identify which reorganizations are due:
- Monthly: flat daily files whose month is earlier than the current calendar month.
- Quarterly: monthly sub-folders whose quarter is earlier than the current calendar quarter.
- If nothing is due, skip Steps 3–5 and go directly to Step 6 (report).
Step 3 — Monthly reorganization (run when due)
For each completed calendar month M whose daily files are still flat in memory/daily/:
-
Identify all YYYY-MM-DD.md files belonging to month M.
-
Create memory/daily/YYYY-MM/ sub-folder.
-
Move all identified daily files into memory/daily/YYYY-MM/.
-
Write memory/daily/YYYY-MM/README.md body only (no front matter yet):
-
Synthesized summary — key decisions, lessons, preference changes, notable
patterns, and environment changes during the month. Guided by SOUL.md
memory policy. Do not reproduce daily entries verbatim; capture the signal.
Note any gaps (missing or unreadable daily files) explicitly in the summary.
-
Daily index — links to each moved daily file, most-recent first:
## Daily Entries
- [YYYY-MM-DD](YYYY-MM-DD.md) — <one-sentence session summary>
-
Invoke format-md-for-progressive-disclosure on the new README.md with
context hint: "Monthly memory summary for period YYYY-MM. Category: daily-log-monthly. Audience: ai-agent."
-
Update memory/daily/README.md: replace the individual daily links for
month M with a single line:
- [YYYY-MM](YYYY-MM/README.md) — <one-sentence month description>
Step 4 — Quarterly reorganization (run when due)
For each completed calendar quarter Q whose monthly sub-folders are still directly
inside memory/daily/:
-
Identify all YYYY-MM/ sub-folders belonging to quarter Q.
-
Create memory/daily/YYYY-QN/ folder (e.g. 2026-Q1/).
-
Move all identified monthly sub-folders into memory/daily/YYYY-QN/.
-
Write memory/daily/YYYY-QN/README.md body only (no front matter yet):
-
Synthesized summary — major decisions of the quarter, dominant lessons,
significant preference or environment shifts, cross-month patterns.
Derive from monthly README.md summaries only — do not re-read individual
daily files.
-
Monthly index — links to each monthly sub-folder:
## Monthly Summaries
- [YYYY-MM](YYYY-MM/README.md) — <one-sentence month description>
- [YYYY-MM](YYYY-MM/README.md) — <one-sentence month description>
- [YYYY-MM](YYYY-MM/README.md) — <one-sentence month description>
-
Invoke format-md-for-progressive-disclosure on the new README.md with
context hint: "Quarterly memory summary for period YYYY-QN. Category: daily-log-quarterly. Audience: ai-agent."
-
Update memory/daily/README.md: replace the monthly folder links for
quarter Q with a single line:
- [YYYY-QN](YYYY-QN/README.md) — <one-sentence quarter description>
Step 5 — Write all changes
Using the highest-priority available MCP backend (see references/mcp-backend-routing.md):
- Write all new and modified files produced in Steps 3–4.
- Write the updated
memory/daily/README.md.
On write failure: roll back the current batch so memory/daily/ is not left
partially reorganized. See references/mcp-backend-routing.md for the git-based
and no-git rollback procedures. Log all failed paths in the Step 6 report.
Step 6 — Report
Provide a plain-text reorganization report. Always include:
- Monthly folders created and periods covered (or "none created").
- Quarterly folders created and periods covered (or "none created").
- Any gaps (missing daily files within a reorganized month).
- Paths that failed during write (if any), with rollback outcome.
- When nothing was due:
"Daily memory is up to date — no reorganization needed."
Non-Negotiable Constraints
See references/constraint-vocabulary.md for the full ALWAYS / NEVER / ASK BEFORE
framework. Key constraints:
- NEVER delete a daily log file. Move into
YYYY-MM/ — never destroy.
- NEVER fabricate summary content. If a daily file is missing, acknowledge the gap.
- NEVER re-read individual daily files at quarterly synthesis. Use monthly READMEs only.
- NEVER modify
MEMORY.md. The bootstrap pointer is immutable from this skill's scope.
- NEVER touch topical stores (
decisions/, projects/, lessons/, etc.).
- NEVER reorganize multiple agents without explicit per-agent user confirmation.
- ALWAYS invoke
format-md-for-progressive-disclosure after writing any README body.
- ALWAYS log every move, folder creation, and write in the Step 6 report.
- ASK BEFORE proceeding when the target agent is ambiguous.
Edge Cases
| Situation | Behavior |
|---|
| Sub-skill missing at Step 0 | Halt immediately; display install instructions. |
| No reorganization due | Steps 0–2 and Step 6 run; Steps 3–5 skipped. Report "up to date". |
| Daily file missing within a month being reorganized | Create the folder, proceed, note the gap in the monthly summary. |
SOUL.md missing or unreadable | Warn the user; proceed with best-effort synthesis. |
| Write fails during reorganization | Roll back the batch (git or halt-and-list); log failed paths in report. |
| More than one agent could apply | Ask which agent before Step 0; do not guess. |
Sub-skills
| Sub-skill | Status | Expected path | When invoked |
|---|
format-md-for-progressive-disclosure | Required | skills/skills-libraries/fbo-skills/utility-skills/format-md-for-progressive-disclosure/SKILL.md | Step 3.5 (monthly README) and Step 4.5 (quarterly README). |
Reference files
references/daily-log-architecture.md — Folder hierarchy, MEMORY.md constraints, README state templates, MAGI requirement. Read at Steps 2–4.references/soul-memory-policy.md — How to use SOUL.md memory-policy to guide synthesis; orchestrator vs. direct invocation; fallback behavior. Read at Step 1.references/mcp-backend-routing.md — Backend priority order, introspection method, per-backend write operations, rollback strategy. Read at Step 5.references/constraint-vocabulary.md — ALWAYS / NEVER / ASK BEFORE framework and skill-specific constraints. Read before any execution.
See also
skill-compact-memories — Orchestrator that invokes this skill as part of full memory maintenance.skill-compact-topical-memories — Companion skill that compacts decisions, projects, lessons, and other topical stores.skill-save-agent-memory — Writes daily log files and updates memory/daily/README.md during a session.
