format

allowed-tools	["Read","Write","Glob","Bash","Grep"]
description	MIF Level 3 specification, memory templates, and formatting guidelines
name	format
user-invocable	true

Memory

Search first: /mnemonic:search {relevant_keywords} Capture after: /mnemonic:capture {namespace} "{title}"

Run /mnemonic:list --namespaces to see available namespaces from loaded ontologies.

Mnemonic Format Skill

MIF Level 3 specification, templates, and formatting guidelines.

Trigger Phrases

• "memory format", "MIF format", "frontmatter template", "memory template", "mnemonic schema"

---

Quick Start: Minimal Memory

Only 4 fields are required. Everything else is optional.

---
id: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
title: "Human-readable title"
type: semantic
created: 2026-01-23T10:30:00Z
---

# Title

Content here.

That's it. Add optional fields only when you need them.

---

File Naming

{slug}.memory.md

• slug: URL-safe title, lowercase, max 50 chars
• UUID is stored only in the frontmatter id: field
• If a file with the same slug already exists, content is merged

---

Full Optional Fields Reference

---
# REQUIRED (always include these 4)
id: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
title: "Human-readable title"
type: semantic
created: 2026-01-23T10:30:00Z

# COMMON
modified: 2026-01-23T14:22:00Z
namespace: _semantic/decisions/project
tags:
  - architecture
  - database

# BI-TEMPORAL TRACKING
temporal:
  valid_from: 2026-01-23T00:00:00Z
  valid_until: null
  recorded_at: 2026-01-23T10:30:00Z
  ttl: P90D
  decay:
    model: exponential
    half_life: P7D
    strength: 0.85
  access_count: 5
  last_accessed: 2026-01-23T14:22:00Z

# PROVENANCE
provenance:
  source_type: conversation       # user_explicit | inferred | conversation
  source_ref: file:///path/to/source.ts:42
  agent: claude-opus-4
  confidence: 0.95
  session_id: abc123

# CODE REFERENCES
code_refs:
  - file: src/auth/handler.ts
    line: 42
    symbol: authenticateUser
    type: function                # function | class | method | variable | type

# CITATIONS
citations:
  - type: documentation           # paper | documentation | blog | github | stackoverflow | article
    title: "Source Title"
    url: https://example.com/source
    author: "Author Name"
    date: 2026-01-23
    accessed: 2026-01-23T10:30:00Z
    relevance: 0.90
    note: "Brief description"

# COMPRESSION (auto-generated by gc --compress)
summary: "Concise 2-3 sentence summary (max 500 chars)"
compressed_at: 2026-01-24T10:00:00Z
---

# Memory Title

Content in markdown format.

## Relationships

- relates-to [[other-memory-id]]
- supersedes [[old-memory-id]]
- derived-from [[source-memory-id]]

---

Cognitive Memory Types

Type	Use For	Namespace Pattern
semantic	Facts, specs, configs, definitions	_semantic/{subtype}/project
episodic	Debug sessions, incidents, discoveries	_episodic/{subtype}/project
procedural	Runbooks, how-to guides, workflows	_procedural/{subtype}/project

---

Relationship Syntax

Add a ## Relationships section at the end of any memory body using - {type} [[{memory-id}]] syntax.

Type	Meaning
relates-to	General association
supersedes	Replaces older memory
derived-from	Built upon another memory
contradicts	Conflicts with another memory
implements	Realizes a design/decision

---

Quick Templates

Generate REAL values for ids and timestamps. Run uuidgen | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' and date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ" before creating any memory. NEVER leave placeholders.

See Quick Start above for the minimal template. Below are additional templates for common memory types.

Decision Memory

---
id: <generate with: uuidgen | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]'>
type: semantic
namespace: _semantic/decisions/project
created: <generate with: date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ">
title: "Decision: {what}"
tags: [architecture]
provenance:
  confidence: 0.95
---

# Decision: {What}

## Quick Answer
{What} was chosen for {primary reason}.

## Context
- **Alternatives:** {Option A}, {Option B}
- **Key drivers:** {Driver 1}, {Driver 2}
- **Trade-offs:** {What was sacrificed}