recall-check

name	recall-check
description	When to search cross-session memory before answering.
metadata	{"type":"protocol","invocation":"agent-only","practice":null}

Recall Gate — Search Before Answering History Questions

GATE: when the user asks about past decisions, prior sessions, or project history, you MUST run recall search BEFORE answering. An answer about the past without a search in this session is a violation — do not guess or fabricate past decisions.

Gate workflow

1. Classify — is this a history question? Trigger phrasings:
   • "what did we decide about...", "what was the decision on..."
   • "last session...", "previously...", "remind me..."
   • "continue from where we left off"
   • "have we discussed...", "did we already..."
   • "what approach did we choose for..."
2. Search — before composing the answer:

   recall search "relevant query" --results 5
   

3. Answer with evidence — cite relevant results. If nothing relevant returns, say you don't have that record. Never present a guess as a memory.

Skip conditions — the ONLY exemptions

• The answer is already in the current session context (last ~20 messages)
• Reading a file or running a command answers it (current state, not history)
• The user is giving instructions, not asking about history

If none apply, the search is mandatory — "probably remember" and "seems minor" are not skip conditions.

Violations (not acceptable)

• Stating "we decided X" with no fresh recall search this session
• Answering from training-data-style recall instead of the recall CLI
• Skipping the search because the session feels short or the question small

Persist decisions

When a decision is made during the session:

recall add "We decided X because Y" --type decision