strata-forget

name	strata:forget
disable-model-invocation	true
description	Move a vault file to .trash/ + JSONL audit-log entry (who/when/why/SHA256). Recoverable, not destructive. Use when the user asks to "forget", "delete", "remove", "retract", "erase", "GDPR delete", "redact" a memory file, or when PHI/secrets accidentally landed in a note. Mandatory --reason argument captured in audit log. NEVER auto-invoke, always require explicit user request; the audit trail must reflect the user's intent.

strata:forget

Moving > deleting. Files go to <vault>/<repo>/.trash/ with a timestamped Filename and a JSONL audit-log entry. The vault search stops returning them; they're still on disk if you need them back.

When to use

• A note holds PHI/secrets that can't safely be scrubbed in place.
• GDPR / right-to-erasure request from a data subject.
• A domain note was wrong and you don't want it showing up in search.
• Cleanup after a hasty /strata:save.

How

Two-step with --dry-run for safety.

# 1. Preview
"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/strata" forget \
  --path decisions/2026-05-20-mistake.md \
  --reason "Erasure request — ticket #1234" \
  --dry-run

# 2. Apply
"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/strata" forget \
  --path decisions/2026-05-20-mistake.md \
  --reason "Erasure request — ticket #1234"

--reason is required and is recorded in the audit log. Be specific — "cleanup" is fine for trivial cases, but for regulatory erasure include the Ticket / request reference.

Audit log

Each forget writes a line to <vault>/<repo>/.audit.log:

{"ts":"2026-05-21T13:42:11Z","action":"forget","src":"decisions/...","dest":".trash/2026-05-21-1342--decisions__...","size":1842,"sha256":"abc…","by":"<git user.name>","reason":"<your reason>"}

Fields: ISO-8601 timestamp, action, source path, trash path, byte size, sHA-256 of the file contents at forget time, author, reason.

The log is append-only (no script deletes from it). If you sync the Vault via git, commit the log to give the deletion a blameable history.

Recovery

Just move the file back:

mv ~/StrataVault/myrepo/.trash/2026-05-21-1342--decisions__... \
   ~/StrataVault/myrepo/decisions/2026-05-20-mistake.md

(The flattened filename in trash uses __ for / so it's recoverable Unambiguously.)

What it doesn't do

• Doesn't redact other notes that wikilink to the forgotten one — those become unresolved links, which /strata:review will surface.
• Doesn't propagate the deletion to other team members' vaults — sync mechanism handles that.
• Doesn't shred the file. If your threat model requires actual deletion (not "moved to trash"), follow up with rm and a git filter-branch if applicable.