memory-documentary

name	memory-documentary
version	1.0.0
description	Generate evidence-based documentary reports by searching across all 4 memory systems (Claude-Mem, Forgetful, Serena, DeepWiki), .agents/ artifacts, and GitHub issues. Produces investigative journalism-style analysis with full citation chains. Use when you ask for an "evidence-based report", "investigate across all memory systems", "what happened with X over time". Do NOT use for a single semantic recall (use memory) or for citation hygiene (use memory-enhancement).
license	MIT
metadata	{"timelessness":"8/10","category":"analysis"}

Memory Documentary Skill

Generate comprehensive documentary-style reports from your memory systems with full evidence chains.

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Quick Start

/memory-documentary [topic]

Example topics:

• "recurring frustrations"
• "coding patterns not codified"
• "evolution of thinking on testing"
• "decisions I second-guessed"
• "what I complain about most"

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Triggers

Use this skill when:

• Search my memories for patterns about...
• What does my history say about...
• Generate a documentary on my topic
• Cross-reference all systems for...
• Evidence-based analysis across memory systems

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When to Use

Use this skill when:

• You need cross-system evidence for a pattern or recurring theme
• Investigating historical decisions and their evolution over time
• Building a cited, verifiable narrative from memory data

Use memory skill instead when:

• You need a simple search for a known fact or pattern
• The query targets a single memory tier, not cross-system synthesis

Quick Reference

Phase	Action	Output
1	Topic Comprehension	Search variants, scope boundaries
2	Investigation Planning	Explicit queries per system
3	Data Collection	Evidence with IDs, timestamps
4	Report Generation	Documentary with citations
5	Memory Updates	Store meta-pattern discovered

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Process

The skill searches ALL available data sources systematically:

Memory Systems (4 MCP servers):

• Claude-Mem: Timeline observations via 3-layer workflow
• Forgetful: Semantic memory with linked entities
• Serena: Project-specific lexical memory
• DeepWiki: Documentation resources

Project Artifacts:

• .agents/retrospective/ - Learning extractions
• .agents/sessions/ - Session logs
• .agents/analysis/ - Research reports
• .agents/architecture/ - ADRs
• .agents/planning/ - Plans and PRDs

GitHub Issues:

• Open and closed issues
• Comments and related PRs

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Commands

# Standard invocation
/memory-documentary "recurring frustrations"

# With explicit time range
/memory-documentary "testing patterns" --since 2025-12-01

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Report Structure

Executive Summary

• Key finding in one sentence
• Timeline span (earliest to most recent)
• Evidence count (memories + observations + issues + files)
• Major pattern categories

Evidence Trail

Full citation for each finding:

• Memory ID/Observation ID with retrieval command
• Source system (Forgetful/Claude-Mem/Serena)
• Timestamp/Creation date
• Direct quote from source
• Links to related evidence

Pattern Evolution

Timeline showing how thinking changed:

YYYY-MM-DD: [Observation #ID] - Initial state
YYYY-MM-DD: [Memory #ID] - First iteration
YYYY-MM-DD: [Issue #NNN] - Technical response

Unexpected Patterns

Cross-system synthesis revealing:

• Frequency patterns (time clustering)
• Correlation patterns (X happens before Y)
• Avoidance patterns (conspicuous absence)
• Contradiction patterns (saying vs doing)
• Evolution patterns (recursive loops)
• Emotional patterns (frustration markers)

Synthesis

• What all systems agree on
• What's recent (Claude-Mem) vs crystallized (Forgetful)
• Actionable recommendations

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Evidence Standards

Standard	Requirement
Citation	Every claim has ID, timestamp, quote
Quotes	Direct quotes, not paraphrases
Verification	Retrieval commands for all evidence
Cross-links	Related evidence connected

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Anti-Patterns

Avoid	Why	Instead
Partial searches	Miss critical evidence	Search ALL systems
Paraphrasing	Loses verifiability	Direct quotes only
Single query	Miss variations	3+ query variants per system
Skipping systems	Incomplete picture	Check all 4 MCP servers

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Verification

After execution:

• Report saved to .agents/analysis/[topic]-documentary-[date].md
• Every claim has a citation with source system, ID, and direct quote
• All 4 MCP servers were queried (or documented as unavailable)
• Meta-pattern stored in memory (Phase 5)

Output Location

Reports saved to: .agents/analysis/[topic]-documentary-[date].md

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Related Skills

Skill	Relationship
memory	Operations (search, update)
exploring-knowledge-graph	Forgetful traversal
retrospective	Learning extraction
skillbook	Pattern → skill conversion

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On Invocation

Read: references/execution-protocol.md

This contains the full 5-phase execution protocol with detailed instructions for each data source.