nima-core

name	nima-core
description	Biologically-inspired cognitive memory for AI agents. Panksepp affects, Free Energy consolidation, VSA binding, sparse retrieval, temporal prediction, metacognition. Website - https://nima-core.ai
version	1.1.3
metadata	{"openclaw":{"emoji":"🧠","requires":{"bins":["python3"]}}}

NIMA Core

Plug-and-play cognitive memory architecture for AI agents.

Website: https://nima-core.ai
GitHub: https://github.com/lilubot/nima-core

Install

pip install nima-core

# Auto-setup (detects OpenClaw, installs hooks, configures everything)
nima-core
openclaw gateway restart

Manual Hook Install

openclaw hooks install /path/to/nima-core
openclaw hooks enable nima-bootstrap
openclaw hooks enable nima-recall
openclaw gateway restart

Quick Start

from nima_core import NimaCore

nima = NimaCore(
    name="MyBot",
    important_people={"Alice": 1.5, "Bob": 1.3},  # These people's memories get priority
)
nima.experience("Alice asked about the project", who="Alice", importance=0.7)
results = nima.recall("project")

Smart Consolidation

Configure which people, emotions, and topics matter most:

from nima_core.services.heartbeat import NimaHeartbeat, SmartConsolidation

smart = SmartConsolidation(
    important_people={"Alice": 1.5, "Bob": 1.3},  # Weight multipliers
    emotion_words={"love", "excited", "proud", "worried"},  # Force-consolidate
    importance_markers={"family", "milestone", "decision"},  # Force-consolidate
    noise_patterns=["system exec", "heartbeat_ok"],  # Skip these
)

heartbeat = NimaHeartbeat(nima, message_source=my_source, smart_consolidation=smart)
heartbeat.start_background()

Memories from important people get boosted. Emotional content is always kept. Noise is filtered out.

Cognitive Stack

All V2 components are enabled by default (v1.1.0+). No configuration needed.

To disable: export NIMA_V2_ALL=false

API

• nima.experience(content, who, importance) — Process through affect → binding → FE pipeline
• nima.recall(query, top_k) — Semantic memory search
• nima.capture(who, what, importance) — Explicit memory capture (bypasses FE gate)
• nima.synthesize(insight, domain, sparked_by, importance) — Lightweight insight capture (280 char max)
• nima.dream(hours) — Run consolidation (schema extraction)
• nima.status() — System status
• nima.introspect() — Metacognitive self-reflection

Architecture

METACOGNITIVE  — Self-model, 4-chunk WM, strange loops
SEMANTIC       — Hyperbolic embeddings, concept hierarchies
EPISODIC       — VSA + Holographic storage, sparse retrieval
CONSOLIDATION  — Free Energy decisions, schema extraction
BINDING        — VSA circular convolution, role-filler composition
AFFECTIVE CORE — Panksepp's 7 affects (SEEKING, RAGE, FEAR, LUST, CARE, PANIC, PLAY)

Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
NIMA_DATA_DIR	./nima_data	Memory storage path
NIMA_MODELS_DIR	./models	Model files path
NIMA_V2_ALL	true	Full cognitive stack (affects, binding, FE, etc.)
NIMA_SPARSE_RETRIEVAL	true	Two-stage sparse index
NIMA_PROJECTION	true	384D → 50KD projection

References

• README.md — Full documentation with all settings
• nima_core/config/nima_config.py — All feature flags
• .env.example — Environment variable template