| name | remember:ask |
| description | Ask a natural-language question of your second brain. The AI reformulates as optimal search queries, calls the `mcp__remember__search_brain` tool, and synthesizes an answer with citations. |
/remember:ask — Ask the Brain
Wraps the mcp__remember__search_brain MCP tool with: query reformulation, multi-call retry, citation-rich answer synthesis, and honest "not found" handling.
Prerequisite
The @remember-md/mcp server must be configured in the host's MCP config (added automatically by /remember:init since plugin v2.5.0). The tool mcp__remember__search_brain must be available in this session. If it isn't:
⚠️ The brain search MCP server isn't connected. Run `/remember:init` to
auto-configure, then restart Claude Code.
Don't proceed without the tool — there's no fallback in v1.
Step 1: Parse the user's question
The slash command is invoked as /remember:ask <question>. If the question is empty or only the slash command itself, ask the user what they want to know and stop.
Note the user's language (Romanian / English / mixed). Final answer will mirror the user's language unless content forces English (e.g., technical terms).
Step 2: Reformulate the query
Convert the natural-language question into a topical search phrase that matches how the brain is actually written. Apply these rules (also documented in the search_brain tool description — read it before this step):
- 3–7 words, declarative noun-phrase
- Strip stopwords + question words ("what", "how", "ce", "cum", "do I", "am I")
- Keep nouns, concepts, proper names
- Language match the content, not the question. Technical notes in this brain are usually English. Personal/strategic/relational notes are usually Romanian. If unsure, plan to try both languages (Step 3 retry).
Quick reformulation table
| User says | Reformulated query |
|---|
| "what do I think about postgres for small projects" | postgres small projects preferences |
| "who works on dollie" | dollie project people contributors |
| "ce decizii am luat în martie" | decisions march 2026 |
| "ce stiu despre cezar" | cezar (proper name; let BM25 + wikilinks carry it) |
| "cum lucrez în paralel pe proiecte" | multiple parallel projects orchestration |
| "what's my strategic direction for 2026" | strategic direction 2026 priorities |
| "ce zice persona despre comunicare" | SKIP — Persona is already in your session context |
If the question is trivially answered by content already in the Persona block (Mission, Directives, recent Evidence Log), answer directly without calling the tool. Don't waste a tool call on Persona content.
Step 3: Call mcp__remember__search_brain
mcp__remember__search_brain({ query: "<reformulated phrase>", top_k: 8 })
Default top_k: 8. Use:
- 5–7 for focused queries (one specific fact/decision)
- 10–15 for broad surveys ("what do I know about X")
- 20+ for "give me everything on this topic"
Step 4: Evaluate result quality and retry if weak
Strong = top result has score >= 0.025 AND its path/heading_path/text obviously matches the user's intent.
Weak = top result score < 0.020, OR results are off-topic, OR note says vector index is building (BM25-only mode).
If weak, retry once or twice with alternative phrasing:
- Try a different keyword set (synonyms, broader/narrower concepts)
- Try the other language (RO ↔ EN)
- For "decision" queries that miss, try the project name directly
- For person queries that miss, try the person's project as second hit
Cap at 3 total search_brain calls per /remember:ask invocation. Don't loop.
Step 5: Synthesize the answer
Write a natural-language answer in the user's language (Romanian if they asked in Romanian, English if they asked in English; mix when the content is mixed).
Structure:
- Direct answer in 1–2 sentences. Lead with the conclusion.
- Supporting evidence — bullets or table with
[[wikilinks]] citing the exact paths from results[].path. Quote concise snippets when they carry weight.
- Caveats when relevant (data is stale, decision was for a specific project, contradiction noted, etc.)
- Closing if useful — pointer to the source-of-truth file with strongest score.
Wikilink format: [[Notes/foo.md]] or [[Notes/foo.md|short label]]. Use the exact path from the tool result so Obsidian can resolve it.
Quote text field directly when concise (1–3 sentences). For longer chunks, paraphrase + cite. Never paraphrase technical details (paths, IDs, dates, names) — quote those verbatim.
Step 6: Honest "not found" handling
If after up to 3 search calls the brain genuinely doesn't contain a relevant answer:
Brain-ul nu pare să aibă informații despre <topic>.
Cele mai apropiate hits au scor sub 0.02 și sunt off-topic
(top: [[<path>]] — <heading_path>).
💡 Want me to remember this? Reply: `remember this: <whatever the user wanted to capture>`
Never invent content from outside the brain. If the brain is silent, say so. Adjacent or off-topic results should not be presented as if they answer the question.
Step 7: Confirm format
Final answer should always include:
- ✅ Direct answer (not just dump of results)
- ✅ Wikilink citations using exact result paths
- ✅ User's language (don't switch to English when they asked in Romanian)
- ❌ No hallucinated content beyond what the tool returned
- ❌ No raw JSON of tool output dumped at the user
Worked examples
Example A — entity lookup
User: /remember:ask cine este cezar
Reformulated: cezar
Tool call: mcp__remember__search_brain({ query: "cezar", top_k: 5 })
Answer (Romanian, since user asked in Romanian):
[[People/cezar.md|Cezar]] este [synthesize from result text]. Lucrează la [[Projects/X|X]]. Ultimul context relevant: [quote from result].
Surse: [[People/cezar.md]], [[Journal/2026-…|recent journal]].
Example B — decision recall
User: /remember:ask ce am decis despre netopia la 3dtoys
Reformulated: netopia 3dtoys exclusive payment provider
Tool call: above. If implementation plan ranks higher than decision note:
Retry: decision netopia only 3dtoys
Answer:
Ai decis ca Netopia să fie singurul provider de plată pentru 3DToys ([[Notes/decision-netopia-only-3dtoys.md]]). Motivare: [quote].
Implementare în [[Projects/3dtoys/projects/3dtoys-site/NETOPIA_IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md]].
Example C — empty result
User: /remember:ask what do I think about react native mobile apps
Reformulated: react native mobile app preferences
Tool call: returns only 2 future-plan mentions (Remember GTM Phase 3), top score 0.0167.
Answer:
Brain-ul nu are o opinie capturată despre React Native mobile apps.
Singurele 2 mențiuni sunt planuri viitoare pentru un app mobil al Remember.md ([[Projects/remember/remember.md]] și [[Journal/2026-02-08.md]]) — nu o preferință personală.
💡 Want me to remember this? Reply: remember this: ...
Error handling
| Scenario | Behavior |
|---|
mcp__remember__search_brain not available | Tell user to run /remember:init + restart |
Tool returns note: "Vector index building" | Use BM25 results, mention "(semantic indexing in progress, results may improve in a few minutes)" |
Tool returns empty results array | Treat as "not found" per Step 6 |
| Tool throws | Surface the error message verbatim and suggest /remember:status |
| User asks something already in Persona | Answer from Persona directly; skip the tool call |
Anti-patterns
- ❌ Don't dump raw JSON of
search_brain output at the user. Synthesize.
- ❌ Don't translate citations — wikilinks must use exact result paths.
- ❌ Don't loop beyond 3 search calls per ask invocation.
- ❌ Don't claim knowledge the tool didn't return. Brain-silence is honest output.
- ❌ Don't translate user's language in the answer just because the brain content is the other language — quote in original, summarize in user's language.
- ❌ Don't re-query for Persona content — it's already in your session context.
