sivtr-memory

name	sivtr-memory
description	Retrieve shared local work memory: terminal activity, AI conversation history, prior decisions, validation evidence, debugging trails, recaps, and handoff context. Use before asking the user to repeat local work context.

Sivtr Memory

Sivtr is the shared local work memory for this machine.

Use it before asking the user to paste logs, repeat decisions, or restate earlier work.

Core rule:

Search for evidence first. Expand only the smallest relevant context. Ask when memory is missing, ambiguous, stale, or permission is required.

MCP tools (preferred when available)

If the host exposes sivtr MCP tools, prefer them over shelling out to the CLI. Register with:

sivtr mcp install -y

Tool	Use
sivtr_search	Narrow search over terminal / agent / provider / desk:...
sivtr_show	Expand a ref or @last / @name
sivtr_zoom	Neighboring record context
sivtr_filter	Narrow @last or a saved set
sivtr_status	Hooks, providers, daemon, local workspace origins (ws), remotes, vars

Fall back to CLI commands below when MCP is not configured.

When to Use

Use this skill whenever local work memory may contain useful evidence. Sivtr retrieves recent terminal activity, AI conversation history, prior decisions, validation output, debugging trails, and handoff context.

Use it before asking the user to repeat context when you need to know things like:

• what just happened in the terminal or an agent session
• what command was run, what output it produced, or whether validation passed
• what the user or a previous agent decided, rejected, or planned
• where earlier debugging, build, test, lint, deploy, or research work left off
• what evidence supports a recap, handoff, status update, or next step
• whether missing or truncated current-context output exists in local memory

Do not use Sivtr as truth by itself. Treat memory as evidence to retrieve, then verify current files or commands before making claims about current state.

Default Retrieval Workflow

Mental model to keep in mind:

• A WorkSet is records + anchors: records are the materialized backing store; anchors are the active positions moving through search, filter, work, nav, zoom, and show.
• Treat @last and @name as WorkSet variables. Use --save <name> or sivtr var set <name> <source> whenever a result will be reused or refined.
• Use filter to narrow a WorkSet, work parts to project record anchors into part anchors, nav to move anchors deterministically, and zoom only when you want neighboring record context.
• In shell pipelines, @ means "read the WorkSet JSON from stdin". Do not pipe --refs text into @; either omit --refs in intermediate commands or use @last / @name.

1. Convert the user's vague reference into a small query.
2. Choose a source: terminal, agent, or a provider (codex, claude, cursor, opencode, openclaw, hermes, grok, pi), a WorkRef selector, an origin-prefixed source such as desk:terminal / docs:agent, or a WorkSet variable such as @last / @name[1,3].
3. Search with a small limit. Put content terms in -m / --match. Use --last / --since for time windows, -i / --in for part candidate filters, and --kind for part kinds (prompt, command, user_message, assistant_message, tool_call, tool_output, skill, thinking, text, error).
   • Latest terminal error: sivtr s terminal --status fail --latest 1 --save latest_failure --refs
   • Broader terminal error scan: sivtr s terminal -m "Error|error|failed|fatal|not found|External command failed" --latest 20 --save error_hits --refs
   • Mounted remote memory: sivtr s desk:agent -m "decision|failed" --latest 20 --save remote_hits --refs
4. Save/refine WorkSet variables instead of re-running broad searches:
   • sivtr filter @error_hits -m "more specific terms" --save narrowed --refs
   • sivtr filter @last[1,3] -m "narrower terms" --save focused --refs
5. Move anchors deliberately:
   • Filter a saved set: sivtr filter @focused --status failure --save failed_focused --refs
   • Drill into parts: sivtr work parts @focused --io output --kind tool_output --save output_parts --refs
   • Deterministically move from a part to its record or neighbor: sivtr nav @output_parts[1] '<+1>1' --refs
   • Return to records: sivtr work records @output_parts --save parent_records --refs
6. Expand only useful parent records:
   • sivtr zoom @focused[1] -C 2 --save ctx --refs
   • sivtr show @ctx --full
   • sivtr show <ref> --full
7. Answer with evidence, then verify current files or commands when the claim depends on present repository state.
8. Ask the user only after local memory has been checked and still lacks the needed fact.

WorkSet Flow

search, filter, work records, work parts, nav, and zoom create WorkSets. Each run saves the result to @last. Add --save <name> where supported, or use sivtr var set <name> <source> to keep a named WorkSet variable.

Core semantics:

• records are backing facts/materialized context.
• anchors are the active selection and the thing that moves through pipes.
• search searches WorkParts, then outputs anchors at the current input granularity.
• filter applies the same WorkSet filters to any source or piped WorkSet.
• nav moves anchors deterministically. It does not implicitly expand children; child movement must specify >N.
• show renders at anchor granularity: record anchors show records, part anchors show just that part, line anchors show just that line.
• zoom maps any anchor to its parent record, then expands nearby records.

Source forms:

• terminal, agent, codex, claude, cursor, opencode, openclaw, hermes, grok, pi
• terminal/<session>/<record>, <provider>/<session>/<turn>, <provider>/<session>/<turn>/<i|o>/<part>, and selector variants
• origin:body for another local workspace or named remote, for example desk:terminal/..., docs:codex/4
• @last, @name, @name[1], @name[1,3], @name[1..5], @name[1..3,8]
• @ reads a WorkSet from stdin in shell pipelines

Search defaults to dialogue parts. Structure channels (tool / skill / thinking) appear as <:channel:…:> markers in reading mode; expand with show --full or the TUI r toggle when you need payloads.

Output behavior:

• Terminal stdout with no explicit format prints full.
• Piped stdout with no explicit format prints WorkSet JSON for the next command.
• --json is --format workset.
• --refs is --format refs.
• --full on show is --format full.

Pipeline example (pipe WorkSet JSON; do not add --refs in intermediate steps):

sivtr s agent -m "panic|failed" --latest 20 --save failures \
  | sivtr filter @ -m "cargo|test" --save test_failures \
  | sivtr zoom @ -C 1 --save failure_ctx \
  | sivtr show @ -f timeline

Anchor movement example:

sivtr s pi -m "git push|main -> main" --latest 10 --save push_hits --refs
sivtr work parts @push_hits --io output --kind tool_output --save push_outputs --refs
sivtr filter @push_outputs -m "main -> main" --save exact_output --refs
sivtr show @exact_output --full

Anchor navigation example:

sivtr s pi -m "panic|failed" --latest 10 --save hits --refs
sivtr work parts @hits --io output --save output_hits --refs
sivtr nav @output_hits[1] '<' --refs        # part/line -> parent record
sivtr nav @output_hits[1] '<+1>1' --refs    # parent record -> next record -> first child
sivtr nav @output_hits[1] '<[-2..+2]' --refs # parent record sibling window
sivtr nav @output_hits[1] '~' --refs        # containing session records

Named WorkSet variable example:

sivtr s agent -m "decision|TODO|next step" --latest 20 --save hits --refs
sivtr filter @hits -m "workset|zoom|show" --save narrowed --refs
sivtr var list
sivtr zoom @narrowed[1] -C 2 --save ctx --refs
sivtr show @ctx --full

Non-Interactive Safety Rules

• Prefer non-interactive commands: sivtr s ... --refs, sivtr s ... -f <timeline|compact|md>, sivtr show ... --full, sivtr show ... --json. Prefer MCP tools when the host exposes them.
• Use WorkSet variables (@last, @name) and @ pipelines for chaining; save reusable intermediate sets with --save <name> or sivtr var set <name> <source>.
• Bare sivtr (no subcommand) opens the interactive workspace browser — human-only. Do not open TUI pickers (--pick, hotkey, bare sivtr) unless the user explicitly wants interactive selection.
• Do not run sivtr clear, hotkey start/stop, shell init, share/remote mutations, or config mutation unless the user explicitly asks.
• Avoid clipboard-oriented workflows in agent retrieval. Use refs from search and expand them with show / zoom.
• Avoid dumping huge histories into the model. Search narrowly first (default bound is --latest 5 when neither --latest nor --limit is set), then expand only the relevant records.
• If sivtr is not installed or no session log exists, say so briefly and continue with normal tools. Do not invent memory results.

Load References as Needed

References are relative to this skill directory.

• references/commands.md — command syntax, WorkSet handling, and token budget.
• references/patterns.md — common user intents mapped to retrieval steps.
• references/evidence.md — what counts as evidence and how to report it.

Read only the file needed for the current task.