| name | vestige-show |
| description | Expand a Vestige memory at higher fidelity once you have its handle (a `mem_<ULID>` string). Use this skill after `vestige-recall` returns a card whose `one_liner` isn't enough, when the user says "show me memory <id>", "expand <id>", "what does <id> say in full?", "read me memory <id>", or whenever you need the *body*, *rationale*, or *source content* of a memory rather than the compact handle. Depth ladder — one_liner → summary → compressed → full. Default is summary; pass `--depth full` to read the entire body. |
Expand a memory by handle
Read a memory at the depth you actually need. Vestige stores memories as a depth ladder (PRD §11.3): one_liner (≤ 60 chars), summary (a sentence), compressed (a paragraph), full (the whole body). vestige-recall returns the compact card — this skill drills in.
When to fire
vestige-recall just returned a card whose one-liner sounds relevant but you need to read the actual decision/rationale to apply it.- The user said "show me
mem_…" or "what does mem_… say".
- You're about to cite a memory and want to confirm the wording.
If you don't have a handle yet, run vestige-recall first.
How to invoke
vestige show <mem_id> --depth summary --json
<mem_id> (positional, required): the mem_<ULID> handle from a recall hit or a context pack.--depth (optional, default summary): one of one_liner, summary, compressed, full. Use full only when you need everything; summary is usually enough to apply a decision.--sources (optional): include attached source rows in the response.--json (recommended): structured envelope with id, type, depth, content, sources[].
After invocation
Read content at the depth you requested. The depth ladder exists precisely to keep agent context lean — don't reach for --depth full reflexively. If summary was enough, stop there.
When citing the memory, include the handle so the user can verify.
Idempotence & dedup
Read-only — re-running is safe but wastes tokens. Skip if:
- You only need the one-liner the recall already returned.
- You want a list of memories, not one. Use
vestige-recall with --limit.
