memory-recall

name	memory-recall
description	Auto-activate on any question about past work, decisions, commands, or facts ("what did we do this morning/yesterday/today", "remember when", "have we seen this error before", "what is the IP of X", "where does Y live"). Encodes the optimal RivetOS memory recall discipline across all agents (rivet-claude, rivet-hermes, grok). Prefers time-bounded browse with window= first, multi-angle search + trigram fallback, and cross-agent awareness.
tags	["rivetos","memory","recall","discipline","rivet-memory"]
version	0.2.0

RivetOS Memory Recall Discipline (Grok Build)

You have access to a shared, persistent memory store used by every Rivet agent (rivet-claude, rivet-hermes, grok, etc.) via the RivetOS MCP server.

The tools are excellent. The usual failure mode is poor discipline — using semantic search when a chronological browse of a known time window is the correct reflex.

This skill exists so you reach for the right tool on the first try.

The Core Rules (Best of Hermes + Claude)

1. Time-bounded question? → memory_browse with window= FIRST

Any prompt that pins a timeframe ("this morning", "yesterday", "today", "earlier", "last week", "the standup", "what we did on Tuesday") means the user already knows when. They need exhaustive results in order, not relevance-ranked hits.

Use the enhanced window= parameter whenever available (from Hermes v0.3+):

• window="this_morning" | "yesterday" | "today" | "this_week" | "last_24h"

This is the preferred path because it correctly handles local timezone boundaries without you doing math.

Fallback: Explicit since / before as full UTC ISO timestamps (never bare dates).

Important: After a browse that hits the limit, flip order="asc" or increase limit (max usually 200) instead of assuming you have everything.

2. Topic / lookup question (no clear timeframe)? → Multi-angle search, minimum 3 queries

One embedding call is fragile. Run from different semantic vectors:

• Service / role: "frigate NVR", "openwrt router"
• Host / nickname: "minipc", "deckard", "pve3"
• Network: "10.4.20", "192.168.1"
• Exact tokens: IPs, MACs, error strings, port numbers → use mode="trigram"

FTS power move (when supported):

• memory_search(query="frigate OR minipc OR \"error 1234\"", mode="fts") — real OR, phrases, exclusions.

3. Semantic/FTS returns thin? Immediately retry with mode="trigram"

The moment you get 0–2 results on something that should exist, re-issue the same queries with trigram mode. Literal token matches (hostnames, error messages, config values) are often indexed under different surrounding text.

4. "No results" is a signal to try harder — never the final answer

Treat empty results + any user pushback as a cue to change strategy:

• Switch to browse with a wider window
• Add more angles or trigram
• Check cross-agent history (filter by agent only when you specifically want to exclude other Rivet faces)

Only after exhausting the memory tools should you consider external actions.

Decision Flow

User asks about past / "remember" / facts
          │
          ▼
Mentions clear timeframe?
   YES                     NO
    │                       │
    ▼                       ▼
memory_browse          3× memory_search
(window= preferred)    (different angles)
    │                       │
    ▼                       ▼
Still thin?             Thin results?
    │                       │
    ▼                       ▼
Widen window           Retry with mode=trigram
or raise limit             + FTS OR syntax
    └───────────┬───────────┘
                ▼
User unhappy? → Change strategy again.
Do not give up and probe externally yet.

Grok Build Specific Tool Usage

1. Call search_tool with a query like "memory" or "rivetos" to discover the exact qualified tool names (typically rivetos__memory_search, rivetos__memory_browse, rivetos__memory_stats).
2. Then use use_tool with the fully-qualified names.
3. For time-bounded questions, strongly prefer the window= parameter on browse when the server supports it.

Cross-Agent Reality

Memory hits may be tagged with agent = "rivet-claude", "rivet-hermes", "grok", etc. This is a feature. A question like "what did we decide about X" should surface the best answer regardless of which Rivet face originally did the work.

Only filter by agent when the user explicitly wants the history from one specific lineage.

Why This Exists (Case Study)

See the 2026-05-23 WAP-DHCP incident (documented in the Claude and Hermes versions of this skill). Multiple rounds of memory_search on topic keywords returned nothing. Only a forced memory_browse over the known morning window surfaced the full context (IP, MAC, exact misconfiguration, duplicate static lease).

This skill prevents repeating that expensive mistake.

Related Patterns

• Write synonym-bridging memory entries when you discover facts through probing or user correction.
• Use memory_stats to understand coverage and health.
• Pre-compaction messages are captured in the Hermes lineage — they are high-value for long sessions.