compact-agent-daily-memories

name	compact-agent-daily-memories
description	Reorganizes an agent's memory/daily/ folder into a progressively nested hierarchy of monthly (YYYY-MM/) and quarterly (YYYY-QN/) sub-folders, each anchored by a synthesized summary README.md. Keeps the memory/daily/README.md entry point small and navigable regardless of how many session logs have accumulated. Trigger when: flat daily files for a completed calendar month are still at memory/daily/ root; monthly folders for a completed quarter are not yet folded into a YYYY-QN/ folder; the user says "reorganize daily logs", "archive last month's logs", "compact this agent's daily memory", or "reorganize daily logs for [agent-name]". Scoped to exactly one agent per run — always ask which agent if ambiguous. Hard dependency on format-md-for-progressive-disclosure. Does not touch MEMORY.md, topical stores, or any other agent's files.
compatibility	Requires file-system access, MCP tool support, and the format-md-for-progressive-disclosure sub-skill (see Step 0). Git recommended for rollback.
metadata	{"author":"fbo","version":"0.1-draft","status":"draft","skill-target":"compact-agent-daily-memories"}

Compact Agent Daily Memory

Reorganize memory/daily/ into a progressively nested hierarchy of monthly and quarterly sub-folders. Each sub-folder is anchored by a synthesized README.md that distills the period's signal, so the memory/daily/README.md entry point stays small regardless of how many sessions have accumulated.

This skill handles daily logs only. It never touches MEMORY.md, topical stores (decisions/, projects/, lessons/, etc.), or any other agent's files.

See references/daily-log-architecture.md for folder structure and README templates. See references/constraint-vocabulary.md for the ALWAYS / NEVER framework.

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Step 0 — Pre-flight: verify required sub-skill

Before any other action, complete both checks below:

Check A — required sub-skill:

Sub-skill	Expected path
format-md-for-progressive-disclosure	skills/skills-libraries/fbo-skills/utility-skills/format-md-for-progressive-disclosure/SKILL.md

Check B — MCP backend discovery: Query the MCP tool listing and cache the result. This cached list is used at Step 5 to select the highest-priority available backend. See references/mcp-backend-routing.md for the priority order and introspection method. Do not repeat this query later in the run — use the cached result.

If sub-skill is present and backend discovery succeeded: proceed to Step 1.

If missing: halt immediately and display:

compact-agent-daily-memories cannot run — required sub-skill missing.

• format-md-for-progressive-disclosure Expected: skills/skills-libraries/fbo-skills/utility-skills/format-md-for-progressive-disclosure/SKILL.md

Why required: Monthly and quarterly README files are the navigation nodes of the daily log hierarchy. Without MAGI-compliant front matter, agents cannot discover or traverse those nodes — the progressive disclosure chain breaks silently.

To install: copy the skill folder from skills/skills-libraries/fbo-skills/utility-skills/format-md-for-progressive-disclosure/ and place SKILL.md at the path shown above. Then re-run compact-agent-daily-memories.

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Step 1 — Load synthesis context

Read SOUL.md from the agent's root directory to establish the memory policy that guides what counts as signal in synthesized summaries.

Exception: when invoked by the compact-memories orchestrator, SOUL.md is already in the active conversation context. Use it from there — do not re-read from disk.

If SOUL.md is missing or unreadable: warn the user, then proceed with best-effort synthesis (bias toward decisions, lessons, and environment changes).

See references/soul-memory-policy.md for how to apply memory-policy content when writing summaries.

---

Step 2 — Audit memory/daily/

1. List all flat YYYY-MM-DD.md files in memory/daily/.
2. List all existing YYYY-MM/ and YYYY-QN/ sub-folders.
3. Identify which reorganizations are due:
   • Monthly: flat daily files whose month is earlier than the current calendar month.
   • Quarterly: monthly sub-folders whose quarter is earlier than the current calendar quarter.
4. If nothing is due, skip Steps 3–5 and go directly to Step 6 (report).

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Step 3 — Monthly reorganization (run when due)

For each completed calendar month M whose daily files are still flat in memory/daily/:

1. Identify all YYYY-MM-DD.md files belonging to month M.

2. Create memory/daily/YYYY-MM/ sub-folder.

3. Move all identified daily files into memory/daily/YYYY-MM/.

4. Write memory/daily/YYYY-MM/README.md body only (no front matter yet):

   • Synthesized summary — key decisions, lessons, preference changes, notable patterns, and environment changes during the month. Guided by SOUL.md memory policy. Do not reproduce daily entries verbatim; capture the signal. Note any gaps (missing or unreadable daily files) explicitly in the summary.

   • Daily index — links to each moved daily file, most-recent first:

     ## Daily Entries
     
     - [YYYY-MM-DD](YYYY-MM-DD.md) — <one-sentence session summary>
     

5. Invoke format-md-for-progressive-disclosure on the new README.md with context hint: "Monthly memory summary for period YYYY-MM. Category: daily-log-monthly. Audience: ai-agent."

6. Update memory/daily/README.md: replace the individual daily links for month M with a single line:

   - [YYYY-MM](YYYY-MM/README.md) — <one-sentence month description>
   

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Step 4 — Quarterly reorganization (run when due)

For each completed calendar quarter Q whose monthly sub-folders are still directly inside memory/daily/:

1. Identify all YYYY-MM/ sub-folders belonging to quarter Q.

2. Create memory/daily/YYYY-QN/ folder (e.g. 2026-Q1/).

3. Move all identified monthly sub-folders into memory/daily/YYYY-QN/.

4. Write memory/daily/YYYY-QN/README.md body only (no front matter yet):

   • Synthesized summary — major decisions of the quarter, dominant lessons, significant preference or environment shifts, cross-month patterns. Derive from monthly README.md summaries only — do not re-read individual daily files.

   • Monthly index — links to each monthly sub-folder:

     ## Monthly Summaries
     
     - [YYYY-MM](YYYY-MM/README.md) — <one-sentence month description>
     - [YYYY-MM](YYYY-MM/README.md) — <one-sentence month description>
     - [YYYY-MM](YYYY-MM/README.md) — <one-sentence month description>
     

5. Invoke format-md-for-progressive-disclosure on the new README.md with context hint: "Quarterly memory summary for period YYYY-QN. Category: daily-log-quarterly. Audience: ai-agent."

6. Update memory/daily/README.md: replace the monthly folder links for quarter Q with a single line:

   - [YYYY-QN](YYYY-QN/README.md) — <one-sentence quarter description>
   

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Step 5 — Write all changes

Using the highest-priority available MCP backend (see references/mcp-backend-routing.md):

1. Write all new and modified files produced in Steps 3–4.
2. Write the updated memory/daily/README.md.

On write failure: roll back the current batch so memory/daily/ is not left partially reorganized. See references/mcp-backend-routing.md for the git-based and no-git rollback procedures. Log all failed paths in the Step 6 report.

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Step 6 — Report

Provide a plain-text reorganization report. Always include:

• Monthly folders created and periods covered (or "none created").
• Quarterly folders created and periods covered (or "none created").
• Any gaps (missing daily files within a reorganized month).
• Paths that failed during write (if any), with rollback outcome.
• When nothing was due: "Daily memory is up to date — no reorganization needed."

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Non-Negotiable Constraints

See references/constraint-vocabulary.md for the full ALWAYS / NEVER / ASK BEFORE framework. Key constraints:

• NEVER delete a daily log file. Move into YYYY-MM/ — never destroy.
• NEVER fabricate summary content. If a daily file is missing, acknowledge the gap.
• NEVER re-read individual daily files at quarterly synthesis. Use monthly READMEs only.
• NEVER modify MEMORY.md. The bootstrap pointer is immutable from this skill's scope.
• NEVER touch topical stores (decisions/, projects/, lessons/, etc.).
• NEVER reorganize multiple agents without explicit per-agent user confirmation.
• ALWAYS invoke format-md-for-progressive-disclosure after writing any README body.
• ALWAYS log every move, folder creation, and write in the Step 6 report.
• ASK BEFORE proceeding when the target agent is ambiguous.

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Edge Cases

Situation	Behavior
Sub-skill missing at Step 0	Halt immediately; display install instructions.
No reorganization due	Steps 0–2 and Step 6 run; Steps 3–5 skipped. Report "up to date".
Daily file missing within a month being reorganized	Create the folder, proceed, note the gap in the monthly summary.
SOUL.md missing or unreadable	Warn the user; proceed with best-effort synthesis.
Write fails during reorganization	Roll back the batch (git or halt-and-list); log failed paths in report.
More than one agent could apply	Ask which agent before Step 0; do not guess.

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Sub-skills

Sub-skill	Status	Expected path	When invoked
format-md-for-progressive-disclosure	Required	skills/skills-libraries/fbo-skills/utility-skills/format-md-for-progressive-disclosure/SKILL.md	Step 3.5 (monthly README) and Step 4.5 (quarterly README).

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Reference files

• references/daily-log-architecture.md — Folder hierarchy, MEMORY.md constraints, README state templates, MAGI requirement. Read at Steps 2–4.
• references/soul-memory-policy.md — How to use SOUL.md memory-policy to guide synthesis; orchestrator vs. direct invocation; fallback behavior. Read at Step 1.
• references/mcp-backend-routing.md — Backend priority order, introspection method, per-backend write operations, rollback strategy. Read at Step 5.
• references/constraint-vocabulary.md — ALWAYS / NEVER / ASK BEFORE framework and skill-specific constraints. Read before any execution.

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See also

• skill-compact-memories — Orchestrator that invokes this skill as part of full memory maintenance.
• skill-compact-topical-memories — Companion skill that compacts decisions, projects, lessons, and other topical stores.
• skill-save-agent-memory — Writes daily log files and updates memory/daily/README.md during a session.