remembering-conversations

# Remembering Conversations **Core principle:** Search before reinventing. Searching costs nothing; reinventing or repeating mistakes costs everything. ## Mandatory: Search Historical Memory **YOU MUST search historical memory for any historical search.** Announce: "Searching past conversations for [topic]." ### Claude Code Use the Task tool with `subagent_type: "search-conversations"`: ``` Task tool: description: "Search past conversations for [topic]" prompt: "Search for [specific query or topic]. Focus on [what you're looking for - e.g., decisions, patterns, gotchas, code examples]." subagent_type: "search-conversations" ``` ### Codex If a `search-conversations` agent is available, dispatch it with the same prompt. If not, use the MCP tools directly: 1. Search with the episodic-memory `search` tool 2. Read the top 2-5 results with the episodic-memory `read` tool 3. Synthesize findings in your response 4. Include source pointers so the user can inspect the original conversations The search workflow will: 1. Search with the `search` tool 2. Read top 2-5 results with the `read` tool 3. Synthesize findings (200-1000 words) 4. Return actionable insights + sources **Saves 50-100x context vs. loading raw conversations.** ### opencode Use the MCP tools directly unless a local search agent is available: 1. Search with the episodic-memory `search` tool 2. Read the top 2-5 results with the episodic-memory `read` tool 3. Synthesize findings in your response 4. Include source pointers so the user can inspect the original conversations ## When to Use Use this whenever the current task would benefit from information you may have learned before, even if the user did not explicitly ask you to search. **When past experience may help:** - You need to recall decisions, rationale, patterns, solutions, pitfalls, or project context from earlier work - A task resembles something you've solved, debugged, reviewed, released, or planned before - You need to repeat a workflow or process that may have prior gotchas or established steps **When you're stuck:** - You've investigated a problem and can't find the solution - Facing a complex problem without obvious solution in current code - Need to follow an unfamiliar workflow or process **When historical signals are present:** - User says "last time", "before", "we discussed", "you implemented" - User asks "why did we...", "what was the reason..." - User says "do you remember...", "what do we know about..." **Before answering from uncertainty:** - Before guessing from memory or saying "I don't know" about something that may have been learned in a past conversation, search memory unless the current conversation already answers it **Don't search first:** - For current codebase structure (use Grep/Read to explore first) - For info in current conversation - Before understanding what you're being asked to do ## Direct MCP Tool Access Use these directly when a search agent is unavailable or the current harness does not support agent dispatch: - `mcp__plugin_episodic-memory_episodic-memory__search` - `mcp__plugin_episodic-memory_episodic-memory__read` When using MCP tools directly, keep context small: search first, then read only the top 2-5 relevant conversations or line ranges. See MCP-TOOLS.md for complete API reference if needed for advanced usage.