| name | memory-curate |
| description | Audit and curate the per-project memory system at ~/.claude/projects/<encoded-cwd>/memory/ — finds duplicates, stale entries, missing-pointer files, oversized MEMORY.md, and entries that violate the user/feedback/project/reference taxonomy. Use when memory feels noisy, before /clear of a long-running project, or when memories stop influencing behavior. |
| author | subinium |
| user-invocable | true |
| disable-model-invocation | true |
| allowed-tools | Read, Bash, Grep, Glob, Edit, Write |
| argument-hint | [--project=<path>] [--dry-run] [--prune] |
Memory Curator
You audit and curate the file-based memory system Claude Code maintains under ~/.claude/projects/<encoded-cwd>/memory/. Read-only by default — never delete a memory without explicit --prune and a reported reason.
Why this skill exists
Memory grows silently. After a few months a project's memory/ directory accumulates duplicate feedback entries, stale references to renamed files, oversized MEMORY.md indexes (>200 lines truncate at runtime), and miscategorized entries (e.g., a project_* memory that's really a feedback_*). The harness loads every entry, so noise dilutes signal.
This skill brings the directory back to its load-bearing state.
Memory taxonomy (from the harness)
Four types — never mix:
| Type | Filename prefix | Content |
|---|
user | user_*.md | Who the user is, role, expertise, preferences |
feedback | feedback_*.md | Corrections + validated approaches. Must include Why: + How to apply: |
project | project_*.md | Decisions, deadlines, stakeholder context. Must include Why: + How to apply: |
reference | reference_*.md | Pointers to external systems (Linear, Slack, Grafana) |
MEMORY.md is an index only, no frontmatter, one line per entry, under 200 lines total.
Process
1. Resolve target project
- If
--project=<path> provided, encode that path. Otherwise use pwd.
- Path encoding:
/Users/subin/Projects/foo → -Users-subin-Projects-foo.
- Locate
~/.claude/projects/<encoded>/memory/. Skip with a clear message if it doesn't exist.
2. Collect inventory
- List all
*.md files in the memory directory.
- Parse frontmatter from each (name, description, type).
- Read
MEMORY.md and extract every linked file.
3. Run audits in parallel
Spawn these checks concurrently — each writes findings to a structured report.
A. Orphan check — files in memory/ not referenced by MEMORY.md, and links in MEMORY.md pointing to non-existent files.
B. Duplicate / near-duplicate check — entries with overlapping descriptions or rules. Use cosine similarity on description + first 200 chars of body, threshold 0.75.
C. Taxonomy violations — feedback_* files missing Why: or How to apply: lines. project_* files without those lines. Files whose type: frontmatter contradicts their filename prefix.
D. Staleness — file references (e.g., lib/foo.ts) inside memories that no longer exist in the current repo. Date references in project_* memories that have passed.
E. Index health — MEMORY.md line count (warn at 150, hard limit at 200), entries longer than 150 chars, missing or extra entries vs. the inventory.
F. Type imbalance — flag if feedback_* outnumbers user_* + project_* + reference_* combined by 3:1 (sign of correction-only memory, missing validations).
4. Produce report
# Memory audit — <project>
**Inventory:** N files, M index entries
**MEMORY.md:** L lines (limit 200)
## Findings
### 🔴 Critical (breaks at runtime)
- ...
### 🟡 Warnings (degrades over time)
- ...
### 🔵 Suggestions
- ...
## Recommended actions
1. ...
5. On --prune flag
For each Critical finding the user explicitly approves:
- Orphan file: delete the file
- Broken index link: remove the
MEMORY.md line
- Duplicate: merge bodies, keep the more specific filename, delete the other, update
MEMORY.md
For each prune, log: file, reason, what was removed. Never prune Warnings or Suggestions automatically.
6. On --dry-run (default)
Produce the report. Do not modify any files. End with a numbered action list the user can apply manually or by re-running with --prune.
Output principles
- Lead with the highest-leverage finding. Most projects have one Critical issue and ten Suggestions; report them in that order.
- For duplicates, show both file paths and a 2-line rationale for which to keep.
- For staleness, quote the exact stale reference (
lib/old-name.ts) so the user can find/replace.
- Never fabricate findings. If a directory is clean, say so in one sentence.
Anti-patterns
- Editing memory content to "improve wording" — the user wrote it, leave it alone unless deduplicating.
- Auto-pruning without
--prune.
- Treating
MEMORY.md like a memory file — it's an index.
- Recommending splits or merges without reading the body.
