| name | mem-search |
| description | Search persistent project memory across sessions — decisions, bugs, features, discoveries |
| triggers | ["mem search","mem recent","mem decisions","mem bugs","mem timeline","mem stats","remember","what did we","what was","last session","past sessions"] |
| allowed-tools | Bash, Read |
| model | opus |
| user-invocable | true |
Memory Search
Search the project's persistent memory database. Observations are captured automatically during sessions.
Commands
| Say | Does |
|---|
mem search <query> | Keyword search across all observations |
mem recent | Last 10 observations for this project |
mem decisions | All architectural/design decisions |
mem bugs | All bug fixes |
mem timeline <query> | Session-level view with summaries |
mem sessions | List all past sessions |
mem stats | Memory database statistics |
How It Works
Memory is stored in SQLite at ~/.claude/auto-dev-memory.db. Observations are captured automatically by the PostToolUse hook and classified by type:
- decision — Architectural or design choices
- bugfix — Bug fixes and patches
- feature — New functionality added
- refactor — Code restructuring
- discovery — Investigations and findings
- change — General modifications
Progressive Disclosure (Token-Efficient)
- Start with
mem search — returns titles + timestamps only (~50-100 tokens)
- Then
mem timeline — shows session context around matches (~500 tokens)
- Then drill into specifics — full observation details only when needed
This 3-layer approach saves ~10x tokens vs dumping full context.
Implementation
Run queries via the memory-db CLI:
node ~/.claude/scripts/memory-db.js search "$(pwd)" "auth middleware"
node ~/.claude/scripts/memory-db.js recent "$(pwd)" 10
node ~/.claude/scripts/memory-db.js decisions "$(pwd)"
node ~/.claude/scripts/memory-db.js bugs "$(pwd)"
node ~/.claude/scripts/memory-db.js sessions "$(pwd)"
node ~/.claude/scripts/memory-db.js timeline "$(pwd)" "database"
node ~/.claude/scripts/memory-db.js stats "$(pwd)"
When to Use
- Starting a new session and want context from past work
- Remembering why a decision was made
- Finding when/where a bug was fixed
- Checking what was explored in previous sessions
- Reviewing what's left to do (next_steps from last session)
Privacy
Content wrapped in <private>...</private> tags is automatically stripped before storage. Secrets, API keys, and sensitive data in private tags never reach the database.
