recall

name	recall
description	Run explicit Signet recall through the canonical scoped recall path, preserving scores, sources, provenance, supplementary context, and session dedupe metadata.
user_invocable	true
arg_hint	search query
builtin	true

/recall

Use this skill for targeted explicit recall. It is not the same surface as prompt-submit context injection.

Signet's canonical explicit recall endpoint is POST /api/memory/recall. The CLI, MCP, and hook recall surfaces should stay thin wrappers around that contract. Recall combines FTS5, prospective hints, vector similarity, structured path evidence, graph traversal, optional reranking, source-backed fallbacks, currentness shaping, and session context dedupe where configured. Do not describe it as a fixed 70/30 vector/BM25 search.

When To Use

Use /recall when:

• the user asks what Signet remembers or asks for a targeted memory search
• current context is missing an old decision, preference, project fact, or prior source
• you need provenance, source labels, scores, ids, or no-hit metadata
• you need aggregate recall to synthesize a bounded answer from evidence
• you are debugging recall quality, scoping, or session-dedupe behavior

Do not use /recall as a ritual before every task. Session-start and prompt-submit injection already provide lightweight context. Use explicit recall when there is a concrete retrieval question.

CLI

signet recall "<query>"

Useful options:

signet recall "Signet ontology policy" --agent codex --limit 10
signet recall "vim keybindings" --type preference --tags editor
signet recall "OpenMarketUI evaluator health" --project /mnt/work/openmarketui
signet recall "what did we decide about source truth" --aggregate --no-save-aggregate
signet recall "recent Signet failures" --session-key "$SESSION_KEY" --include-recalled
signet recall "ontology" --keyword-query '"ontology" OR "graph"' --json

Options:

• --agent <name> filters/authorizes by Signet agent scope
• --project <path> filters by project
• --type, --tags, --who, --pinned, --importance-min, --since, and --until filter memory rows
• --keyword-query <query> overrides the FTS query while keeping the recall query intact
• --aggregate asks Signet to synthesize a bounded answer from recall evidence
• --aggregate-budget <small|medium|large> caps follow-up recall breadth
• --no-save-aggregate avoids persisting the aggregate answer
• --session-key <key> enables context-epoch dedupe
• --include-recalled returns rows already recalled in the current epoch
• --json preserves the full response contract for tooling

API

curl -s http://localhost:3850/api/memory/recall \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "query": "user preferences for editor",
    "limit": 10,
    "agentId": "codex",
    "sessionKey": "session-uuid",
    "includeRecalled": false,
    "aggregate": false
  }'

The hook route POST /api/hooks/recall is a compatibility wrapper. It applies hook/session policy and forwards supported filters to the same recall family contract. Do not add separate retrieval behavior to hook or connector formatters.

Response Contract

Preserve and show useful metadata. A normal response looks like:

{
  "results": [
    {
      "id": "uuid",
      "content": "User prefers vim keybindings.",
      "score": 0.92,
      "source": "hybrid",
      "type": "preference",
      "tags": "preference,editor",
      "pinned": false,
      "importance": 0.9,
      "who": "codex",
      "project": null,
      "created_at": "2026-02-21T10:00:00.000Z",
      "supplementary": false,
      "already_recalled": false
    }
  ],
  "query": "user preferences for editor",
  "method": "hybrid",
  "meta": {
    "totalReturned": 1,
    "hasSupplementary": false,
    "noHits": false
  }
}

Common source values include hybrid, vector, keyword, hint, structured, traversal, ka_traversal, source_obsidian, native_memory, constructed, graph, and llm_summary.

Display results with:

• content
• id when available
• score when available
• source label
• type/tags
• created date
• supplementary status
• already_recalled when session dedupe is active

Do not flatten recall into anonymous bullets when metadata is present.

Aggregate Recall

Aggregate recall first runs normal recall, may ask the inference router for bounded follow-up queries, synthesizes one concise answer from unique evidence rows, and returns aggregate metadata. Saving aggregate answers requires remember permission; recall-only callers can set saveAggregate: false.

Use aggregate mode when the user asks a broad question over prior memory and a source-backed synthesis is more useful than a ranked list.

Hard Rules

• Treat /api/memory/recall as the canonical explicit recall contract.
• Keep prompt-submit recall separate; it is a lightweight injection path.
• Thread agentId, project, visibility policy, and session key deliberately.
• Respect no-hit responses instead of inventing memory.
• Preserve provenance and source labels in summaries.
• If scoped recall looks wrong, debug authorization and dedupe before assuming the memory is missing.