observational-memory

name	observational-memory
description	Cross-session observational memory system. Use when the user asks to "recall something from a past session", "search memory", "what do you know about me", "remember when we discussed", or needs context from previous conversations. Also triggers when the user mentions "observational memory", "OM", or asks about cross-session context.

Observational Memory

You have access to a persistent memory system that compresses conversation transcripts into shared observations and reflections across sessions.

What's Available

Memory is loaded at session start through the SessionStart hook. The injected context is budgeted, so it may include recall handles for deeper sections. The startup pack includes:

• Profile — stable facts about the user (role, preferences, communication style) extracted from long-term reflections.
• Active context — current projects, recent themes, and in-flight work derived from recent observations.

Recalling Memory

Use om recall for agent-friendly retrieval:

om recall --query "query terms" --limit 10 --json

Expand a startup handle when one appears in the context:

om recall --handle startup:active:active-projects

Use om search when you want direct search output and source metadata:

om search "query terms" --limit 10 --json

This searches across three document sources:

• Observations — compressed transcripts organized by date
• Reflections — consolidated long-term memory organized by topic
• Auto-memory — Claude Code per-project memory files

How It Works

1. Observer — after each session, an LLM compresses the conversation transcript into prioritized observations (🔴 high / 🟡 medium / 🟢 low).
2. Reflector — daily, observations are consolidated into structured reflections covering identity, projects, preferences, and themes.
3. Startup priming — at session start, om context injects a budgeted pack built from profile.md and active.md.
4. Recall — during a session, om recall can expand startup handles or search deeper memory.

When to Use This Skill

• User asks about something discussed in a previous session
• User wants to recall a decision, preference, or project status
• User asks "what do you know about me" or similar identity questions
• Context from prior sessions would improve the current response