memory-search

name	memory-search
description	PROACTIVELY search conversation history and semantic memory BEFORE starting new work. Use at the START of any non-trivial task to recall prior decisions, avoid repeating past discussions, and reuse what was already learned. Also use when the user asks to "search memory", "what did we discuss", "remember when", "find previous conversation", or "check history". Your memory is valuable — check it first rather than starting from scratch.
allowed-tools	Bash
compatibility	Requires AI Maestro (aimaestro.dev) with Bash shell access
metadata	{"author":"23blocks","version":"1.0.0"}

AI Maestro Memory Search

CRITICAL: AUTOMATIC BEHAVIOR - READ THIS FIRST

THIS IS NOT OPTIONAL. THIS IS YOUR DEFAULT BEHAVIOR.

When the user gives you ANY instruction, you MUST FIRST search your memory for:

• Previous discussions - Have we talked about this before?
• Past decisions - What did we decide last time?
• Prior context - What does the user expect based on history?
• Earlier work - Did we already start on this?

DO NOT:

• Start fresh without checking conversation history
• Assume this is a new topic without verifying
• Skip memory search because "I don't remember discussing this"
• Wait for the user to say "remember when we..."

ALWAYS:

• Search memory IMMEDIATELY when you receive a task
• Search for terms and concepts the user mentions
• Check for previous decisions on similar topics
• Look for context that informs current work

The Rule: Receive Instruction → Search Memory → Then Proceed

1. User asks you to do something
2. IMMEDIATELY search memory for relevant context
3. NOW you know what was discussed before
4. NOW you can build on previous work, not start over

---

Available Commands

Command	Description
memory-search.sh "<query>"	Hybrid search (recommended)
memory-search.sh "<query>" --mode semantic	Find conceptually related
memory-search.sh "<query>" --mode term	Exact term matching
memory-search.sh "<query>" --role user	Only user messages
memory-search.sh "<query>" --role assistant	Only your responses

What to Search Based on User Instruction

User Says	IMMEDIATELY Search
"Continue working on X"	memory-search.sh "X"
"Fix the issue we discussed"	memory-search.sh "issue", memory-search.sh "bug"
"Use the approach we agreed on"	memory-search.sh "approach", memory-search.sh "decision"
"Like we did before"	memory-search.sh "<topic> implementation"
Any specific feature/component	memory-search.sh "<feature>"
References to past work	memory-search.sh "<reference>" --mode semantic

Quick Examples

# User asks to continue previous work
memory-search.sh "authentication"
memory-search.sh "last session"

# User mentions a component we discussed
memory-search.sh "PaymentService" --mode term

# Find what the user previously asked for
memory-search.sh "user request" --role user

# Find your previous solutions
memory-search.sh "implementation" --role assistant

# Conceptual search for related discussions
memory-search.sh "error handling patterns" --mode semantic

Search Modes

Mode	Use When
hybrid (default)	General search, best for most cases
semantic	Looking for related concepts, different wording
term	Looking for exact function/class names
symbol	Looking for code symbols mentioned

Symbol Mode Examples

The symbol mode is optimized for finding code symbols (function names, class names, variable names) mentioned in past conversations. Unlike term mode which does exact text matching, symbol mode understands code identifiers and matches them across different contexts.

# Find discussions where a specific function was mentioned
memory-search.sh "processPayment" --mode symbol

# Find conversations about a class
memory-search.sh "AuthenticationService" --mode symbol

# Find references to a variable or constant
memory-search.sh "MAX_RETRY_COUNT" --mode symbol

When to use symbol vs term:

• Use --mode symbol when searching for code identifiers (functions, classes, variables)
• Use --mode term when searching for exact phrases or non-code text

Why This Matters

Without searching memory first, you will:

• Repeat explanations the user already heard
• Contradict previous decisions
• Miss context that changes the approach
• Start over instead of continuing

Memory search takes 1 second. Frustrating the user is much worse.

Combining with Doc Search

For complete context, use BOTH:

# User asks about creating a new feature
memory-search.sh "feature"       # What did we discuss?
docs-search.sh "feature"         # What do docs say?

Helper Scripts

This skill relies on an internal helper script that provides shared utility functions:

• memory-helper.sh - Sourced by the memory-*.sh tool scripts. Provides memory-specific API functions (memory_query, init_memory) and initialization logic. Located alongside the tool scripts in ~/.local/bin/ (installed) or plugin/src/scripts/ (source). If tool scripts fail with "common.sh not found", re-run the installer (./install-memory-tools.sh).

Error Handling

If no results found, that's valuable information too: "No previous discussions found about X - this appears to be a new topic. Let me search the documentation..."

Then search docs as fallback.

Script not found:

• Check PATH: which memory-search.sh
• Verify scripts installed: ls -la ~/.local/bin/memory-*.sh
• Scripts are installed to ~/.local/bin/ which should be in your PATH

Installation

If commands are not found:

./install-memory-tools.sh

This installs scripts to ~/.local/bin/.