bm-setup

name	bm-setup
description	Set up Basic Memory for Codex at user or project level by mapping a Basic Memory project and seeding schemas.

Basic Memory for Codex Setup

Set up the current repo so Codex can orient from Basic Memory and checkpoint work back into it. Keep the interview short, but always ask before choosing where data will be written.

Preconditions

Confirm Basic Memory is reachable before changing files:

1. Prefer MCP: call list_memory_projects.
2. If MCP tools are not available, run basic-memory --version or bm --version.
3. If neither works, stop and tell the user to install Basic Memory and connect the MCP server. The plugin bundles an .mcp.json that starts uvx basic-memory mcp.
4. List available projects before the interview. Include cloud/local source, workspace, qualified name, and project id when available.

Interview

Ask the user to choose the project mapping. Do not infer write targets from the repo, default project, current directory, or previous local state.

• config level: user-level ~/.codex/basic-memory.json or project-level .codex/basic-memory.json. Ask explicitly and recommend user level by default. Project settings override user settings key by key, except redactKeys and redactPaths, which accumulate so project config cannot weaken user privacy.
• storage mode: cloud, local, or mixed. Prefer the user's stated mode over any CLI default.
• focus: code/dev, research, writing, planning, or mixed.
• sessionProfile: coding or general. Recommend coding for code/dev. For mixed use, ask whether this repository should capture Git and pull-request context. Do not infer coding merely because the current directory is a Git checkout.
• primaryProject: an existing Basic Memory project or a new one to create.
• secondaryProjects: optional read-only projects for session-start context.
• teamProjects: optional share targets for bm-share.
• captureFolder: default codex/<repo-dir>, derived from the Git top-level directory. Ask only when the user wants an explicit override.
• rememberFolder: default codex-remember.
• placementConventions: a short note about where decisions, tasks, and research notes should land.
• captureEvents: whether to record redacted lifecycle-event envelopes in the local hook inbox. Default to true; an explicit JSON boolean false opts out.
• redactKeys and redactPaths: optional additions to the built-in redaction floor. Ask for these only when event capture is enabled or the user has repo-specific privacy requirements.

For the coding session profile, verify the current directory is inside a Git repository. Resolve a stable repository identifier such as owner/name from the current GitHub repository or origin remote, show it to the user, and ask for confirmation. Do not guess when the remote is missing or ambiguous. Explain that coding checkpoints store structured repository, branch, SHA, working-directory, and optional pull-request metadata in Basic Memory.

Explain the capture tradeoff before asking: enabled capture adds a local, redacted event trail that stays queued until bm hook flush archives it locally. It never creates knowledge-graph notes or writes to team projects. The default is enabled; an explicit JSON boolean false disables it, and malformed values fail closed.

If there are duplicate names, show qualified names and ask the user which one to use. Prefer qualified project names or project ids for cloud projects. Never pick between cloud and local variants without confirmation.

For a new or empty project, suggest a light convention instead of creating empty folders. For an existing project, inspect list_directory and a few notes before summarizing the real convention.

Apply

After confirming the plan, write the shared settings to the chosen user-level or project-level file:

{
  "basicMemory": {
    "primaryProject": "<project-ref>",
    "secondaryProjects": [],
    "projectMode": "cloud",
    "teamProjects": {},
    "focus": "<focus>",
    "sessionProfile": "<general-or-coding>",
    "rememberFolder": "codex-remember",
    "recallTimeframe": "7d",
    "captureEvents": true,
    "redactKeys": [],
    "redactPaths": [],
    "placementConventions": "<short convention>"
  }
}

Omit captureFolder to use codex/<repo-dir>; persist it only for an explicit override. Preserve unrelated keys if the chosen file already exists. Include projectMode when the user chose cloud, local, or mixed routing. Always persist captureEvents as a JSON boolean. Empty redactKeys and redactPaths lists may be omitted; when present, they must be JSON arrays of strings. redactKeys extends payload-key redaction, while redactPaths also protects working-directory and path-bearing checkpoint content. User and project redaction lists accumulate. These files are intentionally Codex-specific; do not write .claude/settings.json.

For a user-level coding setup, omit sessionProfile from the shared user file and keep both the coding profile and confirmed repository identifier in the project file so neither can affect other repositories:

{
  "basicMemory": {
    "sessionProfile": "coding",
    "repository": "owner/name"
  }
}

For a project-level setup, add repository to the shared settings in that same project file.

Persist sessionProfile explicitly in the chosen file, except for a user-level coding setup where it belongs in the project file alongside repository. Persist repository only for the coding profile, after the user confirms it. A coding setup is incomplete without a repository identifier because the coding_session schema requires queryable Git identity fields.

Seed Schemas

Read the schema files from <plugin-root>/schemas/. This skill lives at <plugin-root>/skills/bm-setup/SKILL.md, so the schemas are two directories up.

Seed the session schema relevant to the selected profile into the chosen primaryProject if it does not already exist:

• coding-session.md for sessionProfile: coding
• codex-session.md for sessionProfile: general

Then seed these schemas for both profiles:

• decision.md
• task.md

These schemas cover notes Codex writes directly. Lifecycle envelopes are not notes: bm hook flush archives that operational trace locally, so there is no projected session or tool-ledger schema to seed.

Use write_note with directory="schemas", note_type="schema", schema frontmatter as metadata, and the markdown body as content. Do not paste the YAML frontmatter into content.

Before seeding schemas, restate the exact target project and ask for confirmation if it differs from the user's selected primary project or if routing is ambiguous.

Verify

Before closing, prove the mapping works:

• Search the primary project for type=schema with page size 10. For a coding setup, confirm the Coding Session schema is present.
• Search one shared project for open decisions if shared projects were configured.
• Run basic-memory hook status --harness codex --project-dir <repo-root> (using bm or uvx basic-memory if needed). Confirm that it finds this repo's settings, reports the selected project, session profile, repository, and intended capture state. Its inbox counts are shared across harnesses.
• If any check errors, fix the project ref or hook launcher before finishing.

Finish with the project mapping, schemas seeded or skipped, capture/redaction choices, shared inbox status, and the verification result. Tell the user that plugin hooks need to be reviewed and trusted in Codex before they run.