// Search memory using qmd (BM25 + optional vector) and compaction tree traversal. Use ROOT.md to decide whether to search memory or look externally. Always check memory before external lookups.
| name | hipocampus-search |
| description | Search memory using qmd (BM25 + optional vector) and compaction tree traversal. Use ROOT.md to decide whether to search memory or look externally. Always check memory before external lookups. |
| Action | Command |
|---|---|
| Hybrid search (best quality) | qmd query "keyword1 keyword2" |
| Keyword search (fast) | qmd search "keyword1 keyword2" |
| Vector search only | qmd vsearch "semantic query" |
| Find files | qmd search "query" --files |
| Read file | qmd get "path/to/file.md" |
| Re-index | qmd update |
Check hipocampus.config.json:
search.vector: true (default) → qmd query for best results (BM25 + vector + rerank)search.vector: false → qmd search for BM25 keyword searchmemory/ROOT.md is a functional index of everything in memory, auto-loaded every session. It has four sections:
Before any lookup, check ROOT.md first:
This is the core value of the compaction tree. Search only works when you know what to search for. The Topics Index tells you what you know at a glance.
When using qmd search (BM25 mode), queries must be keywords, not natural language.
| Bad (natural language) | Good (keywords) |
|---|---|
| "How do I configure the database?" | "database config" |
| "What did we decide about caching?" | "caching decision" |
When qmd search returns insufficient results, traverse the compaction tree:
1. ROOT.md Topics Index → confirm topic exists, note any file references
2. ROOT.md Historical Summary → identify relevant time period
3. memory/monthly/YYYY-MM.md → identify relevant week
4. memory/weekly/YYYY-WNN.md → identify relevant day
5. memory/daily/YYYY-MM-DD.md → detailed view
6. memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md → full raw original
Always try qmd search first. Tree traversal is the fallback.
If qmd is not installed (e.g., --no-search was used during init, or the user has a different RAG tool), the memory system still works:
ls memory/daily/ to find files, then read themqmd update / qmd search commands — they will fail silentlyThe compaction tree and checkpoint protocol are fully independent of qmd. Search is a convenience layer, not a requirement.
If qmd is installed, re-index after changing memory or knowledge files:
qmd update
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