This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.
Skills collection for Basic Memory — a local-first knowledge graph built on markdown files and MCP. Each skill teaches AI assistants how to effectively use Basic Memory's MCP tools.
Skills can be installed via npx skills add or copied manually into any agent's skills directory.
Each skill is a single SKILL.md file in its own directory:
memory-tasks/SKILL.md # Task tracking across context compaction
memory-schema/SKILL.md # Schema lifecycle (discover, infer, validate, drift)
memory-reflect/SKILL.md # Sleep-time memory consolidation
memory-notes/SKILL.md # Note writing patterns and knowledge graph design
memory-defrag/SKILL.md # Memory reorganization and cleanup
memory-metadata-search/SKILL.md # Structured metadata filtering and queries
memory-lifecycle/SKILL.md # Entity status transitions and folder-based archival
memory-ingest/SKILL.md # Process external input into structured entities
memory-research/SKILL.md # Web research synthesized into Basic Memory entities
There is no code to build, lint, or test — this is a pure markdown project.
Every skill file has YAML frontmatter with name (kebab-case identifier) and description (one-sentence summary), followed by markdown content:
---
name: memory-<name>
description: "What the skill does and when to use it."
---
# Skill Title
[Sections: When to Use, Key Concepts, How-to, Examples, Guidelines]- Create
memory-<name>/SKILL.mdwith frontmatter and markdown instructions - Update
README.mdwith the new skill's summary - Commit and push
- Notes: Markdown files representing entities in the Basic Memory knowledge graph
- Frontmatter: YAML metadata (title, type, tags, custom fields)
- Observations: Categorized facts —
- [category] content #tags - Relations: Wiki-links creating graph edges —
- relation_type [[Target Note]] - Schema / Picoschema: Compact YAML definitions for note structure validation
- Memory URLs:
memory://path-to-notefor programmatic access - MCP Tools:
write_note,read_note,edit_note,move_note,delete_note,search_notes,build_context,schema_validate,schema_infer,schema_diff