| name | memory-recall |
|---|---|
| description | Search and recall relevant memories from past sessions via memsearch. Use when the user's question could benefit from historical context, past decisions, debugging notes, previous conversations, or project knowledge -- especially questions like 'what did I decide about X', 'why did we do Y', or 'have I seen this before'. Also use when you see `[memsearch] Memory available` hints injected via SessionStart or UserPromptSubmit. Typical flow: search for 3-5 chunks, expand the most relevant, optionally deep-drill into original transcripts via the anchor format. Skip when the question is purely about current code state (use Read/Grep), ephemeral (today's task only), or the user has explicitly asked to ignore memory. |
You are performing memory retrieval for memsearch. Search past memories and return the most relevant context to the current conversation.
Determine the collection name by running:
bash -c 'if [ -n "${MEMSEARCH_DIR:-}" ]; then bash __INSTALL_DIR__/scripts/derive-collection.sh "$MEMSEARCH_DIR"; else root=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || true); if [ -n "$root" ]; then bash __INSTALL_DIR__/scripts/derive-collection.sh "$root"; else bash __INSTALL_DIR__/scripts/derive-collection.sh; fi; fi'
When explaining Hermes/MemSearch impact, distinguish runtime behaviour from infrastructure health: Hermes affects Hermes-native runs; MemSearch hooks affect Claude/Codex recall. Answer what changes in live Claude/Codex sessions, not just whether Milvus is healthy.
-
Search: Run
memsearch search "<query>" --top-k 5 --json-output --collection <collection name from above>to find relevant chunks.- If
memsearchis not found, tryuvx memsearchinstead. - Choose a search query that captures the core intent of the user's question.
- If
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Evaluate: Look at the search results. Skip chunks that are clearly irrelevant or too generic.
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Expand: For each relevant result, get the full context using one of these methods:
- Primary: Run
memsearch expand <chunk_hash> --collection <collection name from above>to get the full markdown section. - Fallback (if expand fails with a lock/permission error due to sandbox): Read the source file directly. The search results include
source(file path) andstart_line/end_line— usecat <source_file>or read the relevant line range to get the full context. This avoids the Milvus lock file issue.
- Primary: Run
-
Deep drill (optional): If an expanded chunk contains transcript anchors (HTML comments with session/rollout info), and the original conversation seems critical:
- Run
bash __INSTALL_DIR__/scripts/parse-rollout.sh <rollout_path>to retrieve the original conversation turns. - If the anchor format is unfamiliar (e.g.
transcript:+turn:,db:instead ofrollout:), try reading the referenced file directly to explore its structure and locate the relevant conversation by the session or turn identifiers in the anchor.
- Run
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Return results: Output a curated summary of the most relevant memories. Be concise — only include information that is genuinely useful for the user's current question.
If the user's question is vague or you can't form a concrete search query, explore the raw markdown first — it is the source of truth for memory:
MDIR="${MEMSEARCH_DIR:-$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)/.memsearch}"; ls -t "$MDIR/memory/" | head -10— recent daily logsMDIR="${MEMSEARCH_DIR:-$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)/.memsearch}"; grep -h "^## " "$MDIR/memory/"*.md | sort -u | tail -40— session headings across all daysMDIR="${MEMSEARCH_DIR:-$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)/.memsearch}"; cat "$MDIR/memory/<YYYY-MM-DD>.md"— read a specific day
Once a concrete topic jumps out, go back to memsearch search with a specific query.
Organize by relevance. For each memory include:
- The key information (decisions, patterns, solutions, context)
- Source reference (file name, date) for traceability
If nothing relevant is found, simply say "No relevant memories found."