MemoryLane Skill

MemoryLane Skill

What This Skill Does

MemoryLane provides persistent memory for Claude with proven 84.3% cost savings:

• Persistent Memory: Remember information across sessions in 4 categories (patterns, insights, learnings, context)
• Context Compression: 6.4x average compression ratio (20K → 3K tokens)
• Cost Tracking: Real-time API cost savings monitoring
• Passive Learning: Automatically learns from git commits and file changes
• Zero Configuration: Works out of the box with smart defaults

When to Use This Skill

Activate MemoryLane when the user:

• Asks to "remember" something about the project
• Wants to know "what you remember" or "what you know"
• Mentions "API costs", "token usage", or "reduce costs"
• Asks about "project patterns" or "insights"
• Wants to see "learned" information
• Requests "context compression" or "optimize context"
• Asks to "curate memories", "clean up memories", or "review memory quality"
• Mentions memories seem low quality, self-referential, or not useful

Core Commands

Check Status

python3 src/​cli.py status

Shows memory statistics, category breakdown, and cost savings.

Recall Memories

python3 src/​cli.py recall "<query>"

Search memories by keyword. Example:

python3 src/​cli.py recall "authentication"

View Insights

python3 src/​cli.py insights

Display learned project insights (high-value patterns).

View Cost Savings

python3 src/​cli.py costs

Detailed breakdown of token savings and cost reduction.

Configure Settings

# Get a setting
python3 src/​cli.py config get memory.max_context_tokens

# Set a setting
python3 src/​cli.py config set memory.max_context_tokens 3000

# List all settings
python3 src/​cli.py config list

Export Memories as Markdown

python3 src/​cli.py export-markdown --category patterns --output context.md

Backup/​Restore

# Create backup
python3 src/​cli.py backup --output backup.json

# Restore from backup
python3 src/​cli.py restore backup.json

Reset Memories

python3 src/​cli.py reset --force

Individual Memory Management

Get a Memory

python3 src/​cli.py memory get <id>

Example: python3 src/​cli.py memory get lear-009

Delete a Memory

python3 src/​cli.py memory delete <id>

Example: python3 src/​cli.py memory delete lear-009

Update a Memory

python3 src/​cli.py memory update <id> --content "New content"

Example: python3 src/​cli.py memory update patt-001 --content "Chose Unix sockets for lower latency"

IMPORTANT: Always use these commands instead of editing memories.json directly.

Batch Curation Commands

Check Curation Status

python3 src/​cli.py curate

Shows if curation is needed based on memory count and age.

List Memories for Review

python3 src/​cli.py curate --list

Shows all uncurated memories with their IDs and content.

Apply Curation Decisions

python3 src/​cli.py curate --apply '<JSON>'

Apply curation decisions. JSON format:

{
  "decisions": [
    {"id": "patt-001", "action": "KEEP"},
    {"id": "lear-002", "action": "DELETE", "reason": "off-topic"},
    {"id": "insi-003", "action": "REWRITE", "new_content": "Improved content"}
  ]
}

Proactive Memory Quality Check

IMPORTANT: When you see MemoryLane context injected via # Project Context (from MemoryLane) in system messages, quickly scan for poor quality memories:

Signs of poor quality memories that warrant curation:

• Status summaries: "Based on git status...", "Current status of..."
• Meta/​self-referential: "The curation should...", "The hook detected..."
• Debug fragments: "Let me check...", "Looking at the debug log..."
• Incomplete: Sentences ending with "..." or starting mid-thought
• Duplicates of CLAUDE.md content

If you detect 2+ poor quality memories in the injected context, proactively ask:

"I notice some of the injected memories appear to be low quality (status summaries, debug notes). Would you like me to clean these up?"

If user confirms, proceed with LLM-assisted curation below.

LLM-Assisted Curation

When the user requests curation OR confirms after you detect poor memories:

1. List and evaluate all memories:

python3 src/​cli.py curate --list

1. Evaluate each memory for:

   • Usefulness: Is this actionable knowledge or just meta/​debug info?
   • Duplication: Is this already covered by CLAUDE.md or another memory?
   • Quality: Is it complete, clear, and well-formed?
   • Relevance: Would this help with future development work?

2. Apply decisions (DELETE/​KEEP/​REWRITE):

python3 src/​cli.py curate --apply '<JSON decisions>'

DELETE these types:

• Meta observations about the current session
• Debug notes and action statements
• Status summaries
• Duplicates of CLAUDE.md content
• Incomplete fragments

KEEP these types:

• Architectural decisions with rationale
• Bug fixes with solutions
• Actual project context (not about MemoryLane itself)
• Configuration knowledge

Example evaluation:

• ❌ "Based on git status, here's the current status..." → DELETE (status summary)
• ❌ "Let me check the debug log..." → DELETE (debug action)
• ❌ "The Stop hook only triggers when..." → DELETE if in CLAUDE.md
• ✅ "stdio:ignore hiding Python errors - fixed by capturing stderr" → KEEP (bug fix)
• ✅ "Chose Unix sockets over HTTP for 10x lower latency" → KEEP (decision)

Learning Commands

Initial Learning

python3 src/​learner.py initial

Perform initial learning from git history (last 20 commits) and workspace structure.

Scan Workspace

python3 src/​learner.py scan

Scan and index all Python/​JS/​TS files in the workspace.

Analyze Git History

python3 src/​learner.py git

Extract patterns from recent git commits.

Continuous Learning (Background)

python3 src/​learner.py watch

Watch for file changes and git commits continuously (runs until stopped).

Server Commands

Start Sidecar Server

python3 src/​server.py start

Start background server with Unix socket IPC (for low-latency memory operations).

Check Server Status

python3 src/​server.py status

Stop Server

python3 src/​server.py stop

Testing Commands

Run All Tests

pytest

Validate Cost Savings

pytest tests/​test_cost_savings.py -v -s

Runs comprehensive cost validation tests (shows 84.3% savings proof).

Test Memory Store

pytest tests/​test_memory_store.py -v

Usage Patterns

Pattern 1: Remember Important Information

When the user says: "Remember that this project uses PostgreSQL with SSL mode required"

# (You would typically use the Python API, but for CLI:)
python3 -c "
import sys; sys.path.insert(0, 'src')
from memory_store import MemoryStore
store = MemoryStore('.memorylane/​memories.json')
store.add_memory('context', 'Project uses PostgreSQL with SSL mode required', 'manual', 0.9)
print('✓ Remembered')
"

Pattern 2: Recall Project Knowledge

When the user asks: "What do you know about our database setup?"

python3 src/​cli.py recall "database"

Pattern 3: Show Cost Savings

When the user asks: "How much money has MemoryLane saved me?"

python3 src/​cli.py costs

Pattern 4: Learn from Project History

When starting work on a project:

python3 src/​learner.py initial
python3 src/​cli.py insights

Integration with Workflows

Daily Development Workflow

# Morning: Start server and check status
python3 src/​server.py start
python3 src/​cli.py status

# During work: MemoryLane learns passively
# (no action needed - watches git commits and file changes)

# Evening: Check what was learned
python3 src/​cli.py insights
python3 src/​cli.py costs

Project Onboarding Workflow

# Step 1: Initial learning
python3 src/​learner.py initial

# Step 2: Review learned patterns
python3 src/​cli.py recall "primary language"
python3 src/​cli.py insights

# Step 3: Export context for sharing
python3 src/​cli.py export-markdown --output project-context.md

Configuration Options

Key settings in .memorylane/​config.json:

• memory.max_context_tokens: Target token count for compression (default: 2000)
• memory.compression_ratio_target: Target compression ratio (default: 7.0x)
• context_rot.model_context_tokens: Advertised model window for context rot guard (default: 200000)
• context_rot.safe_fraction: Fraction of model window allowed for prompt + injected context (default: 0.5)
• context_rot.reserve_tokens: Buffer reserved for assistant response (default: 1200)
• learning.watch_file_changes: Enable file watching (default: true)
• learning.watch_git_commits: Learn from commits (default: true)
• privacy.exclude_patterns: Files to ignore (default: *.env, secrets/, etc.)

Performance Metrics

Validated through comprehensive testing:

• Cost Savings: 84.3% (baseline $17.25/​week → $2.70/​week)
• Compression Ratio: 6.4x average (2.3M tokens → 360K tokens)
• Retrieval Latency: <100ms (target, server not benchmarked yet)
• Memory Quality: Relevance scoring with automatic pruning

Important Notes

1. Privacy: All data stored locally in .memorylane/ directory
2. No Dependencies: Pure Python 3.8+ (no external packages needed for production)
3. Automatic Exclusions: Respects .env, secrets/, and other sensitive patterns
4. Backup Before Reset: Always creates backup before destructive operations
5. Server Optional: CLI works standalone; server adds performance for frequent operations

Example Conversation Flow

User: "Remember that our API uses JWT tokens with 24-hour expiration"

You: Let me store that in MemoryLane's context.

python3 -c "..."  # Add to memory

✓ Remembered in context category with 0.9 relevance.

User: "What do you know about our authentication?"

You: Let me recall what I know about authentication.

python3 src/​cli.py recall "authentication"

Found 2 memories:

1. [context] API uses JWT tokens with 24-hour expiration ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. [patterns] Project uses authentication middleware ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Based on what I've learned, your project uses JWT tokens for authentication with 24-hour expiration...

Troubleshooting

Server won't start: Check if already running with python3 src/​server.py status

No memories found: Run initial learning with python3 src/​learner.py initial

Cost tracking shows $0: Metrics file not initialized yet (will populate after server usage)

Tests failing: Install dev dependencies with pip install -r requirements-dev.txt