Review memory

Skill: review-memory

When to Use

Run /review-memory when prompted by the memory review hook, or any time you want to audit what auto-memory has captured for this project. Use after completing a milestone, before starting new work, or when memory feels noisy.

Do NOT run this mid-task. Finish what you're working on first.

Mode Selection

• Full mode (default): Reads all topic files, presents detailed categorisation table, acts on confirmation.
• Compact mode (/review-memory --compact): Quick list of new memories with one-line summaries. Asks "promote, keep, or remove?" for each. No topic file reads. Use when context is low or time is short.

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Full Mode

Step 1: Load Memory

Read MEMORY.md from the project's memory directory. The path follows this pattern: ~/.claude/projects/<project-path-encoded>/memory/MEMORY.md

Where <project-path-encoded> is the project root path with / replaced by -.

Also read any topic files referenced from MEMORY.md (e.g., feedback_testing.md, project_auth.md).

List what was found:

• Total entries in MEMORY.md
• Topic files and their one-line descriptions
• Last modified dates

Step 2: Categorise Each Entry

For each memory entry, evaluate all three categories in this order:

1. Remove? Is this stale, wrong, duplicated by CLAUDE.md/rules, or derivable from code/git? If yes → Remove.
2. Promote? Does this encode a convention, decision, or constraint that should survive memory cleanup? If losing it would cause mistakes in future sessions, it belongs in CLAUDE.md, a rule file, or a skill → Promote.
3. Keep only if the entry is still relevant but too situational or temporary for a permanent file (e.g., user preferences, in-flight research, external context not derivable from code).

Every "Keep" must include a one-line justification for why it doesn't belong in CLAUDE.md, a rule, or a skill. If you can't articulate why, it's probably a Promote.

Present the categorisation as a table:

| # | Entry | File | Category | Reason |
|---|-------|------|----------|--------|
| 1 | Always use tabs | MEMORY.md | Remove | Already in rules/style.md |
| 2 | User is senior dev | user_role.md | Keep | User profile, not a project convention |
| 3 | API uses JWT auth | project_api.md | Promote | Add to project CLAUDE.md |

Step 3: Act on Categorisation

Wait for the user to confirm or adjust the categories. Then:

For "Promote" entries:

• Identify the right destination (CLAUDE.md, a rule file, or a skill)
• Add the learning to that file
• Remove or update the memory entry to avoid duplication

For "Remove" entries:

• Delete from MEMORY.md or the topic file
• If a topic file becomes empty, delete the file and remove its reference from MEMORY.md

For "Keep" entries:

• Leave as-is

Step 3.5: Post-Promote Contradiction Check

After promoting any entries, check for contradictions:

1. Grep the destination file for any rules or statements that conflict with what was just promoted. Flag contradictions to the user.
2. Scan remaining memory entries for anything that is now superseded by the promoted rule. If a memory says "do X" and the new rule says "do Y instead", mark that memory for removal.
3. Check other rule files for overlap. If the promoted content duplicates or contradicts an existing rule in a different file, flag it: "This overlaps with [file:line] — merge or remove?"

Only flag clear contradictions. Near-duplicates where both phrasings add value are fine to keep.

Step 4: Update Review Timestamp

Write the current unix timestamp to the review cache so the hook knows when the last review happened:

date +%s > ~/.claude/projects/<project-path-encoded>/memory/.last-review

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Compact Mode

For use when context is low or the hook suggests --compact.

Step 1: Read MEMORY.md Only

Read MEMORY.md from the project's memory directory. Do NOT read topic files — use only the one-line descriptions from MEMORY.md.

Step 2: Quick List

Present each entry as a numbered list with the description from MEMORY.md:

1. [feedback] Stop taking shortcuts when debugging — Rewrote debugging.md
2. [feedback] Write complete code always — Restructured discipline.md
3. [project] Auth migration deadline March 15 — Legal compliance driver

Ask: "Any to promote, remove, or update? Otherwise I'll mark as reviewed."

Step 3: Act on Response

• If the user says "all good" or similar → skip to Step 4
• If they flag specific entries → handle just those (promote/remove)
• If a promotion triggers a contradiction → flag it briefly, don't deep-dive

Step 4: Update Review Timestamp

Same as full mode:

date +%s > ~/.claude/projects/<project-path-encoded>/memory/.last-review

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Rules

• Do NOT auto-promote or auto-remove without user confirmation. Present the table (full) or list (compact), wait for approval.
• Do NOT modify CLAUDE.md without showing the proposed change first.
• Check for duplicates. Before promoting, grep the destination file to confirm the learning isn't already there.
• Verify memory accuracy before promoting. Memories are written by Claude and may contain inferences or assumptions that were never confirmed. Quote the specific claim being promoted and confirm it's accurate with the user.
• Keep MEMORY.md under 200 lines. That's the auto-loaded limit. If it's over, prioritise removing noise.
• Post-promote contradiction check is mandatory in full mode, advisory in compact mode.