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clawdbot/docs/concepts/memory.md
2026-01-12 11:23:44 +00:00

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---
summary: "How Clawdbot memory works (workspace files + automatic memory flush)"
read_when:
- You want the memory file layout and workflow
- You want to tune the automatic pre-compaction memory flush
---
# Memory
Clawdbot memory is **plain Markdown in the agent workspace**. The files are the
source of truth; the model only "remembers" what gets written to disk.
## Memory files (Markdown)
The default workspace layout uses two memory layers:
- `memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md`
- Daily log (append-only).
- Read today + yesterday at session start.
- `MEMORY.md` (optional)
- Curated long-term memory.
- **Only load in the main, private session** (never in group contexts).
These files live under the workspace (`agents.defaults.workspace`, default
`~/clawd`). See [Agent workspace](/concepts/agent-workspace) for the full layout.
## When to write memory
- Decisions, preferences, and durable facts go to `MEMORY.md`.
- Day-to-day notes and running context go to `memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md`.
- If someone says "remember this," write it down (do not keep it in RAM).
## Automatic memory flush (pre-compaction ping)
When a session is **close to auto-compaction**, Clawdbot triggers a **silent,
agentic turn** that reminds the model to write durable memory **before** the
context is compacted. The default prompts explicitly say the model *may reply*,
but usually `NO_REPLY` is the correct response so the user never sees this turn.
This is controlled by `agents.defaults.compaction.memoryFlush`:
```json5
{
agents: {
defaults: {
compaction: {
reserveTokensFloor: 20000,
memoryFlush: {
enabled: true,
softThresholdTokens: 4000,
systemPrompt: "Session nearing compaction. Store durable memories now.",
prompt: "Write any lasting notes to memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md; reply with NO_REPLY if nothing to store."
}
}
}
}
}
```
Details:
- **Soft threshold**: flush triggers when the session token estimate crosses
`contextWindow - reserveTokensFloor - softThresholdTokens`.
- **Silent** by default: prompts include `NO_REPLY` so nothing is delivered.
- **Two prompts**: a user prompt plus a system prompt append the reminder.
- **One flush per compaction cycle** (tracked in `sessions.json`).
- **Workspace must be writable**: if the session runs sandboxed with
`workspaceAccess: "ro"` or `"none"`, the flush is skipped.
For the full compaction lifecycle, see
[Session management + compaction](/reference/session-management-compaction).
## Vector memory search
Clawdbot can build a small vector index over `MEMORY.md` and `memory/*.md` so
semantic queries can find related notes even when wording differs.
Defaults:
- Enabled by default.
- Watches memory files for changes (debounced).
- Uses remote embeddings (OpenAI) unless configured for local.
- Local mode uses node-llama-cpp and may require `pnpm approve-builds`.
Config example:
```json5
agents: {
defaults: {
memorySearch: {
provider: "openai",
model: "text-embedding-3-small",
fallback: "openai",
sync: { watch: true }
}
}
}
```
Tools:
- `memory_search` — returns snippets with file + line ranges.
- `memory_get` — read memory file content by path.
Local mode:
- Set `agents.defaults.memorySearch.provider = "local"`.
- Provide `agents.defaults.memorySearch.local.modelPath` (GGUF or `hf:` URI).
- Optional: set `agents.defaults.memorySearch.fallback = "none"` to avoid remote fallback.