global-memory

global-memory

Cross-project workplace memory for Claude Cowork and Claude Code. Plain markdown on disk, indexed and served by the Basic Memory MCP server, accessed by a forked memory-management skill so the same memory works from any selected workspace folder.

This is a fork of productivity:memory-management that swaps direct file I/O for MCP calls. Same data model, same files on disk, client-agnostic access.

What's inside

Component	Purpose
skills/memory-management/SKILL.md	Auto-triggered skill. Decodes shorthand, looks up via Basic Memory MCP, writes new facts.
skills/memory-bootstrap/SKILL.md	/memory-bootstrap — interview-style first-time setup that seeds the memory store with people, projects, acronyms, and preferences.
skills/remember/SKILL.md	/remember <fact> — explicit verb to push a fact into memory. Classifies and routes to the right destination.
skills/memory-wire/SKILL.md	/memory-wire [root-dir] — runs the injector script to append the global-memory pointer block to every per-project CLAUDE.md. Idempotent.
hooks/hooks.json + hooks/preload-hot-cache.sh	SessionStart hook. Auto-loads CLAUDE.md (hot cache) into session context so memory feels automatic.
scripts/inject-memory-pointer.sh	Adds a "global memory exists" pointer block to every per-project CLAUDE.md under ~/Documents/Claude/Project*/. Idempotent.
.mcp.json	Registers the basic-memory MCP server, pointed at the memory project.
.claude-plugin/plugin.json	Plugin manifest.
.claude-plugin/marketplace.json	Marketplace manifest for claude plugins / /plugin install.

Prerequisites

1. Install Basic Memory:

   brew tap basicmachines-co/basic-memory
   brew install basic-memory
   

2. Create the Memory directory and register a Basic Memory project named memory pointing at it:

   mkdir -p ~/Documents/Claude/Memory
   basic-memory project add memory ~/Documents/Claude/Memory --default
   

   Verify with basic-memory status — it should report the project without errors.

The directory does not need to be populated yet. /memory-bootstrap handles seeding on first use.

Install

From the marketplace (recommended)

In Claude Code or Cowork:

/plugin marketplace add Turek/cowork-global-memory
/plugin install global-memory@cowork-global-memory

From a .plugin file (Cowork)

Build:

cd ~/Documents/Claude/global-memory
zip -r /tmp/global-memory.plugin . -x "*.DS_Store" -x ".git/*"

Drag /tmp/global-memory.plugin into Cowork.

From local source

claude plugins add ~/Documents/Claude/global-memory

First-time use

After install, in a fresh Cowork or Claude Code session:

/memory-bootstrap

The skill asks for: name and role, frequent contacts (up to ~10), active projects (up to ~8), daily acronyms / shorthand, and communication preferences. It then writes the seed notes to the right permalinks (claude, glossary, preferences, people/<slug>, projects/<slug>, index, today's daily/<date>).

Subsequent sessions auto-load the hot cache via the SessionStart hook, so Claude knows your people, acronyms, and active projects without needing to be told.

Day-to-day use

• Auto-decoding — just talk normally. "Ask todd to do the PSR for oracle" → Claude looks up todd, PSR, oracle via the hot cache and full glossary before acting.
• Explicit push — /remember <fact>. E.g. /remember Jane Smith is the new platform lead, prefers Slack DMs. The skill classifies the fact, picks the right permalink, writes it.
• First-time setup — /memory-bootstrap.
• Wire per-project CLAUDE.md files — /memory-wire [root-dir]. Runs the bundled injector script to append the global-memory pointer block to every CLAUDE.md under ~/Documents/Claude/Project*/ (or a custom root). Idempotent.

Lookup chain

For any non-trivial request:

1. mcp__basic-memory__read_note("claude") — hot cache
2. mcp__basic-memory__read_note("glossary") — full decoder ring
3. mcp__basic-memory__read_note("people/<slug>") / read_note("projects/<slug>") — deep context
4. mcp__basic-memory__search_notes("<term>") — fuzzy
5. Ask the user, then mcp__basic-memory__write_note(...)

Memory directory layout

~/Documents/Claude/Memory/
├── CLAUDE.md            # permalink: claude — hot cache
├── INDEX.md             # store map
├── glossary.md          # full decoder ring
├── preferences.md       # comms and code preferences
├── people/              # one file per person
├── projects/            # one file per project
├── context/             # company, teams, stack
├── decisions/           # ADR-style notes (YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md)
└── daily/               # journal (YYYY-MM-DD.md)