Recall: Retrieving Session Memory

Context

Project: !basename $(git remote get-url origin 2>/dev/null | sed 's/\.git$//' | xargs basename 2>/dev/null) 2>/dev/null || basename $(pwd) Vault: !sqlite3 $(memex path 2>/dev/null)/_index.sqlite "SELECT COUNT(*) || ' documents indexed'" 2>/dev/null || echo "(index unavailable)"

---

Step 0: Classify the Query

Before doing anything, classify the user's question into one of three modes:

TEMPORAL — date-based browsing

Triggers: "yesterday", "last week", "today", "what did I do on Monday", "show me recent work", "last 3 days", "this week's sessions", any date reference without topic keywords.

Action: Go to → Temporal Recall

KEYWORD — topic/decision lookup

Triggers: "why did we...", "find the memo about...", "what was the decision on...", "remind me about the retry pattern", any question with specific technical terms or project names.

Action: Go to → Keyword Recall

DEEP — cross-project synthesis

Triggers: "what patterns do we use across...", "how has our approach to X evolved...", "compare how we handle X in different projects", questions spanning multiple sessions or projects.

Action: Redirect to the ask-memex skill. Do not handle here.

If mixed (date + topic, e.g., "what auth work did I do last week"): Start with TEMPORAL to narrow the date range, then scan the results for the topic.

---

Temporal Recall

Run the temporal scanner to browse sessions and memos by date:

memex timeline "<date-expression>"

With project filter:

memex timeline "<date-expression>" --project=<name>

Filter by type:

memex timeline "<date-expression>" --type=memo

Supported date expressions

yesterday, today, 3 days ago, last 5 days, this week, last week, last monday, 7d, 2w, march 15, 2026-03-15

After getting results

1. Present the timeline clearly — group by project if multiple projects
2. If the user wants details on a specific session, read the full memo or transcript
3. Go to → One Thing Synthesis

---

Keyword Recall

Step 1: Generate 2-3 query variants

Before searching, proactively generate keyword variants to compensate for FTS's literal matching. This is not optional — always expand.

Process:

1. Extract exact technical terms from the question
2. Generate synonyms and alternative phrasings
3. Add related concepts that might appear in memos about this topic

Example expansions:

User Question	Variant 1 (exact)	Variant 2 (synonyms)	Variant 3 (related)
"Why did we choose JWT?"	JWT OR authentication	OAuth OR token OR auth	session OR credential OR stateless
"Remind me about the retry pattern"	retry OR pattern	backoff OR resilience	fault OR tolerance OR circuit
"What was the API rate limiting decision?"	rate OR limiting OR API	throttle OR quota	429 OR backpressure OR queue

Step 2: Run searches in parallel

Run all variants simultaneously:

memex search "JWT OR authentication"
memex search "OAuth OR token OR auth"

Or use the slash command: /memex:search "JWT OR authentication"

Search modes

• Hybrid (default): Best for most queries — combines keyword precision with semantic understanding
• FTS (--mode=fts): Fastest. Best for exact terms, names, acronyms, error codes
• Vector (--mode=vector): Best for conceptual questions when exact wording is unknown

Step 3: Merge and deduplicate

If the same document appears in multiple searches, keep the highest-scoring instance. Present the top 5-8 unique results.

Step 4: Present results

1. Summarize relevance — explain how results relate to the question
2. Quote key snippets — pull the most relevant sentences
3. Acknowledge gaps — if results don't fully answer, say so
4. Offer to load more — if a memo looks promising, offer to /memex:load the full content

If searches return nothing

1. Try broader terms: "JWT" → "auth OR token OR JWT"
2. Try vector mode for conceptual matching: --mode=vector
3. Remove project filter if you added one
4. Try temporal scan to find sessions from the right time period
5. Check spelling of technical terms

Go to → One Thing Synthesis

---

One Thing Synthesis

Every recall ends with ONE specific next action. Not "what would you like to do?" — a concrete recommendation.

After presenting results (temporal or keyword), synthesize the single highest-leverage next step based on:

1. Momentum — What's almost done? What was actively being worked on? → "Continue the auth middleware rewrite in alcor — the token refresh handler is the last piece"

2. Blockers — What's stuck or waiting on a decision? → "The rate limiter is blocked on the Redis config decision from last week — resolve that first"

3. Recency — What was just active and could benefit from a follow-up? → "You were working on the MCP server yesterday — pick up where you left off with tool registration"

Rules:

• Be specific: include the project name and concrete task
• Reference the evidence: "Based on the memo from March 15..."
• If nothing actionable emerges, say so honestly: "These sessions are complete — no open threads"
• If multiple threads are open, pick the one with the most momentum

---

When NOT to Search

1. Answer is already in context — current conversation already contains the information
2. Question is general knowledge — "What is a closure?" (not project-specific)
3. Question is purely future-oriented with no past context — "What's the best way to do X?"
4. User explicitly asks for fresh perspective — "Without looking at past decisions..."
5. Already searched this session — avoid redundant searches for the same topic