Memory Notion Sync

This skill manages the full lifecycle of syncing the local .memory/memory.db SQLite store with the [FOS] Memory Notion database. It covers DB discovery, schema, field mapping, conflict resolution, sync triggers, and rate-limit handling.

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DB Discovery

Always search in this order to locate the target database. Never hard-code a database ID.

1. Search Notion for [FOS] Memory (exact name match preferred)
2. If not found, search for Founder OS HQ - Memory
3. If neither found: lazy-create the database using the schema below (only for non-HQ users who did not install the full HQ template)

To search via Notion MCP:

mcp_notion_search({ query: "[FOS] Memory", filter: { value: "database", property: "object" } })

Store the resolved database ID in memory for the duration of the sync session. Do not re-query on every API call.

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DB Schema

The [FOS] Memory Notion database has these properties:

Property	Notion Type	Notes
Key	title	Unique identifier for the memory (e.g., pref:email:archive_newsletters)
Category	select	Options: preference, pattern, fact, contact, workflow
Content	rich_text	The human-readable memory content
Source Plugin	select	Options: P01–P30, User, System
Confidence	number	Integer 0–100
Status	select	Options: candidate, confirmed, applied, dismissed
Company	relation	Relates to [FOS] Companies database (optional)
Tags	multi_select	Free-form tags for grouping and filtering
Times Used	number	How many times this memory has influenced plugin output
Last Used	date	Date of most recent application
Synced At	date	Timestamp of most recent successful sync

Lazy-Create Schema (non-HQ users only)

If neither HQ database is found, create the database with this structure:

{
  "title": [{ "type": "text", "text": { "content": "[FOS] Memory" } }],
  "properties": {
    "Key": { "title": {} },
    "Category": {
      "select": {
        "options": [
          { "name": "preference", "color": "blue" },
          { "name": "pattern", "color": "green" },
          { "name": "fact", "color": "yellow" },
          { "name": "contact", "color": "purple" },
          { "name": "workflow", "color": "orange" }
        ]
      }
    },
    "Content": { "rich_text": {} },
    "Source Plugin": {
      "select": {
        "options": [
          { "name": "P01", "color": "gray" }, { "name": "P02", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "P03", "color": "gray" }, { "name": "P04", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "P05", "color": "gray" }, { "name": "P06", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "P07", "color": "gray" }, { "name": "P08", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "P09", "color": "gray" }, { "name": "P10", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "P11", "color": "gray" }, { "name": "P12", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "P13", "color": "gray" }, { "name": "P14", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "P15", "color": "gray" }, { "name": "P16", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "P17", "color": "gray" }, { "name": "P18", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "P19", "color": "gray" }, { "name": "P20", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "P21", "color": "gray" }, { "name": "P22", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "P23", "color": "gray" }, { "name": "P24", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "P25", "color": "gray" }, { "name": "P26", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "P27", "color": "gray" }, { "name": "P28", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "P29", "color": "gray" }, { "name": "P30", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "User", "color": "pink" },
          { "name": "System", "color": "red" }
        ]
      }
    },
    "Confidence": { "number": { "format": "number" } },
    "Status": {
      "select": {
        "options": [
          { "name": "candidate", "color": "gray" },
          { "name": "confirmed", "color": "blue" },
          { "name": "applied", "color": "green" },
          { "name": "dismissed", "color": "red" }
        ]
      }
    },
    "Company": { "relation": {} },
    "Tags": { "multi_select": {} },
    "Times Used": { "number": { "format": "number" } },
    "Last Used": { "date": {} },
    "Synced At": { "date": {} }
  }
}

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Push Logic (Local → Notion)

Field Mapping

Local SQLite Column	Notion Property	Transform
key	Key (title)	Plain string
category	Category	Select value
content	Content	Rich text block
source_plugin	Source Plugin	Select value (e.g., "P01")
confidence	Confidence	Integer
status	Status	Select value
company_id	Company	Relation page ID (if not null)
tags	Tags	JSON array → multi-select options
times_used	Times Used	Integer
last_used_at	Last Used	ISO 8601 date string
datetime('now')	Synced At	ISO 8601 date string, set at push time

Notion Page Body (create or update)

{
  "parent": { "database_id": "{db_id}" },
  "properties": {
    "Key": {
      "title": [{ "type": "text", "text": { "content": "{key}" } }]
    },
    "Category": { "select": { "name": "{category}" } },
    "Content": {
      "rich_text": [{ "type": "text", "text": { "content": "{content}" } }]
    },
    "Source Plugin": { "select": { "name": "{source_plugin}" } },
    "Confidence": { "number": {confidence} },
    "Status": { "select": { "name": "{status}" } },
    "Company": { "relation": [{ "id": "{company_notion_page_id}" }] },
    "Tags": { "multi_select": [ {/* one object per tag */} ] },
    "Times Used": { "number": {times_used} },
    "Last Used": { "date": { "start": "{last_used_at}" } },
    "Synced At": { "date": { "start": "{now_iso8601}" } }
  }
}

Omit Company entirely if company_id is null. Omit Last Used if last_used_at is null. Omit Tags if the array is empty.

Batch Creates

Group new records into batches of up to 10 and create them sequentially (the Notion API does not support bulk create in a single call — create 10 in parallel using concurrent requests, then proceed to the next batch). Store each returned page ID back in memories.notion_page_id.

Archive for Deletions

For locally deleted memories (where deleted_at IS NOT NULL):

PATCH /pages/{notion_page_id}
{ "archived": true }

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Pull Logic (Notion → Local)

Query Modified Pages

POST /databases/{db_id}/query
{
  "filter": {
    "timestamp": "last_edited_time",
    "last_edited_time": { "after": "{last_sync_iso8601}" }
  }
}

Paginate until has_more: false.

Field Mapping (Notion → Local)

Notion Property	Local Column	Notes
Key (title)	key	Extract plain text from title array
Category	category	Select name
Content	content	Concatenate rich text plain text
Source Plugin	source_plugin	Select name
Confidence	confidence	Number (but see conflict rules below)
Status	status	Select name
Company (relation)	company_id	Map Notion page ID back to local company ID via CRM lookup
Tags	tags	Multi-select names → JSON array
Times Used	times_used	Number (but see conflict rules below)
Last Used	last_used_at	Date start field
Synced At	last_synced_at	Date start field

Conflict Resolution Rules

These rules apply when a Notion value differs from the local value:

Field	Winner	Rationale
status	Notion wins	User is source of truth for dismissals and promotions
content	Notion wins	User edits in Notion are intentional corrections
category	Notion wins	User may recategorize memories
tags	Notion wins	User adds/removes tags in Notion UI
confidence	Local wins	Computed by the engine, not user-editable
times_used	Local wins	Tracked by runtime, Notion value can only go stale
last_used_at	Local wins	Set by runtime on each application
key	Local wins	Never change a memory key after creation

Dismissal Handling

When a Notion page is archived by the user (archived: true) and the local record exists:

1. Set deleted_at = datetime('now') locally
2. Set status = 'dismissed'
3. Freeze the confidence value (disable decay for this record)
4. If the memory was applied, revert any downstream behavioral adaptations it drove (set the relevant plugin behavior flags back to default)

When a Notion page's Status is changed to dismissed:

1. Update local status = 'dismissed'
2. Freeze confidence (set a frozen flag or simply stop processing it in decay runs)
3. Do not delete the local record — keep for audit history

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Sync Triggers

Three conditions trigger a sync:

Auto-Push (after status promotion)

Triggered internally by the memory engine after any memory transitions to confirmed or applied status.

Rules:

• Debounced: do not push more than once per 5 minutes regardless of how many memories promote in that window
• Batch: collect all promotions within the debounce window and push together
• Only push records that haven't been synced yet or have changed since last sync

Implementation: check .memory/sync-state.json for last_auto_push timestamp before triggering.

Auto-Pull (on plugin start)

Triggered by any plugin when it initializes the memory engine.

Rules:

• Only pull if last_sync timestamp in .memory/sync-state.json is more than 1 hour ago
• Pull only — do not push on auto-pull (avoid accidental overwrites during read-heavy operations)
• Runs silently in the background; does not block the plugin's main workflow

Manual (/founder-os:memory:sync command)

Full sync in the specified direction. Always runs immediately regardless of debounce timers. Resets the debounce window after completing.

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Rate Limit Handling

Notion API enforces a rate limit of approximately 3 requests per second per integration.

Retry Strategy

On receiving a 429 Too Many Requests response:

1. Read the Retry-After header (in seconds). If absent, default to 1 second.
2. Wait for the specified duration before retrying.
3. Retry the same request.
4. If it fails again: double the wait time (exponential backoff).
5. After 3 total attempts: skip the record, log the error, increment error count, continue with the next record.

Backoff Schedule

Attempt	Wait Before Retry
1st retry	Retry-After header or 1s
2nd retry	2× previous wait
3rd retry	4× previous wait
Give up	Log error, skip record

Proactive Pacing

When pushing batches, insert a 350ms pause between each batch of 10 to stay safely below the rate limit without relying on retry logic.

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Sync State File

Maintain .memory/sync-state.json to track sync history:

{
  "last_sync": "2026-03-11T09:15:00Z",
  "last_auto_push": "2026-03-11T08:45:00Z",
  "last_auto_pull": "2026-03-11T09:00:00Z",
  "direction": "both",
  "db_id": "{notion_database_id}"
}

Read this file at the start of every sync. Write it at the end of every successful sync. If the file is missing or malformed, treat last_sync as epoch 0 (full re-sync).

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Error Surface

These are the failure modes to handle gracefully:

Error	Action
Notion MCP unavailable	Abort sync, surface error to user
DB not found (all names searched)	Lazy-create DB, proceed
Invalid field value (e.g., unknown category)	Skip that field, log warning, continue
429 after 3 retries	Skip record, log error, continue
500/503 from Notion	Treat as transient, apply same retry logic as 429
Local DB locked (SQLite BUSY)	Wait 200ms, retry up to 3 times
Malformed Notion page (missing required fields)	Skip page, log warning