Memory Usage Best Practices

Memory Usage Best Practices

This skill guides effective use of the libsql-memory persistent storage.

When to Store Memories

DO store:

• Key architectural decisions and their rationale
• User preferences discovered during conversation
• Important patterns or conventions for this project
• Solutions to complex problems that took investigation
• Project-specific context not in documentation

DON'T store:

• Information already in code comments or README
• Temporary debugging steps
• Trivial facts or obvious information
• Sensitive data (credentials, API keys)

When to Search Memories

Search before:

• Starting a new task (check for relevant context)
• Making assumptions about project conventions
• Implementing features similar to past work
• Answering questions about project history

Namespace Organization

Use namespaces to organize memories:

• Project name for project-specific context
• Language name (go, typescript, python) for language patterns
• "preferences" for user preferences
• "decisions" for architectural decisions

Example Usage

Storing:

memory_store(
  content: "User prefers functional React components over class components",
  namespace: "preferences",
  metadata: {"project": "frontend-app"}
)

Searching:

memory_search(
  query: "React component conventions",
  namespace: "preferences",
  limit: 5
)

Automated Memory Retrieval

The plugin includes automation hooks that handle memory operations automatically:

SessionStart

• Detects project type and loads relevant context
• Searches memory for stored project preferences and conventions
• Provides context summary at session start

UserPromptSubmit

• Proactively searches memory for context relevant to your query
• Extracts technical terms and searches for related patterns
• Injects relevant memories before processing your request

PreToolUse (Write/Edit)

• Retrieves file-specific patterns before modifying code
• Searches for conventions related to the package/module
• Ensures consistency with established patterns

PostToolUse (Write/Edit)

• Evaluates if new patterns or decisions should be stored
• Automatically captures architectural decisions
• Stores non-obvious solutions for future reference

Stop

• Reviews the session for valuable learnings
• Stores key decisions, patterns, and user preferences
• Creates session summaries for complex work

Namespace Strategy

Organize memories by purpose:

• {project}/preferences - User preferences for this project
• {project}/conventions - Coding patterns and style decisions
• {project}/architecture - Structural decisions and rationale
• {project}/errors - Error patterns and solutions
• {project}/sessions - Session summaries
• global - Cross-project preferences

Key Principles

1. Quality over quantity - Store meaningful insights, not everything
2. Search before storing - Avoid duplicates
3. Use specific namespaces - Makes retrieval more accurate
4. Include context - Add metadata for better organization
5. Trust automation - Hooks handle routine memory operations