Distill Memory

Save proactively when the conversation produces knowledge worth keeping. Do not wait to be asked.

When to Distill

Decision with rationale: Compared options, chose with reasoning, trade-off resolved.

Repeatable procedure: Step-by-step workflow the user will need again.

Lesson from debugging: Root cause found, unexpected behavior explained, prevention identified.

Durable preference: Coding style, tooling choice, naming convention, architectural stance.

Plan for future sessions: Agreed next steps, phased approach, deferred work items.

Skip: Routine fixes, work in progress, simple Q&A, generic information.

Usage

nmem --json m add "content" -t "Title" --unit-type <type> -i <importance>

Valid Unit Types

fact, preference, decision, plan, procedure, learning, context, event

Importance Scale (Descending)

Examples

# High-value decision
nmem --json m add "Chose PostgreSQL over MongoDB: need ACID for transaction integrity and complex joins across order/inventory tables" \
  -t "Database: PostgreSQL for ACID" \
  --unit-type decision -i 0.9

# Procedure
nmem --json m add "Deploy sequence: run migrations first, then canary at 5%, watch error rate for 10 min, promote to full rollout" \
  -t "Production Deploy Procedure" \
  --unit-type procedure -i 0.7

# Preference
nmem --json m add "Prefer named exports over default exports in TypeScript. Makes refactoring and IDE navigation faster." \
  -t "TS: Named Exports Preferred" \
  --unit-type preference -i 0.6

Add vs Update

Search first to avoid duplicates. If a memory already captures the same concept and the new information refines it, update instead of creating a new entry:

nmem --json m update <memory_id> -c "updated content"

One strong memory is better than three weak ones.

At the end of a substantial task, explicitly review whether one durable memory should be added or updated.

Memory Quality

Good (atomic, actionable):

• "React hooks cleanup must return a function. Caused memory leaks in event listeners."
• "PostgreSQL over MongoDB: ACID needed for transaction integrity."

Poor: Vague "fixed some bugs", conversation transcript dumps, overly broad summaries.

When to Skip

Do not distill routine work. If the user wouldn't miss it when it's gone, it shouldn't exist. Quality over quantity: 1-3 distilled memories per session is typical.

Links

• Documentation
• Troubleshooting