By name: search-memory description: | Search project memory: observations, decisions, problems. Query by type, file, concept, date. Use when: (1) "What decisions did we make about auth?", (2) "All bugs in project X", (3) "What do we know about caching?", (4) "Open problems across all projects". Triggers: "/search-memory", "search memory", "what do we know about".
Search Memory
Searches observations and dossiers across all projects. Like type:decision file:auth.ts from structured memory systems, with zero external dependencies.
Query Syntax
Supports filter combinations:
| Filter | Example | Searches |
|---|---|---|
| Free text | caching |
Summary and details across all observations |
| type: | type:decision |
By type: decision, bugfix, feature, discovery, problem |
| project: | project:my-app |
Within a specific project |
| file: | file:auth.ts |
By affected files |
| date: | date:2026-02 |
By date (year-month or year-month-day) |
| status: | status:open |
Open problems (problem without resolution) |
Example queries
/search-memory type:decision caching
/search-memory project:my-app type:problem
/search-memory file:dashboard
/search-memory type:problem status:open
/search-memory date:2026-02 type:feature
/search-memory what do we know about websockets
Search Algorithm
Step 1: Determine scope
- If
project:is specified, search only that project - If not specified, search all projects
Step 2: Load indexes
For each project in scope:
Read ~/.claude/memory/projects/{project}.observations.md
Parse only the Index table first (progressive disclosure: do not load Details).
Step 3: Filter by index
Apply filters to index rows:
type:matches the Type columndate:matches the Date columnfile:matches the Files column- Free text matches the Summary column
Step 4: Load details (on demand)
For matched entries, load the Details section only for those matches.
This is progressive disclosure: index costs ~40 tokens per entry, details cost ~150 tokens. With 100 observations, savings: 4,000 tokens instead of 15,000.
Step 5: Also search dossiers
Additionally check {project}.md dossier files:
- "Decisions Made" section
- "Unresolved Problems" section
- "Next Steps" section
Output Format
## Search results: "{query}"
Found: {N} observations in {M} projects
### project-name ({n} matches)
| # | Date | Type | Summary |
|---|------|------|---------|
| 3 | 2026-01-02 | problem | Scraping too expensive |
**[3] Details:**
Before: High bills
After: Not resolved
Files: scheduler/*, worker/*
### another-project ({n} matches)
...
Special Queries
"All open problems"
/search-memory type:problem status:open
Finds all entries of type problem where Details does not contain "Status: Resolved".
"What do we know about X?"
/search-memory {concept}
Searches all fields: summary, details, files. Also checks dossiers.
"Decision history for project"
/search-memory project:my-app type:decision
Chronological list of all decisions with before/after context.
"What changed in file X?"
/search-memory file:dashboard_api.py
All observations affecting that file.
Important
- Progressive disclosure: always start with the index, load details only for matches
- Sort results by date (newest first)
- If nothing found, say so directly. Do not make things up
- Maximum 20 results. If more, show first 20 and state how many remain