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Adds title, description, type, domain, and tags frontmatter to every doc for improved KB semantic search. The description field is prepended to every search chunk, and domain/type/tags enable filtered queries. Type values: context, guide, runbook, reference, troubleshooting Domain values match directory structure (networking, docker, etc.) Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
56 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
56 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Claude Code Memory Auto-Load"
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description: "How MEMORY.md symlinks to cognitive memory CORE.md provide automatic context injection into every Claude Code session. Covers the symlink mechanism, daily refresh via systemd, and manual refresh commands."
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type: guide
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domain: development
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tags: [claude-code, cognitive-memory, symlinks, systemd, automation]
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---
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# Claude Code Memory Auto-Load (CORE.md Symlinks)
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## Problem
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Claude Code's CLAUDE.md can instruct the AI to load files at session start, but this relies on the model choosing to follow the instruction — which it often doesn't.
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## Solution
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Claude Code has a built-in auto-memory feature: each project gets a `MEMORY.md` file at `~/.claude/projects/<project-path>/memory/MEMORY.md` that is **automatically injected into the system prompt** every session. No tool calls needed.
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We symlink every project's `MEMORY.md` to our cognitive memory `CORE.md` (`~/.claude/memory/CORE.md`), which is an auto-curated summary of the most relevant memories (~1,000-1,100 tokens).
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## How It Works
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```
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~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/MEMORY.md → ~/.claude/memory/CORE.md
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```
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- CORE.md is regenerated daily by `cognitive-memory-daily.service`
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- Symlinks are refreshed daily by the same service (catches new projects)
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- Cost: ~1% of 200k context window — negligible
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## Files
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| File | Purpose |
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|------|---------|
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| `~/.local/bin/claude-memory-symlinks` | Script that creates/refreshes symlinks for all projects |
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| `~/.config/systemd/user/cognitive-memory-daily.service` | Daily timer that runs decay → core → embed → symlinks |
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| `~/.claude/memory/CORE.md` | Auto-curated cognitive memory summary (symlink target) |
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## Manual Refresh
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```bash
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# Regenerate CORE.md and refresh symlinks
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claude-memory core && claude-memory-symlinks
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# Just refresh symlinks (e.g., after creating a new project)
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claude-memory-symlinks
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```
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## What Changed
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- **Removed** from `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md`: "Session start: Load CORE.md" instruction
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- **Added** to `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md`: "CORE.md auto-loads via MEMORY.md symlinks"
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- **Migrated** project-specific MEMORY.md content (major-domo, strat-gameplay-webapp) into cognitive memory before replacing with symlinks
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- **Added** `claude-memory-symlinks` step to daily systemd service
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## Date
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2026-02-16
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