---
id: 142f47e5-cffd-4cc3-a2d2-4efdb3506a57
type: decision
title: "Project MEMORY.md files are symlinks, not project-specific"
tags: [cognitive-memory, claude-code, convention]
importance: 0.7
confidence: 0.8
created: "2026-02-16T16:45:39.812178+00:00"
updated: "2026-02-16T16:45:39.812178+00:00"
---

Decision: All Claude Code project MEMORY.md files symlink to cognitive memory CORE.md rather than containing project-specific content. Project-specific knowledge belongs in cognitive memory (tagged and searchable) not in isolated MEMORY.md files. This ensures uniform auto-loading and single source of truth. If a project needs persistent context, store it as a cognitive memory with the project tag.