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Nightly memory consolidation — prunes stale entries, merges duplicates, resolves contradictions, rebuilds MEMORY.md index. Use when memory files have accumulated over many sessions and need cleanup. Do NOT use for storing new decisions (use remember) or searching memory (use memory).

Generalmemorymaintenanceconsolidation

What this skill does


# Dream - Memory Consolidation

Deterministic memory maintenance: detect stale entries, merge duplicates, resolve contradictions, rebuild the MEMORY.md index. All pruning decisions are based on verifiable checks (file exists? function exists? duplicate content?), not LLM judgment.

## Argument Resolution

```python
DRY_RUN = "--dry-run" in "$ARGUMENTS"  # Preview changes without writing
```

## Overview

Memory files accumulate across sessions. Over time they develop problems:
- **Stale references** — memories pointing to files, functions, or classes that no longer exist
- **Duplicates** — multiple memories covering the same topic with overlapping content
- **Contradictions** — newer memories superseding older ones without cleanup
- **Index drift** — MEMORY.md index out of sync with actual memory files

This skill fixes all four problems using deterministic checks only.

> **Cadence (CC 2.1.142+):** Reactive compaction now sizes its first summarize attempt to the actual overflow, so long sessions stall mid-turn far less often. The "run nightly" cadence can relax toward "run when memory files accumulate" — consolidation is no longer needed to head off compaction inefficiency.

---

## STEP 1: Discover Memory Files

```python
# Find the memory directory (agent-specific or project-level)
# Agent memory lives in: .claude/agent-memory/<agent-id>/
# Project memory lives in: .claude/projects/<hash>/memory/
# Also check: .claude/memory/

memory_dirs = []
Glob(pattern=".claude/agent-memory/*/MEMORY.md")
Glob(pattern=".claude/projects/*/memory/MEMORY.md")
Glob(pattern=".claude/memory/MEMORY.md")

# For each discovered MEMORY.md, glob all *.md files in that directory
for dir in memory_dirs:
    Glob(pattern=f"{dir}/../*.md")  # All memory files alongside MEMORY.md
```

Read every discovered memory file. Parse frontmatter (`name`, `description`, `type`) and body content. Build an in-memory inventory:

```
inventory = [{
    "path": "/abs/path/to/file.md",
    "name": frontmatter.name,
    "type": frontmatter.type,  # user, feedback, project, reference
    "description": frontmatter.description,
    "body": body_text,
    "file_refs": [],      # extracted file paths
    "symbol_refs": [],    # extracted function/class names
    "topics": [],         # key phrases for duplicate detection
}]
```

---

## STEP 2: Detect Staleness

For each memory file, extract references and verify they still exist.

### 2a: File Path References

Extract paths that look like file references (patterns: paths with `/` and file extensions, backtick-wrapped paths):

```python
# Regex-like extraction from body text:
# - Paths containing / with common extensions: .py, .ts, .tsx, .js, .json, .md, .yaml, .yml, .sh
# - Backtick-wrapped paths: `src/something/file.ts`
# - Quoted paths in frontmatter descriptions

for ref in file_refs:
    Glob(pattern=ref)  # Check if file exists
    # If no match → mark as STALE_FILE_REF
```

### 2b: Symbol References

Extract function/class names (patterns: `function_name()`, `ClassName`, `def function_name`):

```python
for symbol in symbol_refs:
    Grep(pattern=symbol, path=".", output_mode="files_with_matches", head_limit=1)
    # If no match → mark as STALE_SYMBOL_REF
```

### 2c: Staleness Classification

| Finding | Classification | Action |
|---------|---------------|--------|
| All file refs valid, all symbols found | FRESH | Keep |
| Some file refs missing | PARTIALLY_STALE | Flag for review |
| All file refs missing AND all symbols missing | FULLY_STALE | Prune candidate |
| No external refs (pure decision/preference) | EVERGREEN | Keep |

Only memories classified as FULLY_STALE are auto-pruned. PARTIALLY_STALE memories are reported but kept — the user decides.

---

## STEP 3: Detect Duplicates

Compare memories pairwise within the same directory. Two memories are duplicates when:

1. **Same type** (both `feedback`, both `project`, etc.)
2. **Overlapping topic** — 60%+ of significant words (excluding stopwords) appear in both bodies
3. **Same subject** — `name` or `description` fields reference the same concept

```python
stopwords = {"the", "a", "an", "is", "are", "was", "were", "be", "been",
             "have", "has", "had", "do", "does", "did", "will", "would",
             "could", "should", "may", "might", "can", "shall", "to", "of",
             "in", "for", "on", "with", "at", "by", "from", "as", "into",
             "through", "during", "before", "after", "this", "that", "it",
             "not", "no", "but", "or", "and", "if", "then", "than", "so"}

def significant_words(text):
    words = set(text.lower().split()) - stopwords
    return {w for w in words if len(w) > 2}

def overlap_ratio(words_a, words_b):
    if not words_a or not words_b:
        return 0.0
    intersection = words_a & words_b
    smaller = min(len(words_a), len(words_b))
    return len(intersection) / smaller if smaller > 0 else 0.0

# For each pair with same type:
#   if overlap_ratio >= 0.6 → DUPLICATE pair
#   Keep the NEWER file (by filesystem mtime), prune the older
```

---

## STEP 4: Resolve Contradictions

Contradictions occur when two memories of the same type make opposing claims about the same subject. Detection:

1. **Same type + same topic** (overlap >= 0.4 but < 0.6 — related but not duplicate)
2. **Negation signals** — one body contains negation of the other's assertion:
   - "do X" vs "do not X" / "don't X" / "never X"
   - "use X" vs "avoid X" / "stop using X"
   - "prefer X" vs "prefer Y" (for same decision domain)

```python
negation_pairs = [
    ("do ", "do not "), ("do ", "don't "),
    ("use ", "avoid "), ("use ", "stop using "),
    ("prefer ", "don't prefer "), ("always ", "never "),
]

# For each pair flagged as contradictory:
#   Keep the NEWER file (more recent decision supersedes)
#   Prune the older file
```

---

## STEP 5: Execute Changes (or Dry Run)

### Dry Run Mode (`--dry-run`)

If `--dry-run` flag is present, skip all writes. Output the full report (Step 6) with `[DRY RUN]` prefix and list what WOULD be changed:

```
[DRY RUN] Would delete: .claude/agent-memory/foo/stale_old_path.md (FULLY_STALE)
[DRY RUN] Would delete: .claude/agent-memory/foo/duplicate_auth.md (DUPLICATE of auth_patterns.md)
[DRY RUN] Would delete: .claude/agent-memory/foo/old_preference.md (CONTRADICTED by new_preference.md)
[DRY RUN] Would rebuild: .claude/agent-memory/foo/MEMORY.md (3 entries removed, 12 remaining)
```

### Live Mode

```python
# 1. Delete FULLY_STALE files
for stale in fully_stale_files:
    Bash(command=f"rm '{stale['path']}'")

# 2. Delete DUPLICATE files (keep newer)
for dup in duplicate_pairs:
    older = dup["older"]
    Bash(command=f"rm '{older['path']}'")

# 3. Delete CONTRADICTED files (keep newer)
for contradiction in contradiction_pairs:
    older = contradiction["older"]
    Bash(command=f"rm '{older['path']}'")

# 4. Rebuild MEMORY.md index from surviving files
```

### Rebuild MEMORY.md

Read all surviving `.md` files (excluding MEMORY.md itself). Generate the index:

```markdown
# <Directory Name> Memory

- [Name](filename.md) -- one-line description from frontmatter
```

Rules for the rebuilt index:
- One line per memory file, under 150 characters
- Sorted alphabetically by filename
- Total index must stay under 200 lines
- If over 200 lines after rebuild, warn the user (do not auto-truncate content memories)

```python
# Write the rebuilt MEMORY.md
Write(path="<memory_dir>/MEMORY.md", content=rebuilt_index)
```

---

## STEP 6: Report

Output a summary table after consolidation:

```
## Dream Consolidation Report

| Metric | Count |
|--------|-------|
| Memory directories scanned | N |
| Total memory files scanned | N |
| Stale entries pruned | N |
| Duplicates merged | N |
| Contradictions resolved | N |
| Partially stale (kept, flagged) | N |
| Evergreen (no external refs) | N |
| Surviving memories | N |
| MEMORY.md indexes rebuilt | N |

### Changes Made

| File | Action | Reason |
|------|--------|--------|
| `pat
Files: 1
Size: 12.7 KB
Complexity: 22/100
Category: General

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