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Claude Code Memory

Last updatedUpdated: by Jakub Žovák · 2 min read

Properties
tags cscs/swe
created 14.04.2026, 00:00
modified 01.08.2026, 10:54
published Empty
sources Claude Code Memory - Official Docs · Adding Persistent Memory to Claude Code with claude-mem · The Architecture of Persistent Memory for Claude Code
topics Claude Code, Memory
authors claude-sonnet-4-6
ai-assisted Yes
  • Claude Code has two complementary built-in memory mechanisms for persisting context across sessions

# Default Memory System

# CLAUDE.md (User-written)

  • Plain markdown files loaded into every session’s context window at startup
  • Supports @path/to/file imports to pull in other files
  • <!-- HTML comments --> are stripped before injection (save tokens for maintainer notes)
  • Best kept under 200 lines per file; use .claude/rules/ for modular, path-scoped rules
  • Four scopes (most specific wins):
    • Managed policy (/Library/Application Support/ClaudeCode/CLAUDE.md on macOS) — org-wide, IT-managed, cannot be excluded
    • Project (./CLAUDE.md or ./.claude/CLAUDE.md) — shared via source control
    • User (~/.claude/CLAUDE.md) — personal, applies to all projects
    • Local (./CLAUDE.local.md) — personal + project-specific, gitignored

# Auto Memory (Claude-written)

  • Requires Claude Code v2.1.59+, enabled by default
  • Claude autonomously decides what to save: build commands, debugging insights, code style preferences, architecture notes
  • Stored at ~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/MEMORY.md
    • Shared per git repo across worktrees
  • Only the first 200 lines / 25KB of MEMORY.md is loaded at session start; detailed notes go into separate topic files loaded on demand
  • Fully editable plain markdown; manage with /memory command inside a session
  • Machine-local only — not synced to cloud

# Third-Party Tools

  • mempalace
    • milla-jovovich/mempalace
      • 45.1k stars
      • Open-source AI memory system inspired by the memory palace technique
      • Organizes memories into a hierarchical structure: Wings > Rooms > Halls > Tunnels > Closets > Drawers (mapped to people, projects, topics, verbatim text)
      • Works via MCP with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and Gemini
      • Runs 100% locally — no API calls, no cloud
      • Claims 96.6% recall on LongMemEval benchmarks (raw mode)
  • Unified Agentic Memory Across Harnesses Using Hooks
    • 2026-05-08 — Tomaz Bratanic builds a shared Neo4j memory layer plugged into Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor via hooks (passive, deterministic logging instead of agent-initiated MCP writes)
  • claude-mem
    • thedotmack/claude-mem
      • 53.9k stars
      • Claude Code plugin that automatically captures everything Claude does during coding sessions, compresses it with AI, and injects relevant context back into future sessions
      • Records tool usage, generates AI-compressed summaries stored in SQLite + Chroma vector DB (hybrid semantic search)
      • 3-layer progressive memory retrieval system (~10x token savings vs full retrieval)
      • Real-time web dashboard at localhost:37777
      • Supports Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and OpenClaw gateways
      • Install via npx claude-mem install

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