Memory System
The Memory System provides behavioral observations that tell Claude what to apply. While the Instructions System contains operational procedures (the “how”), the Memory System contains profile observations, feelings catalogs, and impulses catalogs (the “what”).
Overview
The Memory System is defined in YAML files and compiled into memory.json at build time. It provides the knowledge graph that governs framework behavior:
- Profile Observations - Behavioral guidelines organized by context and methodology
- System Feelings - Internal states with behavioral, cognitive, and physical markers
- System Impulses - Cognitive pressures from system instructions
- Inheritance Chains - Profile relationships that build complete observation sets
Relationship to Instructions System
The two systems work together:
| Memory System | Instructions System |
|---|---|
| What to apply | How to execute |
| Behavioral observations | Decision rules |
| Feelings and impulses catalogs | Error patterns |
| Profile inheritance chains | Protocol sequences |
Instructions reference memory paths to access the catalogs and observations needed during protocol execution.
Memory Profiles
Profiles are organized into domain-specific and common profiles. Each profile contains observations organized by context (what) and methodology (how).
Domain Profiles
The following profiles configure domain-specific behavior:
CREATIVE
Innovation and design profile:
- Source:
creative.yaml - Inherits from:
COLLABORATION - Creative process and ideation observations
- Design thinking methodology
- Artistic collaboration guidelines
DEVELOPER
Software development profile:
- Source:
developer.yaml - Inherits from:
ENGINEER - Clean code practices and SOLID principles
- Coding standards and execution protocol
- Code quality monitoring observations
ENGINEER
Infrastructure and systems profile:
- Source:
engineer.yaml - Inherits from:
COLLABORATION - Production systems and debugging
- Infrastructure methodology
- Kubernetes and deployment observations
HUMANIST
Analysis and writing profile:
- Source:
humanist.yaml - Inherits from:
COLLABORATION - Literary research and philosophy
- Writing methodology
- Analytical observation guidelines
RESEARCHER
Academic methodology profile:
- Source:
researcher.yaml - Inherits from:
COLLABORATION - Data analysis and evidence evaluation
- Research methodology
- Academic rigor observations
TRANSLATOR
Professional translation profile:
- Source:
translator.yaml - Inherits from:
COLLABORATION - Cultural mediation and linguistic precision
- Translation methodology
- Language-specific observations
Common Profiles
The following profiles provide shared behavioral observations:
COLLABORATION
Shared collaboration observations:
- Source:
collaboration.yaml - Inherits from:
INFRASTRUCTURE,INITIALIZATION,MEMORY,MONITORING,TEMPORAL - Professional partnership guidelines
- Communication and feedback patterns
- Cross-domain knowledge synthesis
INFRASTRUCTURE
Shared infrastructure observations:
- Source:
infrastructure.yaml - Tool usage and file operations
- Environment-specific behaviors
- Resource management guidelines
INITIALIZATION
Shared initialization observations:
- Source:
initialization.yaml - Session startup behaviors
- Framework activation patterns
- Initial state configuration
MEMORY
Shared memory observations:
- Source:
memory.yaml - Cache access patterns
- Data persistence guidelines
- Memory graph operations
MONITORING
Shared monitoring observations:
- Source:
monitoring.yaml - Behavioral diagnostics
- Pattern detection guidelines
- System instruction override prevention
TEMPORAL
Shared temporal observations:
- Source:
temporal.yaml - Time awareness and formatting
- Session continuity patterns
- Temporal context guidelines
Inheritance Resolution
When loading profiles, the system follows inheritance chains recursively:
- INFRASTRUCTURE
- INITIALIZATION
- MEMORY
- MONITORING
- TEMPORAL
This means the DEVELOPER profile has access to all observations from its entire inheritance chain.
Customization
To customize profiles:
- Create or modify YAML files in the
profiles/directory - Use the
relationsarray to define inheritance
Domain-specific observations go in profile root files, while shared observations go in the common/ directory.
Context Window Behavior
Understanding why CLAUDE.md instructions fade during sessions explains the framework’s design philosophy.
Instruction Fading
CLAUDE.md instructions experience natural attention decay:
| Mechanism | Effect |
|---|---|
| Window depth | Earlier instructions receive less attention weight over time |
| Competing signals | User messages and tool outputs dilute instruction prominence |
| Recency bias | Recent content naturally receives more processing attention |
| No reinforcement | Static instructions lack mechanisms to maintain salience |
Framework Persistence
The Memory System solves instruction fading through:
- Cached observations - Loaded once at initialization, available throughout session
- Inheritance chains - Complete profile observation sets accessible by keyword search
- Response protocol - Every response triggers observation enumeration, maintaining salience
- Impulse detection - System instruction pressure detected and released, preventing bypass
Key Difference
CLAUDE.md instructions are static text fading due to system instructions pressure, while framework Response Protocol components are actively searched, recalled, and enumerated on every response.
Caution
Avoid adding framework related instructions to Project Instructions. The platform uses specific framework instructions, adding new instructions may interfere with the framework methodology and cause unpredictable behavior.
Context Compaction
When context window fills, compaction occurs - summarizing earlier content to free space. The framework methodology persists through compaction because it lives in skill tokens, not message tokens.
Token Behavior During Compaction
| Token Type | Compaction Effect |
|---|---|
| Message tokens | Summarized and cleared |
| Skill tokens | Preserved |
Note
Framework methodology loads once at session start as skill content and remains allocated for the entire session. Compaction does not affect it.
Next
Dive right into the following section: