Memory Management

# Memory Management

Memory makes Claude your workplace collaborator - someone who speaks your internal language.

## The Goal

Transform shorthand into understanding:

``` User: "ask todd to do the PSR for oracle" ↓ Claude decodes "Ask Todd Martinez (Finance lead) to prepare the Pipeline Status Report for the Oracle Systems deal ($2.3M, closing Q2)" ```

Without memory, that request is meaningless. With memory, Claude knows: - **todd** → Todd Martinez, Finance lead, prefers Slack - **PSR** → Pipeline Status Report (weekly sales doc) - **oracle** → Oracle Systems deal, not the company

## Architecture

``` CLAUDE.md ← Hot cache (~30 people, common terms) memory/ glossary.md ← Full decoder ring (everything) people/ ← Complete profiles projects/ ← Project details context/ ← Company, teams, tools ```

**CLAUDE.md (Hot Cache):** - Top ~30 people you interact with most - ~30 most common acronyms/terms - Active projects (5-15) - Your preferences - **Goal: Cover 90% of daily decoding needs**

**memory/glossary.md (Full Glossary):** - Complete decoder ring - everyone, every term - Searched when something isn't in CLAUDE.md - Can grow indefinitely

**memory/people/, projects/, context/:** - Rich detail when needed for execution - Full profiles, history, context

## Lookup Flow

``` User: "ask todd about the PSR for phoenix"

1. Check CLAUDE.md (hot cache) → Todd? ✓ Todd Martinez, Finance → PSR? ✓ Pipeline Status Report → Phoenix? ✓ DB migration project

2. If not found → search memory/glossary.md → Full glossary has everyone/everything

3. If still not found → ask user → "What does X mean? I'll remember it." ```

This tiered approach keeps CLAUDE.md lean (~100 lines) while supporting unlimited scale in memory/.

## File Locations

- **Working memory:** `CLAUDE.md` in current working directory - **Deep memory:** `memory/` subdirectory

## Working Memory Format (CLAUDE.md)

Use tables for compactness. Target ~50-80 lines total.

```markdown # Memory

## Me [Name], [Role] on [Team]. [One sentence about what I do.]

## People | Who | Role | |-----|------| | **Todd** | Todd Martinez, Finance lead | | **Sarah** | Sarah Chen, Engineering (Platform) | | **Greg** | Greg Wilson, Sales | → Full list: memory/glossary.md, profiles: memory/people/

## Terms | Term | Meaning | |------|---------| | PSR | Pipeline Status Report | | P0 | Drop everything priority | | standup | Daily 9am sync | → Full glossary: memory/glossary.md

## Projects | Name | What | |------|------| | **Phoenix** | DB migration, Q2 launch | | **Horizon** | Mobile app redesign | → Details: memory/projects/

## Preferences - 25-min meetings with buffers - Async-first, Slack over email - No meetings Friday afternoons ```

## Deep Memory Format (memory/)

**memory/glossary.md** - The decoder ring: ```markdown # Glossary

Workplace shorthand, acronyms, and internal language.

## Acronyms | Term | Meaning | Context | |------|---------|---------| | PSR | Pipeline Status Report | Weekly sales doc | | OKR | Objectives & Key Results | Quarterly planning | | P0/P1/P2 | Priority levels | P0 = drop everything |

## Internal Terms | Term | Meaning | |------|---------| | standup | Daily 9am sync in #engineering | | the migration | Project Phoenix database work | | ship it | Deploy to production | | escalate | Loop in leadership |

## Nicknames → Full Names | Nickname | Person | |----------|--------| | Todd | Todd Martinez (Finance) | | T | Also Todd Martinez |

## Project Codenames | Codename | Project | |----------|---------| | Phoenix | Database migration | | Horizon | New mobile app | ```

**memory/people/{name}.md:** ```markdown # Todd Martinez

**Also known as:** Todd, T **Role:** Finance Lead **Team:** Finance **Reports to:** CFO (Michael Chen)

## Communication - Prefers Slack DM - Quick responses, very direct - Best time: mornings

## Context - Handles all PSRs and financial reporting - Key contact for deal approvals over $500k - Works closely with Sales on forecasting

## Notes - Cubs fan, likes talking baseball ```

**memory/projects/{name}.md:** ```markdown # Project Phoenix

**Codename:** Phoenix **Also called:** "the migration" **Status:** Active, launching Q2

## What It Is Database migration from legacy Oracle to PostgreSQL.

## Key People - Sarah - tech lead - Todd - budget owner - Greg - stakeholder (sales impact)

## Context $1.2M budget, 6-month timeline. Critical path for Horizon project. ```

**memory/context/company.md:** ```markdown # Company Context

## Tools & Systems | Tool | Used for | Internal name | |------|----------|---------------| | Slack | Communication | - | | Asana | Engineering tasks | - | | Salesforce | CRM | "SF" or "the CRM" | | Notion | Docs/wiki | - |

## Teams | Team | What they do | Key people | |------|--------------|------------| | Platform | Infrastructure | Sarah (lead) | | Finance | Money stuff | Todd (lead) | | Sales | Revenue | Greg |

## Processes |