Memory Lifecycle

Manage how entities move through status stages in Basic Memory. The core principle: archive, never delete. Completed work is valuable context — move it out of the active view, but keep it in the knowledge graph.

When to Use

- User says something is "done", "finished", "completed", "submitted", "missed", or "cancelled"
Moving entities between status folders (active → archive, pipeline → active, etc.)
Reverting a mistaken completion
Periodic cleanup of stale active items

Core Principle: Archive, Never Delete

Deleting a note removes it from the knowledge graph — all its observations, relations, and history disappear. Archiving preserves everything while signaling the entity is no longer active.

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The only exception: notes created by mistake (typos, true duplicates) can be deleted.

Folder Conventions

Organize entities by status using folders. The exact folder names depend on your domain, but follow a consistent pattern:

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For tasks specifically:

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For any entity type with a clear lifecycle:

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Pick folder names that match your domain. The pattern matters more than the specific names.

Status Detection

When the user mentions completion or status change, extract the intent:

Signal	Status	Action
"finished", "done", "completed", "shipped"	Complete	Move to archive/completed folder
"submitted", "sent", "delivered"

Workflow

1. Find the Entity

Search Basic Memory with multiple variations to locate the entity:

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If multiple matches come back, present options and ask which one.

If no match is found, ask for clarification — don't guess.

2. Move the File

Use move_note to relocate the entity to the appropriate status folder:

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The permalink stays the same, so all existing [[wiki-links]] and memory:// URLs continue to resolve.

3. Update Frontmatter

After moving, update the status in frontmatter to match:

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If there's a completion date field, set it:

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4. Confirm

Report what was done concisely:

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Edge Cases

Already Archived

If the entity is already in an archive/completed folder, notify the user:

"Quarterly Report is already in tasks/completed/. Want me to update anything on it?"

Partial Completion

Sometimes only part of an entity is done. Don't move it — instead, update observations or status notes within the entity to reflect partial progress.

Revert / Reactivate

If something was archived by mistake, move it back:

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Status Without Movement

Some status changes don't require a folder move — "paused" or "blocked" items often stay in active/ with just a frontmatter update. Reserve folder moves for terminal or major state transitions.

Relationship to Other Skills

- memory-tasks: Tasks are a specific lifecycle case. This skill covers the general pattern; memory-tasks covers task-specific fields (steps, current_step, context).
memory-notes: Use search-before-create (from memory-notes) to find the entity before transitioning it.
memory-defrag: Periodic defrag can identify stale active items that should be archived.

Guidelines

- Archive, never delete. The knowledge graph benefits from historical context.
Move first, then update frontmatter. This order ensures the file is in the right place even if the edit step fails.
Permalinks survive moves. Links to the entity keep working after a move_note.
Be concise in confirmations. The user knows their system — just report what changed.
Ask when ambiguous. If multiple entities match or the target folder isn't clear, ask rather than guess.
Batch operations are fine. If the user says "archive all completed tasks", find them all, confirm the list, then move them in sequence.

内存生命周期

管理实体在基础内存中如何经历状态阶段。核心原则：归档，永不删除。 已完成的工作是有价值的上下文——将其移出活动视图，但保留在知识图谱中。

何时使用

- 用户说某件事已完成、结束、完成、已提交、错过或已取消
在状态文件夹之间移动实体（活动→归档，管道→活动等）
撤销错误的完成操作
定期清理过期的活动项目

核心原则：归档，永不删除

删除笔记会将其从知识图谱中移除——所有观察、关系和历史都会消失。归档则保留一切，同时表明该实体不再处于活动状态。

好——实体保留在知识图谱中

move_note → active/ to archive/

坏——知识丢失

delete_note

唯一的例外：因错误创建的笔记（拼写错误、真正的重复项）可以删除。

文件夹规范

使用文件夹按状态组织实体。确切的文件夹名称取决于你的领域，但遵循一致的模式：

entities/
active/ # 当前相关、进行中
archive/ # 已完成、不再活动但值得保留
pipeline/ # 未来项目、尚未开始

对于任务而言：

tasks/
active/ # 进行中的工作
completed/ # 已完成的工作

对于任何具有明确生命周期的实体类型：

[type]/
active/ # 当前
[end-state]/ # 该类型完成的含义

选择与你领域匹配的文件夹名称。模式比具体名称更重要。

状态检测

当用户提到完成或状态变更时，提取意图：

信号	状态	操作
完成、结束、已完成、已发货	完成	移动到归档/已完成文件夹
已提交、已发送、已交付

工作流程

1. 查找实体

使用多种变体搜索基础内存以定位实体：

python
search_notes(query=季度报告)
search_notes(query=Q1报告)

如果返回多个匹配项，呈现选项并询问用户选择哪一个。

如果未找到匹配项，要求澄清——不要猜测。

2. 移动文件

使用 move_note 将实体重新定位到适当的状态文件夹：

python
move_note(
identifier=tasks/active/quarterly-report,
destination_path=tasks/completed/quarterly-report.md
)

永久链接保持不变，因此所有现有的 [[wiki-links]] 和 memory:// URL 继续有效。

3. 更新前置元数据

移动后，更新前置元数据中的状态以匹配：

python
edit_note(
identifier=quarterly-report,
operation=find_replace,
find_text=status: active,
content=status: completed
)

如果有完成日期字段，设置它：

python
edit_note(
identifier=quarterly-report,
operation=find_replace,
find_text=completed:,
content=completed: 2026-02-22
)

4. 确认

简洁地报告已完成的操作：

标记完成：季度报告
移动到：tasks/completed/quarterly-report.md
状态：已完成

边界情况

已归档

如果实体已在归档/已完成文件夹中，通知用户：

季度报告已在 tasks/completed/ 中。需要我更新它的任何内容吗？

部分完成

有时只有实体的部分内容完成。不要移动它——而是在实体内部更新观察或状态说明以反映部分进展。

撤销 / 重新激活

如果某内容被错误归档，将其移回：

python
move_note(
identifier=tasks/completed/quarterly-report,
destination_path=tasks/active/quarterly-report.md
)

edit_note(
identifier=quarterly-report,
operation=find_replace,
find_text=status: completed,
content=status: active
)

状态变更但不移动

某些状态变更不需要移动文件夹——暂停或受阻的项目通常保留在 active/ 中，仅更新前置元数据。仅对终端或主要状态转换保留文件夹移动。

与其他技能的关系

- memory-tasks：任务是特定的生命周期案例。此技能涵盖通用模式；memory-tasks 涵盖任务特定字段（步骤、当前步骤、上下文）。
memory-notes：在转换实体之前，使用搜索-先创建（来自 memory-notes）来查找实体。
memory-defrag：定期碎片整理可以识别应归档的过期活动项目。

指南

- 归档，永不删除。 知识图谱受益于历史上下文。
先移动，再更新前置元数据。 此顺序确保即使编辑步骤失败，文件也在正确位置。
永久链接在移动后仍然有效。 指向实体的链接在 move_note 后继续工作。
确认时保持简洁。 用户了解他们的系统——只需报告更改了什么。
有歧义时询问。 如果多个实体匹配或目标文件夹不明确，询问而不是猜测。
批量操作没问题。 如果用户说归档所有已完成的任务，找到它们全部，确认列表，然后依次移动。

memory-lifecycle内存生命周期管理