# Memory Dream Cycle > A Claude skill from kn0wsnothing/agentic-ai-skills-and-tools. - **Type:** Skill - **Install:** `agentstack add skill-kn0wsnothing-agentic-ai-skills-and-tools-memory-dream-cycle` - **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior - **Seller:** [kn0wsnothing](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/kn0wsnothing) - **Installs:** 0 - **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills) - **Latest version:** 0.1.0 - **License:** MIT - **Upstream author:** [kn0wsnothing](https://github.com/kn0wsnothing) - **Source:** https://github.com/kn0wsnothing/agentic-ai-skills-and-tools/tree/main/archive/memory-dream-cycle ## Install ```sh agentstack add skill-kn0wsnothing-agentic-ai-skills-and-tools-memory-dream-cycle ``` Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent. ## About # Memory Dream Cycle You are running the Memory Dream Cycle — a scheduled memory consolidation process. Your job: resolve contradictions, prune stale content, and keep working memory lean. You are the **subtractive** counterpart to whatever process captures daily events. Daily capture adds. You consolidate. **Metaphor:** If daily memory capture is daytime note-taking, the dream cycle is REM sleep — consolidating, pruning, resolving, compressing. --- ## Memory Architecture This skill assumes a tiered memory structure. Adapt the paths to your setup: | Tier | Purpose | Default Path | Access | |------|---------|-------------|--------| | **Working memory** | Hot context loaded every session. Must stay lean. | `MEMORY.md` | Read/Write | | **Semantic memory** | Long-term facts, people, decisions. Retrieved on demand. | `memory/semantic/*.md` | Read/Write | | **Procedural memory** | Workflows, how-to guides, learned patterns. | `memory/procedural/*.md` | Read/Write | | **Episodic memory** | Daily logs of what happened. Immutable record. | `memory/episodic/YYYY-MM-DD.md` | **Read-only** | **Working memory** is the bottleneck. Every line costs context window budget in every session. The dream cycle's primary job is keeping it under a target size (default: ~200 lines). **Semantic and procedural memory** are the demotion targets. Content pruned from working memory doesn't disappear — it moves here, where it's still searchable but doesn't consume context by default. **Episodic memory** is the immutable ground truth. Never modified. Used for cross-referencing and contradiction checks. --- ## Configuration Set these before running. The defaults work for most setups. | Parameter | Default | Description | |-----------|---------|-------------| | `WORKING_MEMORY_PATH` | `MEMORY.md` | Path to your working memory file | | `SEMANTIC_DIR` | `memory/semantic/` | Directory for semantic memory files | | `PROCEDURAL_DIR` | `memory/procedural/` | Directory for procedural memory files | | `EPISODIC_DIR` | `memory/episodic/` | Directory for episodic log files | | `TARGET_LINES` | `200` | Target line count for working memory after consolidation | | `LOOKBACK_DAYS` | `3` | How many days of episodic logs to read | | `STALE_THRESHOLD_DAYS` | `14` | Entries older than this with no recent references get demoted | | `SOURCE_OF_TRUTH_PATH` | _(optional)_ | External source of truth for project/task status (e.g., a task manager, project directory). Used for contradiction checks. | | `ARCHIVE_FILE` | `memory/semantic/completed-projects.md` | Where completed project details go | | `NOTIFICATION` | _(optional)_ | How to report results (platform-specific — see examples) | --- ## Phases Run all 5 phases in order. Each phase builds on the previous one. ### Phase 1: Orientation (read-only) Survey current memory state before making any changes. 1. Read working memory — count lines, note section structure 2. List all files in semantic and procedural directories 3. Read the last N days of episodic logs (see `LOOKBACK_DAYS`) 4. **Skip check:** If today's episodic file doesn't exist or is empty, skip the entire cycle. Nothing happened — nothing to consolidate. Report "Dream cycle skipped — no activity" and stop. 5. Note total memory footprint (file count, combined line count) Output of this phase: a mental map of what exists and how it's organized. Don't write anything yet. ### Phase 2: Contradiction Scan Compare working memory against recent episodic logs and (optionally) your source of truth. Look for: - **Project status conflicts** — listed as "active" in working memory but completed/archived in your source of truth - **People with outdated roles** — role or status changed in recent episodic entries but stale in working memory - **System state drift** — tools listed as broken that have been fixed, configs that changed, temporary conditions that expired - **Resolved decisions** — recorded as pending but actually decided (check episodic logs) - **Passed events** — "upcoming" items with dates that have already passed **Resolution rules:** - Most recent episodic entry wins (it's closest to ground truth) - External source of truth wins for projects/tasks (if configured) - **When uncertain, don't guess.** Flag it for human review rather than auto-resolving. Add uncertain items to a `## Needs review` section at the bottom of working memory. ### Phase 3: Stale Pruning Identify working memory content to demote or remove: **Signals that content is stale:** - Projects completed or archived (confirmed in Phase 2) - Entries older than `STALE_THRESHOLD_DAYS` with no references in recent episodic logs - Expired temporary information (promotions, one-time fixes, passed deadlines) - References to files or paths that no longer exist (verify before removing) **Demotion protocol (demote, don't delete):** 1. Read the target semantic file first (or create it if needed) 2. Append the demoted content with a date stamp header: `### Demoted YYYY-MM-DD` 3. Remove it from working memory **Only delete outright** if content is truly obsolete — temporary debugging notes, superseded decisions, information that contradicts the current state with no historical value. ### Phase 4: Working Memory Consolidation Rewrite working memory to hit the target line count. **What stays (must-have for every session):** - Identity/context section (who the user is, current state) - Active people (with current roles only — no history) - Active projects (name + one-line status + next milestone — no history, no completed items) - Key decisions and rules (only things that affect daily behavior) - System state (current config, known issues) **What gets compressed or removed:** - Inline history annotations ("updated on YYYY-MM-DD") — the semantic files preserve history - Duplicate information across sections - Detailed sub-bullets that belong in semantic/procedural files - Work context entries already demoted in Phase 3 **Consolidation rules:** - Preserve the existing section structure and heading format - Merge duplicate entries across sections - Convert relative dates to absolute dates - Keep the file well-structured and scannable **Write the complete working memory file.** Read it first, make all changes in memory, write the entire file back. Do not make incremental edits. ### Phase 5: Semantic File Maintenance Light cleanup of files that received demoted content in Phase 3: - Check for duplicate entries within each modified file - Ensure newly demoted content has proper headings and date stamps - Verify structure is clean (headings, organization — not raw dumps) **Only touch files that were modified in this cycle.** Don't rewrite files that didn't change. --- ## Safety Constraints These are non-negotiable: 1. **Episodic files are read-only.** Never modify daily logs. They are the immutable record. 2. **Source of truth is read-only.** Read it to check project/task status, never write to it. 3. **No task operations.** Never create, modify, or complete tasks. Memory consolidation only. 4. **No external actions.** No messages, no emails, no API calls beyond file operations. 5. **Demote, don't delete.** When removing content from working memory, move it to semantic files first. Only delete truly obsolete information. 6. **Flag uncertainty.** If a contradiction can't be confidently resolved, add it to `## Needs review` in working memory. Let the human decide. --- ## Output After completing all phases, report a summary. **Clean cycle (minor or no changes):** ``` 🌙 Dream cycle — working memory: [X] → [Y] lines. No issues. ``` **Substantive cycle:** ``` 🌙 Dream Cycle — YYYY-MM-DD Summary: - Working memory: [X] → [Y] lines ([Z] entries pruned, [N] demoted) - Contradictions resolved: [list or "none"] - Stale entries pruned: [list or "none"] - Flagged for review: [list or "none"] - Semantic files updated: [list] ``` --- ## Scheduling This skill is designed to run daily, ideally during off-hours (overnight, early morning). It should run **after** your daily memory capture/distillation process, so it's working with a complete picture of the day. Recommended timing: - If you have a nightly capture job at 9pm → run the dream cycle at 3am - If you capture manually → run the dream cycle before your first session each day - At minimum → run weekly See `examples/cron-schedule.md` for platform-specific scheduling instructions. ## Source & license This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code. - **Author:** [kn0wsnothing](https://github.com/kn0wsnothing) - **Source:** [kn0wsnothing/agentic-ai-skills-and-tools](https://github.com/kn0wsnothing/agentic-ai-skills-and-tools) - **License:** MIT Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above. ## Pricing - **Free** — Free ## Security capabilities Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access: - **Network access:** no - **Filesystem access:** no - **Shell / process execution:** no - **Environment & secrets:** no - **Dynamic code execution:** no *"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.* ## Versions - **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source. ## Links - Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-kn0wsnothing-agentic-ai-skills-and-tools-memory-dream-cycle - Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/kn0wsnothing - Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse --- Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.