Memory Review & Optimization

Interactive memory maintenance skill. When invoked, systematically reviews all memory files and works with the user to keep the memory system clean, relevant, and efficient.

Workflow

Phase 1: Audit

1. Read ~/.claude/memory/MEMORY.md (index)
2. Read every memory file listed in the index
3. Detect any orphan files (exist on disk but not in index)
4. For each memory file, evaluate:
   • Staleness: Does the content reference things that may have changed? (team members, tools, architectures)
   • Redundancy: Is this duplicated or overlapping with another memory file?
   • Relevance: Is this still useful for future conversations?
   • Accuracy: Does this match current reality? (verify against code/git if needed)
   • Size: Is this too verbose? Can it be trimmed without losing value?

Phase 2: Report

Present a structured report to the user:

## Memory Audit Report

### Summary
- Total files: X
- Index entries: X
- Orphan files: X (not in index)
- Potentially stale: X
- Candidates for merge: X
- Candidates for removal: X

### Per-File Analysis
For each file, show:
- Status: OK / STALE / MERGE_CANDIDATE / REMOVE_CANDIDATE
- Last modified: date
- Reason: why this status
- Suggested action: keep / update / merge with X / remove

Phase 3: Interactive Q&A

Ask the user targeted questions to resolve ambiguities:

• "Is X still accurate?"
• "Should I merge A and B since they overlap?"
• "This mentions Y which seems outdated — remove or update?"
• "Any new context I should add?"

Keep questions grouped and numbered for easy answering. Max 5-7 questions per round.

Phase 4: Execute

Based on user answers:

1. Update stale files with correct information
2. Merge redundant files
3. Remove files the user confirms as unnecessary
4. Add any new memory files the user requests
5. Rebuild MEMORY.md index with accurate one-line descriptions
6. Sync both memory locations:
   • ~/.claude/memory/ (shared, primary)
   • ~/.claude/projects/ (legacy fallback, path varies by user)

Phase 5: Summary

Show final state:

• Files kept / updated / merged / removed
• Total memory size before vs after
• Next review suggestion (based on change velocity)

Rules

• NEVER delete a memory file without explicit user confirmation
• NEVER remove information that is still relevant — when in doubt, ask
• Prefer updating over removing — information decay is better handled by correction than deletion
• Keep MEMORY.md index lines under 120 chars
• Memory files should use the standard frontmatter format (name, description, type)
• After cleanup, verify all index links point to existing files

Memory Types Reference

When to Suggest Running This

Suggest /memory-review to the user when:

• More than 30 days since last review
• After major team/project changes
• When memory files exceed 20 entries
• When you notice conflicting information in memory