Forget

Recommended model tier: balanced (sonnet) - this skill performs straightforward operations

Manage outdated, incorrect, or obsolete memories by soft-deleting (tagging with forget) or hard-deleting them.

Key Concepts

Soft Delete (Preferred)

Memories tagged with forget are excluded by default from search, list, and context injection. They remain in the database and can be recovered.

./.aide/bin/aide memory tag <MEMORY_ID> --add=forget

Hard Delete (Permanent)

Permanently removes a memory from the database. Use when the memory is clearly wrong or contains sensitive data.

./.aide/bin/aide memory delete <MEMORY_ID>

Unforget (Recover)

Remove the forget tag to restore a soft-deleted memory.

./.aide/bin/aide memory tag <MEMORY_ID> --remove=forget

Workflow

When the user wants to forget, correct, or supersede a memory:

Step 1: Find the Memory

Search for the memory to identify its ID:

# Search by content keywords
./.aide/bin/aide memory search "<keywords>" --full --limit=10

# If the memory might already be forgotten, include all
./.aide/bin/aide memory list --all

Step 2: Confirm with User

Before deleting or forgetting, show the user what was found and confirm which memories to act on. Display the memory ID, content, and tags.

Step 3: Apply the Appropriate Action

Choose based on the situation:

Step 4: Optionally Add a Replacement

If the memory is being superseded (not just deleted), add a new corrected memory without the forget tag:

# 1. Forget the old memory
./.aide/bin/aide memory tag <OLD_ID> --add=forget

# 2. Add the corrected memory (NO forget tag) — include scope + provenance tags
./.aide/bin/aide memory add --category=<category> --tags=<relevant,tags>,project:<name>,session:${AIDE_SESSION_ID},source:discovered "<corrected content>"

Step 5: Verify

Confirm the memory is no longer visible in normal searches:

# Should NOT appear in normal search
./.aide/bin/aide memory search "<keywords>"

# Should appear with --all flag
./.aide/bin/aide memory list --all

Anti-Patterns (AVOID)

DO NOT add a new memory with the forget tag to "supersede" an old one

This is the most common mistake. Adding a new memory tagged forget does nothing useful:

• The new "superseding" memory is immediately hidden (because it has the forget tag)
• The original incorrect memory remains visible and active

Wrong:

# BAD - creates a hidden memory, leaves the original untouched
aide memory add --tags="forget,some-topic" "RESOLVED: the old issue is fixed"

Correct:

# GOOD - forget the original, add a visible replacement
aide memory tag <ORIGINAL_ID> --add=forget
aide memory add --tags="some-topic" "RESOLVED: the old issue is fixed"

DO NOT guess memory IDs

Always search first to find the exact memory ID. Memory IDs are ULIDs (e.g., 01KJ3X7GMQET613WMPT7JT8GYD).

DO NOT forget memories without user confirmation

Always show the user what will be affected and get confirmation before acting, especially for hard deletes.

Batch Operations

To forget multiple related memories:

# Search for all related memories
./.aide/bin/aide memory search "<topic>" --full --limit=50

# Forget each one (after user confirmation)
./.aide/bin/aide memory tag <ID1> --add=forget
./.aide/bin/aide memory tag <ID2> --add=forget

To clear ALL memories (destructive, requires explicit user request):

./.aide/bin/aide memory clear

Examples

User says "that thing about ESM imports is wrong"

# 1. Find the memory
./.aide/bin/aide memory search "ESM imports" --full

# 2. Show user and confirm
# "Found memory 01KJ... about ESM imports requiring .js extensions. Delete this?"

# 3. Soft delete
./.aide/bin/aide memory tag 01KJ3XVFXBFTKKH1M500N6R5 --add=forget

User says "we changed from JWT to sessions, update the memory"

# 1. Find the old memory
./.aide/bin/aide memory search "JWT auth" --full

# 2. Forget the old one
./.aide/bin/aide memory tag <OLD_ID> --add=forget

# 3. Add the corrected one
./.aide/bin/aide memory add --category=decision --tags=auth,sessions,project:myapp,session:${AIDE_SESSION_ID},source:discovered "Auth strategy changed from JWT to server-side sessions with Redis store"

User says "recover that forgotten memory about testing"

# 1. Find forgotten memories
./.aide/bin/aide memory list --all

# 2. Unforget it
./.aide/bin/aide memory tag <ID> --remove=forget

Failure Handling

If aide memory tag fails:

1. "memory not found" - The ID may be wrong. Re-search with --all flag to include forgotten memories.
2. Panic/crash - If the tag command panics, fall back to delete + re-add:

   # Workaround: get memory content, delete, re-add with forget tag
   ./.aide/bin/aide memory list --all  # Find the memory content
   ./.aide/bin/aide memory delete <ID>
   ./.aide/bin/aide memory add --category=<cat> --tags=<existing-tags>,forget "<content>"

3. Database locked - Another process may hold the lock. Wait and retry, or ensure the aide daemon is running (CLI routes through gRPC when daemon is active).

Memory Hygiene

When adding replacement memories (Step 4 above), always:

1. Include source: tag — Use source:discovered for corrected facts, source:user if the user provided the correction
2. Include scope tags — Add project:<name>,session:<id> (get project name from git remote or directory; session ID from $AIDE_SESSION_ID or $CLAUDE_SESSION_ID)
3. Verify codebase claims before storing — If a replacement memory references a file, function, or path, confirm it exists first. See the memorise skill for the full verification workflow.
4. Never use scope:global unless storing a user preference

Verification

After forgetting a memory, verify:

# Memory should NOT appear here
./.aide/bin/aide memory search "<term>"

# Memory SHOULD appear here (with forget tag)
./.aide/bin/aide memory list --all