how-it-works SKILL.md skillA
how-it-works from thedotmack/claude-mem is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add thedotmack/claude-mem/how-it-works@git:20260926.48f5739Pins git:20260926.48f5739 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- thedotmack/claude-mem
- Path
plugin/skills/how-it-works/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 2
- Latest version
- git:20260926.48f5739, committed Sep 26, 2026
- First version recorded
- May 2, 2026
- Size
- 1,342 bytes
- Repository stars
- 113,797
- License
- Apache-2.0
Explain how claude-mem captures observations, when memory injection kicks in, and where data lives. Use when the user asks "how does claude-mem work?" or "what is this thing doing?".
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# How claude-mem works ## What it does Every Read, Edit, and Bash that Claude makes turns into a compressed observation. Observations get summarized at session end. Relevant ones get auto-injected into future prompts so the next session starts with context from the last one — no re-explaining the codebase, no re-discovering decisions. ## When it kicks in Memory injection starts on your second session in a project. The first session in a fresh project seeds memory; subsequent sessions receive auto-injected context for relevant past work. Run `/learn-codebase` if you want to front-load the entire repo into memory in a single pass (~5 minutes, optional). ## Where data lives Everything stays in ~/.claude-mem on this machine. Nothing leaves your machine except calls to whichever AI provider you configured for compression (Claude / OpenRouter / Gemini). Local installs contact cmem.ai once, at signup, to create the sign-in link; nothing else is sent to cmem.ai. The SQLite database, vector index, logs, and settings all live under that directory and are removed cleanly on `npx claude-mem uninstall`.
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add thedotmack/claude-mem/how-it-works@sha256:465a3433dce7c26bThe line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260926.48f5739, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_d3gp5sqmsl3rjaga)
7 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 2 versions of this file, between May 2, 2026 and Sep 26, 2026, about one every 147 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20260926.48f5739 latest | 2026-09-26 | 48f5739 | 1,342 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260502.9e29730 | 2026-05-02 | 9e29730 | 1,233 B | A | view |
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (1342 bytes)
- pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
- pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
- pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
- pass: No credential-shaped string
- pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
- pass: No text hidden with inline styles
- pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
- pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
- pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
- pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
- pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
- pass: No link to a raw IP address
- pass: No script tag
Source
thedotmack/claude-mem · 113,797 stars · license Apache-2.0 · pushed 2026-11-06 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_d3gp5sqmsl3rjaga GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=thedotmack/claude-mem/how-it-works GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/465a3433dce7c26b32c80ce8da68f136e2e9c6914273e88f08f02b2c95ab1b3b
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.