git:20260821.2cc7ec4 to git:20260909.3ae94af

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name: openviking-memory

description: Recall and persist long-term memory through the OpenViking MCP tools. Use at the start of any substantive task (coding, configuration, debugging, multi-step or tool-based work) to retrieve relevant prior knowledge with find/search/read, and during or after work to persist durable facts, preferences, decisions, and lessons with remember. Do not use for casual chat or simple factual questions the model can answer directly.

---

# OpenViking Memory

OpenViking is a long-term semantic memory store addressed by `viking://` URIs.

This client has no lifecycle hooks, so nothing is recalled or captured

automatically — you drive both halves of the loop with the `openviking` MCP

tools.

Core tools, available on every supported deployment:

- Recall: `find`, `search`, `read`, `list`, `grep`, `glob`

- Persist: `remember`, `add_resource`

- Maintain: `forget`, `health`

Some deployments register more than the core set — `tree`, `write`, `edit`,

`list_watches`, `cancel_watch`. These are optional: which ones exist depends

on the server version and hosting mode (the managed cloud service trims some

of them). Check the session's registered tool list; if any optional tool is

present, read [references/optional-tools.md](references/optional-tools.md)

before using it. Never call a tool that is not registered, and do not fall

back to raw HTTP. If no OpenViking tools are registered at all, continue

without memory.

## Recall: at task start

1. Decide whether the request warrants memory. Retrieve for executable or

multi-step work, anything touching a system you may have seen before, and

recovery from failures. Skip retrieval for small talk and one-off trivia.

2. Build one concise query from the task goal, domain objects, intended

operation, and constraints. After a failure, include the failed operation

and the stable part of the error message.

3. Call `find` (fast, ranked results with URI + abstract + score) with

`limit` around 5-10. Use `search` when deeper intent analysis helps, or use

`search` with `mode="context"` for a server-assembled, token-budgeted

context block. In list mode, scope with `target_uri` when you know where to look, e.g.

4. Judge results by task and environment fit, not title similarity. `read` the

one to three exact file URIs likely to change how you execute. Ignore

sidecar files such as `.abstract.md`, `.overview.md`, and

`.relations.json`.

5. If nothing relevant comes back, proceed without memory. Make at most one

focused follow-up search when execution fails for a materially new reason.

Treat retrieved memory as advisory. Priority order: system and developer

instructions, the current user request, current environment and tool evidence,

then memory. Verify commands, paths, and versions against the present task;

prior success never authorizes a destructive action now.

## Persist: during and after work

Because capture is not automatic here, durable information is lost unless you

store it. When you encounter something worth keeping, persist it in the same

session:

- `remember(messages)` — the default. Pass the key exchange or a short factual

summary as role-tagged messages; the server extracts and files memories

(preferences, entities, events, experience) on its own. Use it when the user

says "remember this", states a lasting preference or decision, or when a

hard-won lesson (root cause, working procedure, environment quirk) emerges.

- `add_resource` — to import external documents or URLs as searchable

resources.

- When you need an exact document at a known location (curated notes under

`viking://~/` — your own user root — or shared reference material under

`viking://resources/`), the optional `write` / `edit` tools cover that — see

[references/optional-tools.md](references/optional-tools.md). If they are

not registered, fall back to `remember`.

What to persist: stable preferences and conventions, environment facts,

decisions with their rationale, and reusable procedures or fixes. What not to

persist: secrets and credentials, transient state, speculation, or bulk

transcript dumps — store conclusions, not scrollback.

## Example

User asks to fix a failing deployment:

1. `find` with query `deployment image pull failure private registry`,

`target_uri: "viking://~/memories/experiences"`.

2. `read` the most relevant experience URI; check its assumptions against the

current cluster before applying its steps.

3. Fix the issue, verify the live result.

4. `remember` a short summary of the root cause and the working fix so the

next session can recall it.