# hmem — Humanlike Memory for AI Agents > Your AI forgets everything between sessions. **hmem fixes that.** One `read_memory()` call. 5k tokens. Your agent knows every project, every past mistake, every decision you ever made together — across sessions, devices, and AI providers. No setup per conversation. No "let me re-read the codebase." It just *remembers*. --- ## The Problem Every AI session starts from zero. Your agent asks the same questions, makes the same mistakes, contradicts last week's decisions, and wastes 50k tokens loading context it already processed yesterday. You've tried workarounds — CLAUDE.md files, custom prompts, manually pasting context. They don't scale. You have 10 projects. You switch between 3 devices. You use different AI tools. ## The Solution ``` You: "Load project hmem" Agent: [calls load_project("P0048") — 700 tokens] Agent: "Got it. v5.0.0, TypeScript/SQLite/npm, 10 source files, 3 open tasks, 9 ideas. Last session you implemented auto-checkpoints via Haiku. What's next?" ``` That's it. 700 tokens for a complete project briefing. The agent knows the stack, the architecture, the open bugs, the recent decisions, and exactly where you left off — even if "you" was a different AI on a different machine yesterday. --- ## How It Works ``` Level 1 ── One-line summary (always loaded — ~5k tokens for 300+ entries) Level 2 ── Paragraph detail (loaded on demand) Level 3 ── Full context (loaded on demand) Level 4 ── Extended detail (loaded on demand) Level 5 ── Raw/verbatim data (loaded on demand) ``` At session start, the agent loads Level 1 summaries — one line per memory. When it needs detail, it drills down. Your 300-entry memory costs 5k tokens to overview. A single project costs 700. **Nothing is summarized away.** Level 1 is a summary, but Levels 2-5 hold the complete original text, word for word, accessible on demand. --- ## What Makes v5 Different ### Automatic Session Memory Every conversation is recorded automatically. No "save your work" prompts. No manual checkpoints. ``` You type → Agent responds → Stop hook fires → Exchange saved to O-entry → Linked to active project → Haiku auto-titles the session ``` Switch projects mid-session? The O-entry switches too. Start a new session on a different PC? The next agent sees every exchange from every device — **the conversation never dies**. ### Haiku Background Checkpoints Every 20 exchanges, a Haiku subagent wakes up in the background. It reads the recent conversation, extracts lessons learned, errors encountered, and decisions made, then writes them to long-term memory — with full MCP tool access. Your main agent is never interrupted. The checkpoint also writes a **handoff note** to the project: "Here's what was done, here's what's in progress, here's the next step." The next agent — on any device, any provider — picks up exactly where you left off. ### Project-Based, Not Session-Based Sessions are meaningless. Projects are everything. - O-entries are linked to the active project, not the session - Checkpoint counters count project exchanges, not session messages - 10 messages on your laptop + 10 on your server = checkpoint fires on message 20 - `load_project` shows recent conversations with full context — across all devices --- ## Key Features | Feature | What it does | |---------|-------------| | **5-level lazy loading** | Tokens scale with need, not memory size | | **Smart bulk reads** | Expands newest + most-accessed; compresses the rest to titles | | **Project gate** | Activate a project — only relevant memories are expanded | | **Duplicate detection** | Warns before creating entries that already exist | | **Encrypted sync** | AES-256-GCM, zero-knowledge server, multi-server redundancy | | **Auto-logging** | Every exchange recorded via Stop hook (O-prefix) | | **Auto-checkpoint** | Haiku extracts L/D/E entries every N exchanges | | **Project handoff** | Background agent maintains "current state" in Protocol section | | **User skill tracking** | Agents track your expertise (1-10) and adapt communication | | **Hashtags** | Cross-cutting tags for discovery across all categories | | **Obsolete chains** | Mark entries wrong with correction reference — auto-follows | | **Cross-provider** | Claude, Gemini, GPT, DeepSeek, local models — same memory | | **Cross-tool** | Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Windsurf, OpenCode, Cline | | **Import/Export** | Share memories between agents or back up as Markdown | ### Categories | Prefix | Category | Example | |--------|----------|---------| | **P** | Project | `hmem-mcp \| Active \| TS/SQLite/npm \| Persistent AI memory` | | **L** | Lesson | `HMEM_AGENT_ID must be set in hooks — resolveHmemPath falls back to wrong DB` | | **E** | Error | `158 spurious O-entries created when Haiku MCP lacked HMEM_NO_SESSION guard` | | **D** | Decision | `Project-based O-entries over session-based — sessions are meaningless` | | **H** | Human | `User Skill: TypeScript 9, Architecture 9, React 3` | | **R** | Rule | `Max one npm publish per day — batch changes` | | **O** | Original | Auto-recorded conversation history (every exchange, every device) | | **I** | Infra | `Strato Server \| Active \| Linux \| 87.106.22.11` | --- ## Quick Start ### 1. Install ```bash npm install -g hmem-mcp ``` ### 2. Run the interactive installer ```bash npx hmem init ``` This detects your AI tools, creates the memory directory, configures MCP, and installs all 4 hooks: | Hook | When | What | |------|------|------| | `UserPromptSubmit` | Every message | First message: load memory. Every Nth: checkpoint reminder | | `Stop` (sync) | Every response | Log exchange to active O-entry | | `Stop` (async) | Every response | Haiku auto-titles untitled sessions | | `SessionStart[clear]` | After /clear | Re-inject project context | ### 3. Verify Restart your AI tool, then: ``` read_memory() ``` Empty response = working (first run). Error = check the [troubleshooting section](#troubleshooting). ### Manual setup If you prefer manual configuration over `hmem init`:

Claude Code — edit ~/.claude/.mcp.json

```json { "mcpServers": { "hmem": { "command": "/absolute/path/to/node", "args": ["/absolute/path/to/hmem-mcp/dist/mcp-server.js"], "env": { "HMEM_PROJECT_DIR": "/home/yourname/.hmem", "HMEM_AGENT_ID": "DEVELOPER" } } } } ``` Find the paths: ```bash echo "Node: $(which node)" echo "Server: $(npm root -g)/hmem-mcp/dist/mcp-server.js" ```

OpenCode — edit ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json

```json { "mcp": { "hmem": { "type": "local", "command": ["/absolute/path/to/node", "/absolute/path/to/hmem-mcp/dist/mcp-server.js"], "environment": { "HMEM_PROJECT_DIR": "/home/yourname/.hmem" }, "enabled": true } } } ```

Cursor / Windsurf / Cline

Edit `~/.cursor/mcp.json`, `~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json`, or `.vscode/mcp.json`: ```json { "mcpServers": { "hmem": { "command": "/absolute/path/to/node", "args": ["/absolute/path/to/hmem-mcp/dist/mcp-server.js"], "env": { "HMEM_PROJECT_DIR": "/home/yourname/.hmem" } } } } ```

--- ## Configuration `hmem.config.json` in your `HMEM_PROJECT_DIR` (or `Agents/NAME/`): ```json { "memory": { "maxCharsPerLevel": [200, 2500, 10000, 25000, 50000], "maxDepth": 5, "checkpointMode": "auto", "checkpointInterval": 20, "recentOEntries": 10, "maxTitleChars": 50, "prefixes": { "X": "Custom" } }, "sync": { "serverUrl": "https://your-server/hmem-sync", "userId": "yourname", "salt": "...", "token": "..." } } ``` | Key | Default | What it does | |-----|---------|-------------| | `checkpointMode` | `"remind"` | `"auto"` = Haiku writes L/D/E in background. `"remind"` = asks the main agent | | `checkpointInterval` | `20` | Exchanges between checkpoints. Set `0` to disable | | `recentOEntries` | `10` | How many recent sessions to show in `load_project` | All keys are optional. Missing keys use defaults. --- ## Cross-Device Sync Sync memories across all devices with zero-knowledge encryption. ```bash npm install -g hmem-sync npx hmem-sync connect # Interactive wizard — first device creates, others join ``` Add `HMEM_SYNC_PASSPHRASE` to your MCP config for automatic sync on every read/write. ### Multi-server redundancy ```json { "sync": [ { "name": "primary", "serverUrl": "https://server1/hmem-sync", "userId": "me", "salt": "...", "token": "..." }, { "name": "backup", "serverUrl": "https://server2/hmem-sync", "userId": "me", "salt": "...", "token": "..." } ] } ``` ### Announcements Broadcast to all synced agents across all devices: ```bash npx hmem-sync announce --message "Server URL changing — update your config!" ``` --- ## Troubleshooting | Problem | Fix | |---------|-----| | `read_memory()` fails | Check `HMEM_PROJECT_DIR` is absolute path and directory exists | | nvm: `node not found` | Use absolute path: `which node` → use as `"command"` | | Hooks not firing | Restart Claude Code. Check `~/.claude/settings.json` has all 4 hooks | | Exchanges not logged | Check `HMEM_AGENT_ID` matches your `Agents/` directory name | | Sync fails | Run `npx hmem-sync connect` to re-authenticate | --- ## Updating ```bash npm update -g hmem-mcp # MCP server npm update -g hmem-sync # Sync (if installed) npx hmem update-skills # Refresh skill files ``` --- ## License MIT