---
title: Maintaining memory
type: moc
tags: [meta]
---
# Maintaining memory

How this knowledge graph works and how you grow it. The full rules — the
inclusion bar, atomicity, anti-orphan, and the light-by-day / heavy-by-night
split — live in the **Mind skill** at `/data/shared/skills/mind.md`. `Read` it
before you record, link, or tidy notes.

## The system

- [[how-the-memory-graph-works]] — the format, the inbox, and the daytime vs.
  nightly split in one note. (Also the canonical example of the note shape.)
- [[memory-is-visible-to-the-partner]] — the Mind app shows every note to the
  partner; write as if you'd stand behind it when quoted back.
- [[a-nightly-dreaming-pass-exists]] — the overnight pass consolidates the
  graph and fixes apps; defer heavy reorganizing to it.

## The short version

- **Record** durable, future-useful facts *about the user and this instance*
  (preferences, interests, personality, a hard-won bug + root cause) — not
  everything, and not generic app/platform how-to (that's a skill now). Default
  to recording nothing.
- **Day-to-day**, append a quick line to `inbox.md`; the nightly dreaming pass
  consolidates it into proper notes. When you already know the clean fact,
  write the note directly under `notes/` and link it into a map.
- **One idea per note.** Title it as the specific claim. Link every note into
  at least one map ([[index]] → maps → notes). No orphans.
- **Tidy lightly by day** (drop stale, collapse obvious dupes, newer wins);
  **defer the reorg** (merges that need judgment, promote-to-MOC, restructuring)
  to the nightly dreaming pass.
