reflect-memory

Reflect Memory

Compounding has a failure mode: unbounded growth. Rules pile up, duplicate each other, go stale, and start contradicting — and every one of them is loaded into context on every session. This skill is the garbage collector and compactor for the memory reflect builds.

Surfaces

Work over, in order of impact:

1. The project's AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md (agent-rule sections).
2. .reflect/observations.md and .reflect/applied.md.
3. Skill descriptions and command files reflect maintains (per the ledger).
4. ~/.reflect/ when run outside a project or when asked.

Only restructure freely inside .reflect/. For instruction files, apply safe mechanical fixes directly (exact duplicates, dead references) and propose everything judgment-shaped.

Workflow

1. Inventory the load. Measure each surface: line counts, rule counts, and rough token estimate (chars/4, labeled as estimate). This gives the before/after for the report.

2. Find decay, in five classes:

   • Duplicates — same rule stated twice, or a rule restating harness or tool defaults.
   • Merge candidates — three narrow rules that are one general rule (e.g., per-command timeout rules → one testing section).
   • Stale — references to files, tools, commands, or versions that no longer exist; check, don't assume.
   • Contradictions — rules that disagree with each other or with observed recent behavior; the newer, evidence-backed one usually wins, but flag rather than silently pick when both look intentional.
   • Wrong altitude — session-specific trivia in durable files, or a paragraph-long rule that should be a skill (and vice versa).

3. Fix. Apply direct fixes within boundaries; write proposals for the rest (into .reflect/applied.md as proposed rows, long bodies under .reflect/proposals/). Every removal or merge must preserve meaning — when in doubt, propose.

4. Compact state. In observations.md, prune expired rows (untouched ~90 days). In applied.md, collapse ancient pruned rows into a single archive line per quarter; never drop verified history.

5. Report.

## Memory Maintenance

**Load**: <surface>: ~n tokens → ~n tokens (estimates)

**Fixed** — duplicates removed, merges applied, stale refs corrected
**Proposed** — contradictions and judgment merges awaiting a decision
**State** — observations pruned n, ledger compacted n rows

Boundaries

• Never delete a rule you cannot show is duplicated, stale, or superseded — "seems unnecessary" is a proposal, not a deletion.
• Preserve authorship: content the user wrote by hand gets propose-only treatment even inside sections reflect usually maintains.
• Keep a one-line dated note at the top of applied.md after each pass so cadence is visible to future runs.