Project Memory

Get relevant history, rules, and anti-patterns from past sessions before implementing.

When to Retrieve Context

Signal	Action
Starting work on a bead/task	Retrieve before coding
User describes feature to build	Retrieve matching patterns
About to write significant code	Check for existing solutions
Stuck on a problem	Search for prior solutions
Refactoring existing code	Check why it was built that way

Default: Retrieve context before any non-trivial implementation.

Protocol

code

1. DISTILLED CONTEXT
   cm context "{task}" --json
        ↓
2. REVIEW RESULTS
   Rules, anti-patterns, suggested searches
        ↓
3. DEEP DIVE (if needed)
   cass search "{specific}" --robot
        ↓
4. APPLY
   Follow rules, avoid anti-patterns, reference prior work

Step 1: Distilled Context

Always start here:

bash

cm context "{task_description}" --json

Returns:

•Rules — Distilled patterns from past sessions
•Anti-patterns — What NOT to do (and why)
•Suggested searches — Specific CASS queries for more detail
•Historical context — Related past work

Step 2: Review and Extract

From cm context output, extract:

Category	What to Note
Must-follow rules	"Always use X", "Never do Y"
Anti-patterns	Past failures to avoid
Relevant sessions	Sessions to dig into
Unknowns	Gaps that need grounding

Step 3: Deep Dive (Optional)

If cm context suggests searches or you need more detail:

bash

# Specific pattern
cass search "{pattern}" --robot --fields minimal --limit 5

# View a session
cass view /path/to/session.jsonl --json

# Expand around a match
cass expand /path -n {line} -C 3 --json

Step 4: Apply Context

Before implementing:

• Rules noted and will be followed
• Anti-patterns noted and will be avoided
• Prior solutions reviewed for reuse
• Gaps identified for grounding

Query Patterns

Task-based

bash

cm context "implement user authentication" --json
cm context "fix pagination bug" --json
cm context "add API endpoint for X" --json

Pattern-based

bash

cm context "error handling in API routes" --json
cm context "database transaction patterns" --json
cm context "form validation" --json

Problem-based

bash

cm context "timeout errors in background jobs" --json
cm context "memory leak in long-running process" --json

Output Interpretation

Rules (high signal)

json

{
  "rules": [
    {"pattern": "auth", "rule": "Always use bcrypt cost >= 12"}
  ]
}

→ Follow these. They're distilled from successful sessions.

Anti-patterns (high signal)

json

{
  "antipatterns": [
    "Don't use localStorage for tokens - session abc failed"
  ]
}

→ Avoid these. They caused failures before.

Integration with Workflow

At session start

bash

# After claiming a bead
cm context "{bead_title}" --json

Before implementation

bash

# Before writing significant code
cm context "{what_you're_about_to_build}" --json

When stuck

bash

# When hitting a wall
cm context "{problem_description}" --json
cass search "{error_message}" --robot

project-memory

Project Memory

When to Retrieve Context

Protocol

Step 1: Distilled Context

Step 2: Review and Extract

Step 3: Deep Dive (Optional)

Step 4: Apply Context

Query Patterns

Task-based

Pattern-based

Problem-based

Output Interpretation

Rules (high signal)

Anti-patterns (high signal)

Suggested searches (medium signal)

Integration with Workflow

At session start

Before implementation

When stuck

See Also