fading-memories/CLAUDE.md

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# CLAUDE.md
This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.
## Project Overview
**Fading Memories** - Hierarchical conversation compression with natural memory decay
A memory system for AI conversations that mimics human memory: vivid recent details progressively compress into summaries, with frequently accessed memories staying sharp while neglected ones gradually fade into oblivion.
### Core Concept
```
Time 0: [Full detailed conversation - 50,000 tokens]
Time 1: [Summary L1 - 5,000 tokens] ──→ [Details accessible via links]
Time 2: [Summary L2 - 500 tokens] ──→ [L1 accessible] ──→ [Details if accessed]
Time 3: [Summary L3 - 50 tokens] ──→ [Faded memories pruned if never accessed]
```
### Memory Decay Model
```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ Strength │
│ │ │
│ ███│████ │
│ ███│████████ │
│ ███│████████████ ← Accessed memories stay vivid │
│ ███│████████████████ │
│ ███│█████████████████████ │
│ ███│████████████████████████████ │
│ │ ████████ │
│ │ ████── → 0 (fade) │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Time │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```
**Factors affecting decay:**
- **Access frequency** - Viewed memories decay slower
- **Importance markers** - Explicitly marked memories persist
- **Reference count** - Memories linked by other memories stay
- **Recency** - Recent memories have higher base strength
### Architecture
```
src/fading_memories/
├── __init__.py
├── __main__.py # CLI entry point
├── models/
│ ├── memory.py # Memory node (content, strength, links)
│ ├── conversation.py # Conversation container
│ └── hierarchy.py # Memory tree structure
├── compression/
│ ├── summarizer.py # LLM-based summarization
│ ├── linker.py # Extract/preserve important links
│ └── strategies.py # Compression strategies
├── decay/
│ ├── strength.py # Strength calculation
│ ├── scheduler.py # When to compress/prune
│ └── pruner.py # Remove faded memories
├── storage/
│ ├── sqlite.py # SQLite backend
│ └── export.py # Export to markdown/json
└── api/
├── server.py # REST API
└── routes.py # Endpoints
```
### Data Model
```python
class Memory:
id: str # Unique identifier
content: str # The actual content
level: int # Compression level (0=raw, 1=summary, etc.)
parent_id: str | None # Link to more detailed version
children: list[str] # Links to compressed versions
# Decay tracking
strength: float # 0.0 to 1.0, below threshold = prune
created_at: datetime
last_accessed: datetime
access_count: int
# Metadata
importance: float # User-marked importance
tokens: int # Token count
tags: list[str]
class Conversation:
id: str
memories: list[Memory] # Hierarchy of memories
root_id: str # Most compressed summary
def access(self, memory_id: str) -> Memory:
"""Access a memory, boosting its strength."""
def drill_down(self, memory_id: str) -> Memory | None:
"""Get more detailed parent memory if it exists."""
def summarize(self) -> str:
"""Get current top-level summary."""
```
### Compression Flow
1. **Ingest** - Raw conversation comes in
2. **Chunk** - Split into semantic chunks
3. **Summarize** - Create L1 summary, link to chunks
4. **Store** - Save with initial strength = 1.0
5. **Decay** - Over time, strength decreases
6. **Access** - When accessed, strength boosts
7. **Compress** - When strength drops, create L2 summary
8. **Prune** - When strength ≈ 0 and no children need it, delete
### API Endpoints
```
POST /conversations # Create new conversation
GET /conversations/:id # Get conversation summary
GET /conversations/:id/memory/:mid # Access specific memory (boosts strength)
POST /conversations/:id/drill # Drill down to more detail
GET /conversations/:id/tree # Get full memory hierarchy
POST /decay/run # Trigger decay cycle
```
### CLI Usage
```bash
# Add a conversation
fading-memories add conversation.txt
# View current summary
fading-memories view <conversation-id>
# Drill into details
fading-memories drill <memory-id>
# Run decay cycle
fading-memories decay --threshold 0.1
# Export before it fades
fading-memories export <conversation-id> --format markdown
```
## Development Commands
```bash
# Install for development
pip install -e ".[dev]"
# Run tests
pytest
# Start API server
fading-memories serve --port 8080
# Run decay scheduler
fading-memories daemon
```
## Key Design Decisions
1. **Hierarchical, not flat** - Memories link to more/less detailed versions
2. **Lazy deletion** - Only prune when storage pressure or explicitly requested
3. **Boost on access** - Reading a memory reinforces it
4. **Configurable decay** - Different decay curves for different use cases
5. **Export before fade** - Always allow exporting before deletion
## Use Cases
- **Long-running AI conversations** - Keep context without unbounded growth
- **Chat history archival** - Compress old chats while keeping them searchable
- **Meeting notes** - Detailed notes fade to action items over time
- **Learning systems** - Spaced repetition based on access patterns
## Documentation
Documentation lives in `docs/` (symlink to centralized docs system).
Quick reference:
- Edit files in `docs/` folder
- Use `public: true` frontmatter for public-facing docs
- Deploy: `~/PycharmProjects/project-docs/scripts/build-public-docs.sh fading-memories --deploy`