Recall and Precheck

Memzoi has three read-side workflows: recall memory for context, build handoff packs for agent switching, and check planned work against risky memories before acting.

Search active memory

memzoi search pnpm --json
memzoi search pnpm --type decision --scope-kind repo --limit 5
memzoi search billing --path apps/api/src/billing --json
memzoi expiry <record-id> --json

Search is backed by SQLite FTS over active, unexpired record titles and bodies. It supports optional filters for memory type, scope kind, path prefix, and limit. JSON search results return records with nullable source_kind/source_ref and citations carrying the four-part provenance metadata described below. memzoi expiry is the explicit diagnostic path for retrieving a record that normal reads exclude and reporting the evaluation instant and reason; it does not mutate the record.

Path filtering matches records bound to the exact path, descendants of the path, or ancestors of the path. That lets a record attached to apps/web apply when the user is working in apps/web/src/App.tsx.

Build a context pack

memzoi context --task "install dependencies" --json
memzoi context --task "edit the frontend" --path apps/web --token-budget 1200
memzoi context --task "resume this task" --include-local --include-session --json

Context packs are prompt-ready summaries of task-relevant active memory records. Repo memory (destination: repo) is the default and is the only destination queried unless --include-local or --include-session is supplied. When --path is supplied, path-bound records are prioritized. --token-budget limits selection before prompt rendering; when omitted, Memzoi uses its default budget.

Local and session memory is not queried, counted, rendered, or exposed unless the caller explicitly opts in. Use --include-local and/or --include-session only when private runtime continuity should be part of the pack. These flags change the query policy; they do not change the provenance meaning of any returned record.

Provenance in recall and precheck

Recall and precheck expose four independent pieces of provenance metadata:

• provenance is the storage-plane owner, serialized as git or runtime. git means the record is owned by canonical, reviewable .memzoi/records/*.md truth; runtime means it is runtime-only local or session state. Plane ownership is independent of transport: Git-plane records may be indexed and queried through the derived SQLite database, and SQLite is not canonical memory.
• destination is the pre-write routing classification. Recalled records use repo, local, or session: repo maps to the Git plane, while local and session map to the runtime plane. discard and needs_review are no-write classifications and therefore do not appear as recalled records.
• source_kind is optional short source metadata (for example, human, issue, or memzoi-local). It is null when the record has no source kind.
• source_ref is an optional durable locator for that source (for example, an issue, PR, commit, or URL). It is independent of source_kind and is null when no reference was recorded.

An applied record may also expose proposal_id in its record JSON. That field is review lineage: it identifies the DB or file-backed packet that authorized the write. It is intentionally not substituted into source_ref, so recall and precheck citations continue to point at original evidence while audit events and resolved packets point at the approving proposal.

In JSON, records[].citations, top-level citations, and included[].citation carry this metadata; included[].provenance and included[].destination repeat the plane and destination for the selected item. precheck --json exposes the same citation metadata under each warning. Text prompt lines use the same provenance=<plane> and destination=<destination> labels, while source metadata remains optional.

The JSON output includes:

• id: context pack id
• task: requested task
• prompt: rendered prompt text
• records: selected search results, including context ranking metadata
• citations: record citations with plane provenance, destination, visibility, and optional source_kind/source_ref
• token_budget: requested token budget, if supplied
• policy: requested and included memory destinations
• budget: requested budget, effective budget, approximate used budget, and selection/rendering metadata
• included: compact metadata for selected records, including provenance and destination
• omitted: capped metadata for relevant repo records excluded by budget
• warnings: structured notices, currently empty for context ranking
• next_queries: targeted follow-up searches, currently empty
• created_at: creation timestamp

Build a handoff pack

memzoi handoff --task "switch agents during auth work"
memzoi handoff --path crates/memzoi-core --token-budget 800 --json
memzoi handoff --task "resume local task" --include-local --include-session --json

Handoff packs are CLI wrappers around context packs for switching agents or harnesses. They reuse the same deterministic context ranking, budget selection, deduplication, provenance, and explicit local/session opt-in policy as memzoi context.

memzoi handoff requires --task or --path. When only --path is supplied, Memzoi derives the deterministic internal task string Handoff for path <path> before building the context pack.

Text output starts with # Memzoi Handoff, prints the effective task, optional path, and Proposal inbox, then renders the existing context prompt. Proposal inbox is backed by the DB-local proposal inbox used by memzoi proposals and memzoi doctor; it does not scan .memzoi/proposals/pending.

JSON output wraps the full context pack under context:

• id: handoff pack id
• task: effective task, including the path-only fallback when used
• path_prefix: requested path, if supplied
• token_budget, include_local, include_session: requested handoff options
• proposal_inbox: DB-backed open proposal counts with source: "db"
• context: the full context pack JSON, including records with per-record ranking, citations, policy, budget, included, omitted, and warnings
• created_at: creation timestamp

Local and session memory remains repo-excluded by default. It is not queried, counted, rendered, or exposed in handoff output unless --include-local or --include-session is supplied.

Run pre-action checks

Use precheck before destructive commands, broad file edits, package-manager changes, migrations, or work that may repeat a known failed attempt.

memzoi precheck --command "npm install" --json
memzoi precheck --path package.json --action "change package manager"
memzoi precheck --path apps/api/src/billing/invoice.rs --action "change invoice rounding"

Precheck searches active memory and returns warnings only for governance memory types:

• risk
• warning
• failed_attempt

When --path is supplied, an active governance record is applicable when its binding is the exact path, an ancestor or descendant directory, or a trailing /** scope that contains the requested path. Path applicability does not require the record title or body to repeat tokens from the path. Action and command text remain lexical ranking signals among applicable records, while records bound only to unrelated paths stay excluded.

Warnings include a severity, cited record id, message, and suggested next step.

Interpreting warnings

• risk produces high-severity warnings and should usually trigger a targeted test or closer review.
• warning marks known caveats or repo-specific hazards.
• failed_attempt helps agents avoid repeating an approach that already failed.

If there are no matching governance memories, the CLI prints No memory warnings. in text mode and returns an empty warnings array in JSON mode.