# Memory architecture

Status: design direction for later adaptation; this document does not introduce
a memory service or change deployed user files.

Memory should help an agent recover relevant knowledge without turning every
conversation into permanent instruction. Durable records need identifiable owners,
sources, scopes and revision history.

| Category | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Instructions | Reviewed behavior and operating rules |
| Curated knowledge | Relevant facts and preferences with source evidence |
| Episodic records | Observations, conversation evidence and work history |
| Future obligations | Scoped event conditions or time-based schedules |
| Review artifacts | Proposed updates and acceptance/rejection evidence |

These categories do not prescribe a database or final monorepo directory layout.

## Admission and retrieval

Treat external material, user statements, agent deductions, retrieved memories and
system scaffolding as distinct origins. Repetition or retrieval must not upgrade
trust. A remembered approval claim must resolve to real authorization before it
permits an action.

Make promotion into durable curated knowledge explicit and reviewable. Preserve
source scope, time, supersession and uncertainty. Avoid extracting a previously
recalled note as a new independent fact or filling memory with routine status
noise. Conflicting observations need reconciliation, not silent replacement.

Retrieve within the current user's/project's/workspace's permissions. Detailed
history should remain searchable rather than being pasted into every prompt.
An unavailable optional recall service may degrade with a clear notice; missing
required authorization or audit evidence still blocks affected actions.

## Recovery and deletion

The authoritative work record is separate from a convenient memory summary.
Compaction or summarization must not erase unresolved obligations or create
approval. Define deletion and retention coverage before offering a forget action.

See [memory provenance](memory-provenance.md), [standing intents](standing-intents.md)
and foundation R28. ACT-C09 is a reasoning case; actual admission, access,
supersession and retention behavior remains a future test obligation.