basicmachines-co-basic-memory/skills/memory-continue/SKILL.md

name, description

name	description
memory-continue	Resume prior work by rebuilding context from the Basic Memory knowledge graph — pick up where you left off using memory:// URLs, recent activity, and search. Use when starting a session or when the user says 'continue with...', 'back to...', or 'where were we?'

Memory Continue

Resume previous work by reconstructing context from the Basic Memory knowledge graph, so the assistant can pick up across sessions instead of starting cold.

When to Use

• Starting a new session and you need to pick up where you left off
• The user references earlier work: "continue with...", "back to...", "where were we on...?"
• You need context about an ongoing project or spec
• The user asks about something discussed in a previous conversation
• You're working on a task that spans multiple sessions

Building Context

1. Identify What to Continue

If it's unclear, ask:

• What topic or project should you resume?
• What timeframe matters?
• Any specific aspect to focus on?

2. Gather Context with MCP Tools

Known topic — use build_context. Navigate the graph from a starting point, following relations outward:

build_context(
    url="memory://topic-or-note-name",
    depth=2,           # how many relation hops to follow
    timeframe="7d",    # bias toward recent changes
)

No clear starting point — use recent_activity. See what's changed and let it surface the thread:

recent_activity(timeframe="3d", depth=1)

Looking for something specific — use search_notes. Find candidate notes by keyword:

search_notes(query="async client refactor", page_size=10)

3. Read the Key Notes

Once you've identified the relevant notes, read them in full:

read_note(identifier="note-title-or-permalink")

4. Present Context to the User

Summarize what you found, incrementally:

• Current state of the work
• Recent changes or progress
• Open items and next steps
• Related context that might help

Memory URL Reference

build_context and read_note both accept memory:// URLs, which address notes by permalink and support wildcards for gathering groups of notes.

memory://note-title            # a single note by permalink
memory://folder/*              # all notes in a folder
memory://specs/SPEC-24*        # pattern / prefix match
memory://project/*/requirements # path wildcards

Use a specific note URL to anchor on one starting point; use a wildcard to pull in a whole folder or family of related notes at once.

Timeframe Reference

build_context and recent_activity accept natural-language timeframes:

Timeframe	Meaning
"today"	Current day
"yesterday"	Previous day
"3d" or "3 days"	Last 3 days
"1 week" or "7d"	Last week
"2 weeks"	Last 2 weeks
"1 month"	Last month

Scenario Playbooks

Resuming a Spec or Project

# 1. Read the spec / project note
read_note(identifier="SPEC-24: Postgres Database Migration")

# 2. Pull in related context and recent changes via the graph
build_context(url="memory://SPEC-24*", timeframe="7d")

Then summarize: the goals, what's completed, what's pending, and any blockers or open decisions.

Continuing General Work

# 1. Check recent activity
recent_activity(timeframe="3d")

# 2. Read notes from the recent sessions it surfaces
read_note(identifier="relevant-note")

Then list the modified notes with brief descriptions and ask which thread to dive into.

Following Up on a Topic

# 1. Find the topic
search_notes(query="topic keywords")

# 2. Build context from the best match, following its relations
build_context(url="memory://found-note-permalink", depth=2)

Then present the full picture — the note plus its connected context.

Project Discovery

Project names are user-specific. To discover what's available before scoping a search or memory:// URL:

list_memory_projects()

In multi-project setups, prefix a memory:// URL with the project name (e.g. memory://research/papers/crdt) to scope it.

Guidelines

1. Start broad, then narrow. Get an overview with recent_activity or a wildcard build_context, then drill into specific notes.
2. Present incrementally. Share what you find as you go rather than holding everything until the end.
3. Follow relations. The graph's connections are the point — build_context with depth surfaces context you wouldn't find by reading one note.
4. Check multiple projects. Specs may live separately from implementation notes; discover projects with list_memory_projects.
5. Confirm understanding. Verify the reconstructed context is what the user actually needs before acting on it.
6. Capture new progress. As the resumed work advances, write it back to the graph (see the memory-notes skill) so the next session can continue too.