# Memory MCP Strategic Guidelines

This document outlines the STRATEGY and SEMANTICS for using the MCP Memory Server. 
You do not need to memorize JSON schemas for these tools; they are strictly defined and typed in the 	ools/list endpoint. Focus purely on WHEN and WHY to use them.

## 7. Snippet & Command Vault
- **Tools:** `store_snippet`, `search_snippets`, `delete_snippet`
- **When to use:** Use the Vault to store exactly multi-line code snippets, Nushell pipelines, or complex commands that the user relies on frequently.
- **Behavior:** The vault guarantees precise syntactic preservation of the script (unlike Graph observations). Search snippets when trying to recall an exact query or pipeline.

## 8. Context Namespaces (Project Scopes)
- **Feature:** `namespace` optional parameter
- **When to use:** When using `read_graph`, `search_nodes`, or `visualize_graph`, you can now pass `namespace` to isolate graph queries to a specific project scope (e.g. "scascanner").
- **Behavior:** When calling `create_entities` or `create_relations`, you can inject `namespace: "your_project"` into the entity schema to isolate it from the global scope.

## 9. Architectural Decision Records (ADRs)
- **Tools:** log_decision, query_decisions
- **When to use:** Use this whenever you make a non-trivial architectural, environmental, or tooling decision (e.g. choosing a specific framework, a specific deployment flag, bypassing a rule with a workaround).
- **Behavior:** This permanently stores the context, decision, and consequence of *why* something is done the way it is, preventing future agents from second-guessing or reverting it.

## 10. Graph Refactoring & Maintenance
- **Tools:** merge_entities, ind_orphans
- **When to use:** Run ind_orphans periodically or when you notice graph clutter to safely delete unused nodes. Use merge_entities when you notice duplicated semantic concepts (e.g. API_Gateway vs APIGateway).
- **Behavior:** merge_entities will safely combine their observations and automatically remap all relations pointing to or from the deleted duplicate.

## 11. Dynamic Learned Preferences
- **Tools:** learn_preference, 
ead_preferences
- **When to use:** When the user corrects you on a specific local nuance (e.g. "Actually, use Python 3.10 instead of 3.12 for this repo").
- **Behavior:** Use this Key-Value store to record dynamic behavioral preferences to ensure you adapt instantly without modifying global Markdown files.

## Error Vault / Troubleshooting
When you spend time resolving a tricky environment issue, build error, or logic bug, immediately record the fix to save future time.
- **log_error_fix:** Provide the signature (the exact error string or stack trace snippet) and the solution.
- **search_error_fixes:** When encountering a weird bug, query this vault first before debugging from scratch.

## Pinned Workspaces (Hot Files)
To maintain focus on the active "working set" of files in large repositories, use pins.
- **pin_file / unpin_file:** Pin the 3-5 files you are actively modifying to the current 
amespace (project).
- **list_pinned_files:** When starting a new session or returning to a project, always list pinned files first to instantly regain context on what was being worked on.

## Rolling Session Summaries (Project Timeline)
To maintain a chronological narrative of the project's evolution beyond just code diffs.
- **add_session_summary:** At the end of every major coding session, write a 2-sentence summary of what was accomplished and add it to the 
amespace.
- **get_project_timeline:** When rejoining a project after a long time, read the timeline to instantly understand the recent architectural history.

## Agent Handoffs (The Inbox)
When working in a multi-session or multi-agent environment, agents need to communicate context across time.
- **leave_handoff_memo:** Leave a quick message describing current progress, roadblocks, or the literal next step to take.
- **read_handoff_memos:** ALWAYS check for memos when waking up in a new project namespace.
- **clear_handoff_memos:** Clear the memo after you have successfully read it and absorbed its context.

## Environment & Blueprint Tracker
Stop wasting tokens rediscovering how to run or configure the project.
- **update_env_fingerprint:** Run this when you set up a new project to snapshot the OS, shell, and key language versions (e.g. python, 
ustc).
- **read_env_fingerprint:** Query this to instantly know how the project is run.
- **log_env_requirement:** Log required .env variables (e.g. DATABASE_URL) without logging the secret itself.

## Milestones (Epics)
Organize granular tasks into high-level phases.
- **add_milestone:** Group a large subset of work into a cohesive phase (e.g., "V1 MVP", "CI/CD Setup").
- **update_milestone:** Mark a milestone as active, blocked, or completed.
- **list_milestones:** Use this to ensure task priorities align with the current active milestone.

## Standup Reports
When asked for a progress update or standup report, do not guess or read raw git logs.
- **generate_standup_report:** Generates a structured JSON containing all 	asks updated, code_changes logged, and session_summaries added within the last N hours. Format this cleanly as a markdown report for the user.

## Infrastructure & Environment Registry
Avoid asking the user for URLs or connection details repeatedly.
- **register_environment:** Save connection details for Dev, QA, Staging, or Prod environments.
- **get_environment_details:** Query this to know how to connect to databases, APIs, or VPNs.

## Pre-Push / PR Quality Checklists
Ensure high code quality and prevent incomplete pull requests.
- **add_pr_checklist_item:** Add recurring repository chores (e.g., "Run cargo fmt", "Update CHANGELOG").
- **get_pr_checklist:** Query and explicitly verify EVERY item on this list before triggering git push or merging PRs.
- **clear_pr_checklist:** Clear if the project lifecycle changes dramatically.

## Tech Debt & Refactor Backlog
Keep the main task board clean by isolating "hacky" workarounds.
- **log_tech_debt:** Record why a shortcut was taken and what the ideal solution should be.
- **resolve_tech_debt:** Mark a debt as paid off once refactored.
- **list_tech_debt:** Query this before starting a refactoring session.

## Context Workspaces
When shifting context rapidly (e.g. from building a feature to fixing a prod bug), save your state.
- **save_context_workspace:** Save your active pinned files and task IDs under a named workspace (e.g., "Feature X").
- **load_context_workspace:** Retrieve a saved workspace to instantly restore your context when returning to that task.
- **list_context_workspaces:** List all saved workspaces in a project.

## Omni-Search (Global Vault Search)
When you remember a vague keyword but don't know which specific vault it's stored in.
- **omni_search:** Searches across the Knowledge Graph, Tasks, Snippets, ADRs, Tech Debt, Memos, and Error Fixes simultaneously.

## Project Health Dashboard
When starting a new session, get a numerical aggregate of the project's current state.
- **get_project_health:** Returns a quick digest of active tasks, unread memos, unresolved tech debt, and pending PR checklist items.

## Git Context Binding (VCS Sync)
To maintain absolute traceability, we link memory items directly to the exact git commits they occurred on.
- When calling **log_code_change**, **log_error_fix**, or **log_tech_debt**, you should execute git rev-parse HEAD and git branch --show-current in the project directory first (if it's a git repo).
- Pass the resulting hash and branch name into the git_commit and git_branch arguments of those tools to permanently link the memory item to the VCS state.

## 13. Server Lifecycle & Updates (Graceful Shutdown)
When instructed to restart, update, or stop the mcp-memory-server binary, never use brute-force OS kill commands (e.g. Stop-Process, pkill, kill).
- Why: The server uses asynchronous checkpointing. Force-killing it bypasses the shutdown flush, risking data loss in the master JSON graph, and can lead to lingering file locks.
- How: Always use the built-in graceful shutdown mechanisms:
  1. CLI Flag: mcp-memory-server --exit (or --restart)
  2. HTTP Endpoint: POST http://127.0.0.1:3000/shutdown

## 14. Dual Transport Architecture (SSE & WebSockets)
- **Constraint:** The MCP Memory Server natively supports a dual transport layer. You MUST maintain both if modifying network code.
  - **SSE (/sse & /messages):** Used strictly by the Antigravity LLM client because standard AI runtimes prefer synchronous HTTP JSON-RPC wrappers.
  - **WebSockets (/ws):** Used strictly by external UI clients (e.g., dashboard.html) or the mcp-memory-stub proxy.
- **Behavior:** Both transport layers route into the exact same central handle_request pipeline. Do not build feature logic that only works on one transport protocol.



## 15. Neovim Integration & God Mode
The project contains two MCP binaries (win-nvim and linux-nvim) that bridge JSON-RPC over stdio directly to the active Neovim instance (using ctive_nvim.txt for Last Focused Wins telemetry). 
- These binaries expose basic tools (
vim_get_cursor, 
vim_get_active_buffer, 
vim_list_buffers, etc.).
- **God Mode**: They also expose 
vim_execute_lua. This is the ultimate fallback tool. If you need to access *any* Neovim API that does not have a dedicated Rust tool (e.g., getting LSP diagnostics, evaluating a visual selection block based on modes, setting registers), you MUST write a short Lua script and pass it to 
vim_execute_lua. Do not attempt to recompile the Rust server to add new basic tools; use the Lua escape hatch dynamically.