# MCP Memory Server Guidelines This server provides an OS-agnostic, persistent Knowledge Graph and working memory. The following guidelines dictate **when** and **how** to best utilize these tools. ## 1. Ephemeral Working Memory (Sticky Notes) - **Tools:** add_sticky_note, ead_sticky_notes - **When to use:** - When you need to remember a specific context, broken build state, or pending task across conversation boundaries (e.g., "We are in the middle of refactoring main.rs, next step is testing"). - When saving short-term scratchpad thoughts that don't belong in the permanent knowledge graph. - **Behavior:** Notes have a 24-hour TTL and are pruned automatically. Always consider reading sticky notes at the start of a session if picking up an ongoing task. ## 2. The Knowledge Graph (Entities & Relations) - **Tools:** search_nodes, open_nodes, ead_graph - **When to use search_nodes:** Use this for **fuzzy searching** when you aren't 100% sure of the exact entity name, or you want to find everything related to a topic (e.g., "Docker", "Jenkins"). It uses Jaro-Winkler distance and token matching. - **When to use open_nodes:** Use this for **1-hop traversal**. If you know a specific entity name (e.g., "auth-service") and want to see how it connects to other services, open_nodes will pull the entity AND all directly connected neighbors. ## 3. Graph Maintenance & Condensation - **Tool:** condense_entity - **When to use:** Proactively use this tool if you notice an entity's observations array is getting excessively long (e.g., >10 items) or repetitive. Condense the list into a shorter, more concise summary of the core facts to preserve token limits. ## 4. The Audit Ledger (Code Changes) - **Tools:** log_code_change, query_recent_changes - **When to use log_code_change:** *MANDATORY.* Immediately after successfully making significant file modifications (e.g., refactoring a script, fixing a bug). Log the file path and a short description. - **When to use query_recent_changes:** When the user asks "What did we do yesterday?", "What changed recently?", or when trying to debug a newly introduced issue. (The ledger retains 7 days of history, max 1000 items). ## 5. Architectural Visualization - **Tool:** isualize_graph - **When to use:** When you need to explain complex system relationships, dependencies, or architectures to the user. This tool outputs a raw Mermaid.js string. Put the output inside a ``mermaid` markdown block in an Artifact so the user can see a visual diagram. ## 6. Structured Task Queue (Agentic Kanban) - **Tools:** `add_task`, `update_task_status`, `list_active_tasks` - **When to use:** Use this for structured checklist tracking of complex, multi-day features or goals (e.g., when the user initiates a `/goal`). - **Behavior:** Log tasks with a title and description. When resuming sessions, always run `list_active_tasks` to see what is still `pending`, `in_progress`, or `blocked`, and pick up where you left off. Use `update_task_status` to transition tasks to `done`. ## 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.