nanobot-runtime/skills/compact-memory/SKILL.md

name, description

name	description
compact-memory	Audit and compact memory/MEMORY.md by removing superseded, duplicated, overly detailed, or ephemeral entries, and merging related items within a subsection. Runs interactively by default; use auto mode for unattended execution.

compact-memory

Compact memory/MEMORY.md when it grows too large or stale. The skill reads memory/MEMORY.md plus USER.md, SOUL.md, and keep.md (all three in the workspace root) to detect duplicates and outdated context, but only edits memory/MEMORY.md.

When to use

• User says "compact memory", "clean up MEMORY.md", "memory audit", or similar.
• MEMORY.md exceeds ~250 lines.
• There are obvious duplicates between MEMORY.md and other memory files.
• Old project notes, ephemeral debugging details, or superseded facts accumulate.

The line threshold is only a proactive trigger. When the user invokes the skill explicitly, run the full audit regardless of line count.

Modes

Interactive mode (default)

1. Read memory/MEMORY.md, and — for duplicate detection — also USER.md, SOUL.md, and keep.md (all three in the workspace root).
2. Count total lines (wc -l memory/MEMORY.md). If the skill was not invoked explicitly by the user, the file is ≤ 250 lines, and there is no obvious staleness, report "nothing to clean up" and stop. When invoked explicitly, always continue to the audit.
3. Audit the WHOLE file in a single pass. Walk every ## section and every ### subsection in order, top to bottom, and evaluate every bullet. Do not stop after the first few findings — the proposal in step 5 must cover the entire file at once. Re-running the skill should find nothing left, not "the next batch".
4. Identify candidates:
   • superseded — replaced by newer facts, completed work, or no longer relevant.
   • detail — concrete commands, flags, paths, measurements, or code references (e.g. telegram.py:384, script paths, DB paths) that belong in a skill, in code, or in a results/ file.
   • duplicate — same fact already present in USER.md, SOUL.md, or keep.md.
   • ephemeral — one-off debugging, temporary state, resolved incidents, or transient build/run progress (counts, task-failure notes, in-flight status).
   • stale section — an entire ##/### section whose contents are all superseded or ephemeral (e.g. a finished project, a one-off task log, transient system state). Propose removing the whole block at once, not bullet by bullet.
5. Identify merge candidates within the same ### subsection — related bullets that can be combined into one concise bullet.
6. Present a single numbered proposal in chat that covers the entire file:
   • list each delete with reason and original text (use [stale section] and cite the heading for whole-section removals);
   • list each merge with merged text.
   • Kept items are not listed.
7. Wait for user approval. Accept commands like:
   • apply / ok / yes — apply all proposed changes.
   • keep 3, 7, 12 — keep listed items, apply the rest.
   • delete 2, 5 — delete only listed items.
   • cancel — abort.
8. Apply approved changes to memory/MEMORY.md.
9. Append deleted items to log/memory-clean.log with timestamp YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM (create the file if it does not exist).
10. Report summary.

Auto mode

Triggered by the user saying "memory-compact auto" or an equivalent with explicit auto intent.

1. Perform the same audit as interactive mode.
2. Before deleting anything, write a full snapshot of MEMORY.md to backup/<YYYY-MM-DD_HHMM>_memory.backup.md.
3. Apply changes immediately without waiting for approval.
4. Print a detailed list of changes.
5. Append deleted items to log/memory-clean.log (create the file if it does not exist).

Rules

• Only edit memory/MEMORY.md.
• Do not touch SOUL.md, USER.md, or keep.md.
• In interactive mode do not create backups of MEMORY.md; rely on log/memory-clean.log for traceability. Auto mode always writes a full snapshot to backup/ before deleting.
• Merge only within the same ### subsection (never across ## sections or across different ### subsections).
• Preserve active project context, user preferences, and durable infrastructure facts.
• Be exhaustive: propose every qualifying candidate in one pass, not a handful. The user prunes via keep/delete, so in interactive mode propose generously and flag borderline items rather than silently keeping them.
• In auto mode only, when in doubt keep it (no user is there to prune); list the borderline items you kept in the report.

Output format

Interactive proposal:

Found X candidates to change in MEMORY.md:

Delete:
1. [superseded] <text>
2. [detail] <text>
3. [stale section] ## <heading> (N bullets) — <reason>
...

Merge:
5 + 6: <merged text>
...

Commands: apply | keep <numbers> | delete <numbers> | cancel

Auto mode report:

Memory compact (auto):
- deleted: X
- merged: Y
- unchanged: Z

Details:
...

Example

User: compact memory

Agent: reads files, counts lines, proposes changes, waits for apply.