/mem-search

name: mem-search
description: Search past observations and context from claude-mem persistent memory
argument-hint: Search query (e.g., "authentication patterns" or "error handling")
allowed-tools: [Bash, Read]
disable-model-invocation: true
user-invocable: true
user_facing: true

Search claude-mem Persistent Memory

Search past observations, context, and tool outputs captured by the [claude-mem](https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem) persistent memory plugin.

Prerequisites

This command requires claude-mem to be installed and running:

1. **Install claude-mem**: See https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem 2. **Worker service running**: Should be on port 37777 3. **Validate**: Run `/health-check` to verify prerequisites

Implementation

ARGUMENTS: {{ARGUMENTS}}

Step 1: Check claude-mem availability

First, verify claude-mem is installed and the worker is running:

# Check if claude-mem directory exists
if [ ! -d ~/.claude-mem ]; then
    echo "ERROR: claude-mem not installed"
    echo "Install from: https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem"
    exit 1
fi

# Check if worker is running on port 37777
if ! curl -s http://localhost:37777/health > /dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "WARNING: claude-mem worker may not be running"
    echo "Start with: cd ~/.claude-mem && bun run worker"
fi

Step 2: Search using MCP tools

If the MCP server `claude-mem` is available, use its search tool:

mcp__claude-mem__search_observations(query="ARGUMENTS")

Step 3: Alternative - Direct database query

If MCP is not available, query the SQLite database directly:

sqlite3 ~/.claude-mem/data/memory.db "
SELECT timestamp, content
FROM observations
WHERE content LIKE '%QUERY%'
ORDER BY timestamp DESC
LIMIT 20
"

Replace `QUERY` with the search term from ARGUMENTS.

Step 4: Display results

Format and display the search results:

• Show timestamp and content for each match
• Highlight relevance to the query
• Provide file references if available

What This Does

The claude-mem plugin captures tool observations throughout your sessions:

• **Tool outputs**: Results from Bash, Read, Write, etc.
• **Context**: Surrounding conversation and file contents
• **Timestamps**: When each observation was made

This command searches that history to:

• Find relevant past work
• Recall solutions to similar problems
• Understand project history

Usage

# Search for authentication patterns
/mem-search authentication

# Find error handling approaches
/mem-search "error handling"

# Look for specific file mentions
/mem-search config.json

# Search for recent changes
/mem-search "git commit"

Output

Search returns:

• **Timestamp**: When the observation was captured
• **Content**: The tool output or context
• **Relevance**: How closely it matches your query

Troubleshooting

claude-mem not found

Install from: https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem

Worker not running

cd ~/.claude-mem && bun run worker

No results found

• Try broader search terms
• Check if claude-mem has been running during relevant sessions
• Verify database exists: `ls ~/.claude-mem/data/`

Related

• **claude-mem**: https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem
• **/health-check**: Validates claude-mem prerequisites
• **Web UI**: http://localhost:37777 (when worker is running)

---

**Part of**: claude-mem integration (GitHub #327) **Related**: `/health-check`