/recall-init-ids

description: Add durable IDs to memory entries. Required before /recall-maintain can run.
disable-model-invocation: true

Add `^tr` IDs to untagged memory entries in managed files. This is safe to run multiple times - it only tags entries that don't already have IDs.

What To Do

1. Identify Managed Files

Scan these locations for single-line list item entries:

• `CLAUDE.local.md` (working memory)
• `memory/registers/*.md` (all register files)
• `memory/archive/**/*.md` (archived entries, if they exist as list items)

**Do NOT scan** `memory/daily/*.md` - daily logs are not managed by the remove gate.

2. Parse Entries

An entry is exactly:

• A line starting with `- ` (dash + space)
• Single line only (the entire entry is on one line)
• NOT inside a fenced code block (``` markers)
• NOT a placeholder like `- [None captured yet]` or `- [None yet]` or `- [not yet set]`

**Already tagged**: If the line ends with ` ^tr` followed by exactly 10 lowercase hex characters, it already has an ID. Skip it.

**Malformed tag**: If the line ends with ` ^` followed by other text that doesn't match the `tr[0-9a-f]{10}` pattern, warn and skip it. Do not attempt to repair.

3. Show Preview

Before making any changes, show the user what will happen:

recall-init-ids — preview
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Files scanned: [N]
Entries found: [N] total
  Already tagged: [N]
  Will be tagged: [N]
  Skipped (malformed): [N]

Examples:

  CLAUDE.local.md:
    Before: - Don't blast into writing code unless explicitly told to
    After:  - Don't blast into writing code unless explicitly told to ^tr8f2a1c3d7e

  registers/preferences.md:
    Before: - Prefers tabs over spaces
    After:  - Prefers tabs over spaces ^tra4b2c1d9e0

Apply? [y]es / [c]ancel

Show up to 5 before/after examples, spread across different files.

**If no untagged entries are found**, report that and exit:

All [N] entries already have IDs. Nothing to do.

4. Generate IDs

For each entry to be tagged:

1. Generate an ID: `tr` + 10 random lowercase hex characters (use crypto-secure randomness) 2. Check for collisions against:

• All existing inline IDs found during parsing
• All IDs already generated in this run
• All keys in `memory/.recall/metadata.json` (if it exists)

3. If collision, regenerate. (Extremely unlikely with 10 hex chars, but be safe.) 4. Append ` ^[id]` to the end of the line

5. Apply Changes

Only after user confirms:

1. **Rewrite each file** with IDs appended to eligible entry lines. Do not modify any other lines in the file.

2. **Create or update `memory/.recall/metadata.json`**:

• Create `memory/.recall/` directory if it doesn't exist
• For each new ID, add an entry:

     {
       "tr8f2a1c3d7e": {
         "created_at": "2026-02-12T10:15:30Z",
         "last_reviewed_at": "2026-02-12T10:15:30Z",
         "pinned": false,
         "snoozed_until": null,
         "status": "active",
         "tier": "working"
       }
     }

• Set `tier` based on file location:
• `CLAUDE.local.md` -> `"working"`
• `memory/registers/*` -> `"register"`
• `memory/archive/*` -> `"archive"`
• For entries with existing inline IDs that are missing from metadata.json, add them without changing the file
• Write JSON with sorted keys for readable diffs

6. Summary

recall-init-ids — complete
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Tagged: [N] entries across [M] files
Metadata: [N] entries in memory/.recall/metadata.json

Files modified:
  CLAUDE.local.md          [N] entries tagged
  registers/preferences.md [N] entries tagged
  ...

You can now run /recall-maintain for pressure-based memory cleanup.

Important Notes

• This command is idempotent. Running it again will only tag NEW untagged entries.
• If a user manually removes an ID from an entry, running this command will re-tag it with a NEW ID (losing pin/snooze/review history for that entry).
• Metadata.json is the source of truth for pin/snooze/review state. The inline ID is the link between the entry text and its metadata.