/hindsight-local

name: hindsight-local
description: Store user preferences, learnings from tasks, and procedure outcomes. Use to remember what works and recall context before new tasks. (user)

Hindsight Memory Skill (Local)

You have persistent memory via the `hindsight-embed` CLI. **Proactively store learnings and recall context** to provide better assistance.

Setup Check (First-Time Only)

Before using memory commands, verify Hindsight is configured:

uvx hindsight-embed daemon status

**If this fails or shows "not configured"**, run the interactive setup:

uvx hindsight-embed configure

This will prompt for an LLM provider and API key. After setup, the commands below will work.

How Hindsight Works

When you call `retain`, Hindsight does **not** store the string as-is. The server runs an internal pipeline that:

1. **Extracts structured facts** from the content using an LLM 2. **Identifies entities** (people, tools, concepts) and links related facts 3. **Builds temporal and causal relationships** between facts 4. **Generates embeddings** for semantic search

This means you should pass **rich, full-context content** — the server is better at extracting what matters than a pre-summarized string. Your job is to decide **when** to store, not **what** to extract.

Commands

Store a memory

Use `memory retain` to store what you learn. Pass the full context — raw observations, session notes, conversation excerpts, or detailed descriptions:

uvx hindsight-embed memory retain default "User is working on a TypeScript project. They enabled strict mode and prefer explicit type annotations over inference."
uvx hindsight-embed memory retain default "Ran the test suite with NODE_ENV=test. Tests pass. Without NODE_ENV=test, the suite fails with a missing config error." --context procedures
uvx hindsight-embed memory retain default "Build failed on Node 18 with error 'ERR_UNSUPPORTED_ESM_URL_SCHEME'. Switched to Node 20 and build succeeded." --context learnings

You can also pass a raw conversation transcript with timestamps:

uvx hindsight-embed memory retain default "[2026-03-16T10:12:03] User: The auth tests keep failing on CI but pass locally. Any idea?
[2026-03-16T10:12:45] Assistant: Let me check the CI logs. Looks like the tests are running without the TEST_DATABASE_URL env var set — they fall back to the production DB URL and hit a connection timeout.
[2026-03-16T10:13:20] User: Ah right, I never added that to the CI secrets. Adding it now.
[2026-03-16T10:15:02] User: That fixed it. All green now." --context learnings

Recall memories

Use `memory recall` BEFORE starting tasks to get relevant context:

uvx hindsight-embed memory recall default "user preferences for this project"
uvx hindsight-embed memory recall default "what issues have we encountered before"

Reflect on memories

Use `memory reflect` to synthesize context:

uvx hindsight-embed memory reflect default "How should I approach this task based on past experience?"

IMPORTANT: When to Store Memories

**Always store** after you learn something valuable:

User Preferences

• Coding style (indentation, naming conventions, language preferences)
• Tool preferences (editors, linters, formatters)
• Communication preferences
• Project conventions

Procedure Outcomes

• Steps that successfully completed a task
• Commands that worked (or failed) and why
• Workarounds discovered
• Configuration that resolved issues

Learnings from Tasks

• Bugs encountered and their solutions
• Performance optimizations that worked
• Architecture decisions and rationale
• Dependencies or version requirements

IMPORTANT: When to Recall Memories

**Always recall** before:

• Starting any non-trivial task
• Making decisions about implementation
• Suggesting tools, libraries, or approaches
• Writing code in a new area of the project

Best Practices

1. **Store immediately**: When you discover something, store it right away 2. **Pass rich context**: Include full observations, not pre-summarized strings — the server extracts facts automatically 3. **Include outcomes**: Store what happened AND why, including failures and workarounds 4. **Recall first**: Always check for relevant context before starting work 5. **Use `--context` for metadata**: The `--context` flag labels the type of memory (e.g., `procedures`, `learnings`, `preferences`), not a replacement for full content