Read Working Memory

nowledge-co/community/nowledge-mem-claude-code-plugin/skills/read-working-memory

by nowledge-co1f4d7eb61466dbfc93ce8d7a0a806c4d4a196dd0No licenseListed Oct 9, 2026Updated Oct 9, 2026

Read your daily Working Memory briefing to understand current context. Contains active focus areas, priorities, unresolved flags, and recent knowledge changes. In Grok Build, invoke this on the first relevant turn because passive startup-hook output is not model context.

AI-generated overview

Loads a daily Working Memory briefing of focus areas, priorities, flags and recent changes at session start.

What it does
This skill instructs an agent to read a Working Memory briefing that lists active focus areas, priorities, unresolved flags, recent knowledge-base changes and deep links. It prefers a Context Bundle command for startup context and falls back to reading Working Memory alone, or to a local memory file when the CLI is absent. It also describes checking for managed skills through a memory MCP server or CLI before procedural work.
When to use it
Use at the start of a new conversation, when returning to a project after a break, or when the user asks what they are working on or references recent priorities. Skip it if the context was already loaded in the session, the user wants a fresh start, or the task is isolated and context-independent.
Requirements
Requires the nmem CLI (installable via pip, pipx, or Arch packages) or a Nowledge Mem MCP server; remote servers need a configured URL and API key, optionally via environment variables. A local fallback reads a memory file under the home directory. No scripts are shipped; instructions only.

Read Working Memory

Start every relevant session with context. Claude Code hooks prefer Context Bundle when available: owner identity, AI Identity, active scope, active rules, and Working Memory. Grok Build loads the same context through this skill because it discards passive hook stdout. Working Memory alone is the lighter fallback.

When to Use

At session start or the first relevant Grok Build turn:

  • Beginning of a new conversation
  • Returning to a project after a break
  • When context about recent work would help

During session:

  • User asks "what am I working on?" or "what's my context?"
  • User references recent priorities or decisions
  • Need to understand what's been happening across tools

Skip when:

  • Already loaded this session
  • User explicitly wants a fresh start
  • Working on an isolated, context-independent task

Usage

Prefer Context Bundle for startup context:

bash
nmem --json context --source-app claude-code# In Grok Build:nmem --json context --source-app grok

Read Working Memory alone when you only need current priorities:

bash
nmem wm read

Only add --space "<space name>" when the user or environment explicitly provided that existing Mem space (for example NMEM_SPACE). Never infer a space from the current folder, git repository, branch, or project name. Multi-agent orchestrators can set NMEM_AGENT_ID="<agent-slug>" before launching Claude Code or Grok Build so hooks read the right AI Identity automatically. Add NMEM_SPACE only when that whole run should override the identity's default space. Use NMEM_HOST_AGENT_ID only for advanced external aliases.

Fallback for local-only (when nmem is not installed):

bash
cat ~/ai-now/memory.md

This fallback is only for older local-only Default-space setups.

What You'll Find

The Working Memory briefing contains:

  • Active Focus Areas — Topics you're currently engaged with, ranked by recent activity
  • Priorities — Items flagged as important or needing attention
  • Unresolved Flags — Contradictions, stale information, or items needing verification
  • Recent Activity — What changed in your knowledge base since the last briefing
  • Deep Links — References to specific memories for further exploration

How to Use This Context

  1. Read once at session start — in Grok Build, run this skill on the first relevant turn; don't re-read unless asked
  2. Reference naturally — mention relevant context when it connects to the current task
  3. Avoid duplicate reads — if Context Bundle was already injected and includes Working Memory, do not read Working Memory again
  4. Don't overwhelm — share only the parts relevant to what the user is working on
  5. Cross-tool continuity — insights saved in other tools (Cursor, Claude Code, Grok Build, Codex) appear here

Managed Skills

Nowledge Mem can hold managed skills: proven procedures for recurring, multi-step work. If the task is procedural and the Nowledge Mem MCP server exposes find_skills, check for a matching skill before starting. When looking for skills, always use find_skills first; do not search the filesystem or memory for skills. If one matches, read and follow its SKILL.md, then report the outcome with report_skill_outcome when the task is done.

If MCP is unavailable but nmem is present, use:

bash
nmem skills match "<task>"nmem skills show <skill_id>nmem skills outcome <skill_id> --version <version> --outcome completed

Do this for recurring or procedural work, not for every question.

Troubleshooting

If nmem is not in PATH: pip install nmem-cli, pipx install nmem-cli, or on Arch Linux yay -S nmem-cli / paru -S nmem-cli

If Nowledge Mem is on a remote server, run nmem config client set url https://... and nmem config client set api-key ... once on this machine, or use NMEM_API_URL / NMEM_API_KEY for a temporary override.

Source and attribution

Source:nowledge-co/communityinnowledge-mem-claude-code-plugin/skills/read-working-memoryat commit1f4d7eb

License: No license

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