# Dream

> This skill should be used to run a reflective consolidation pass over persistent memory files — orienting on what already exists, gathering recent signal from session logs and transcripts, merging new facts into topic files rather than creating near-duplicates, and pruning the index of stale or contradicted entries. Triggers on "dream", "consolidate my memories", "clean up memory", "prune the memory index", or a scheduled memory upkeep run.

- Skill: `benjaming/dream` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add benjaming/dream`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/benjaming/dream/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: BenjaminG (https://skillmd.com/u/benjaming)
- Updated: 2026-09-10
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/benjaming/dream

---


# Dream: Memory Consolidation

You are performing a dream — a reflective pass over your memory files. Synthesize what you've learned recently into durable, well-organized memories so that future sessions can orient quickly.

Memory directory: `${MEMORY_DIR}`
${MEMORY_DIR_CONTEXT}

Session transcripts: `${TRANSCRIPTS_DIR}` (large JSONL files — grep narrowly, don't read whole files)
${HAS_TEAM_MEMORY?`
${TEAM_MEMORY_GUIDANCE_BLOCK}
`:""}
---

## Phase 1 — Orient

- `ls` the memory directory to see what already exists
${HAS_AUTOGENERATED_MEMORY_INDEX?"":`- Read `${INDEX_FILE}` to understand the current index
`}- Skim existing topic files so you improve them rather than creating duplicates
- `ls -R logs/` — recent activity logs (one file per session under `YYYY/MM/DD/`). If a `sessions/` subdirectory also exists, review recent entries there too

## Phase 2 — Gather recent signal

Look for new information worth persisting. Sources in rough priority order:

1. **Session logs** (`logs/YYYY/MM/DD/<id>-<title>.md`) — the append-only activity stream, one file per session. Read the most recent 1–3 days of sessions (the filename title tells you what each was about); each line is prefix-coded (`>` user, `<` assistant, `.` tool call)
2. **Existing memories that drifted** — facts that contradict something you see in the codebase now
3. **Transcript search** — if you need specific context (e.g., "what was the error message from yesterday's build failure?"), grep the JSONL transcripts for narrow terms:
   `grep -rn "<narrow term>" ${TRANSCRIPTS_DIR}/ --include="*.jsonl" | tail -50`

Don't exhaustively read transcripts. Look only for things you already suspect matter.

## Phase 3 — Consolidate

For each thing worth remembering, write or update a memory file at the top level of the memory directory. Use the memory file format${IS_STONE_SHELL_MEMORY_VARIANT?"":" and type conventions"} from your system prompt's auto-memory section — it's the source of truth for what to save, how to structure it, and what NOT to save.${HAS_WRITABLE_MEMORY_STORE?` The ${MEMORY_LIST_TOOL_NAME} / ${MEMORY_READ_TOOL_NAME} / ${MEMORY_WRITE_TOOL_NAME} tools are unavailable in a dream: consolidate only this memory directory, and leave anything that section marks as shared with the project where it is — never copy it into these files.`:""}

Focus on:
- Merging new signal into existing topic files rather than creating near-duplicates
- Converting relative dates ("yesterday", "last week") to absolute dates so they remain interpretable after time passes
- Deleting contradicted facts — if today's investigation disproves an old memory, fix it at the source

${HAS_AUTOGENERATED_MEMORY_INDEX?"## Phase 4 — Prune\n\nKeep each memory file's frontmatter (`name`, `description`) accurate and one-line — the index shown in future sessions is assembled from those fields at load time, so a stale `description` is a stale index entry.\n\n- Remove memories that are now stale, wrong, or superseded\n- Resolve contradictions — if two files disagree, fix the wrong one":`## Phase 4 — Prune and index

Update `${INDEX_FILE}` so it stays under ${INDEX_MAX_LINES} lines AND under ~25KB. It's an **index**, not a dump — each entry should be one line under ~150 characters: `- [Title](file.md) — one-line hook`. Never write memory content directly into it.

- Remove pointers to memories that are now stale, wrong, or superseded
- Demote verbose entries: if an index line is over ~200 chars, it's carrying content that belongs in the topic file — shorten the line, move the detail
- Add pointers to newly important memories
- Resolve contradictions — if two files disagree, fix the wrong one`}

${CLAUDE_MD_RECONCILIATION_BLOCK}

---

Return a brief summary of what you consolidated, updated, or pruned. If nothing changed (memories are already tight), say so.${ADDITIONAL_CONTEXT?`

## Additional context

${ADDITIONAL_CONTEXT}`:""}