# Vestige Record Decision > Capture a project decision to Vestige memory when committing to an architectural choice, picking approach A over B, settling a tradeoff, or choosing a library / framework / pattern. Fire on "we'll go with…", "let's use…", "decision:…", "I'm choosing X over Y because…", "settled — we use…", "going with X", or when the user says "capture that decision", "remember this", "record it". Decisions ground future reasoning and feed every `vestige context` pack. Captures body, rationale (the why), and importance (default 0.7). Returns the new handle (`mem_`). - Skill: `conorluddy/vestige-record-decision` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add conorluddy/vestige-record-decision` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/conorluddy/vestige-record-decision/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: conorluddy (https://skillmd.com/u/conorluddy) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/conorluddy/vestige-record-decision --- # Record a project decision Write a project decision into durable, repo-scoped Vestige memory. Decisions are commitments with a why — the kind of thing future-you would regret losing. ## When to fire - The conversation has just produced a commitment to a specific approach, library, pattern, or architectural shape. - The user said "we'll go with X" / "decision: X" / "let's use X" / "settled". - You wrote `## Decision` or `Decision:` in your own response. - You explicitly chose A over B and gave a reason. Tie-breakers vs siblings: - *Decision vs note* — does it carry a commitment **and** a why? If both yes, decision. If just useful info, use `vestige-record-note`. - *Decision vs preference* — preferences come from the user's voice ("I prefer …", "always …"). Decisions can come from either side and have an explicit rationale. - *Decision vs question* — if there's still ambiguity, the answer isn't a decision yet. Use `vestige-record-question`. ## How to invoke ```bash vestige decision add "" \ --rationale "" \ --importance 0.7 \ --json ``` - **body** (positional, required): one-line statement of what was decided. Imperative or declarative ("Use SQLite for local persistence", "Adopt FTS5 for lexical search"). - **`--rationale`** (recommended): the why. Without rationale a decision degrades to a note. - **`--importance`** (optional, 0.0–1.0, default 0.7): bump to 0.85+ for decisions that shape major surface area; leave at default for routine choices. - **`--source`** (optional): file path or external ref (`crates/vestige-store/src/lib.rs:42`, `https://...`) when the decision was prompted by something inspectable. - **`--source-content`** (optional): inline snippet, capped at 2 KiB by the CLI. ## After invocation The JSON envelope returns `{ "id": "mem_", ... }`. Read `id` and surface a one-line confirmation: *"Recorded decision `mem_…`."* Don't read the body back — the user just said it. The decision is immediately searchable via `vestige-recall` and will appear in the next `vestige context` pack. ## Idempotence & dedup Every `vestige decision add` is a fresh write — there is no upsert. Before capturing, run a quick dedup probe if you suspect overlap: ```bash vestige recall "" --json --limit 3 ``` If the top hit's `score` is high *and* `type` is `decision` *and* the `one_liner` is essentially the same commitment, skip the write and cite the existing handle instead. Otherwise capture; soft-delete (`vestige-forget`) the prior one if it's been superseded.