How do I install the Memory Prune skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add frankxai/memory-prune in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Memory Prune safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Memory Prune?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Memory Prune free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Memory Prune?

frankxai (@frankxai) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Memory Prune by frankxai — Agent Skill

Name: Memory Prune
Author: frankxai

Memory Prune

Manual reviewable prune of stale memory entries. Lists project_* entries older than 30 days with content preview; Frank decides per-entry [keep | archive | pin]. Keeps MEMORY.md under the auto-load 200-line truncation. Use when MEMORY.md exceeds 180 lines or session-end after a heavy work week.

frankxai 6c81631 2 files · 7.9 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Memory Prune — assisted, never autonomous

The memory system at ~/.claude/projects/C--Users-frank-Arcanea/memory/ accumulates ~2-3 entries/day. Once MEMORY.md exceeds ~200 lines the auto-loader truncates it and entries silently disappear from future-session context. This skill prevents that without auto-deleting things that might still matter.

Philosophy

Never auto-delete. Auto-decay is silent and corrupts the wisdom layer of memory.
Bias toward keeping feedback, decision, reference, user — these are durable.
Bias toward pruning project_* — these are session snapshots; old ones rarely re-load.
Always show content before deciding. A 30-day-old project entry might be the one foundational decision you keep needing.

How it works

Walks ~/.claude/projects/C--Users-frank-Arcanea/memory/ for .md files
Filters to project_*.md last-modified > N days ago (default 30)
For each candidate prints:
- Filename + age in days
- First 200 chars of body
- Recommended action based on heuristics (see below)
Prompts Frank: [k]eep | [a]rchive | [p]in | [s]kip
Executes:
- archive → move to memory/archive/YYYY-MM/, remove from MEMORY.md
- pin → rename to <original>_pinned.md, ensure indexed in MEMORY.md
- keep → no change (will resurface next prune)
- skip → no change, no resurface this session

Heuristic recommendations

Pattern	Recommendation
`project__session_.md` (session log)	archive — these are ephemeral by nature
`project_pp_audit_*.md` (PP audits)	archive after 60 days
`project_*_strategy.md` (strategy docs)	keep or pin — usually evergreen
`project_overnight_*.md`	archive — overnight session snapshots
`project_mega_session_*.md`	archive — date-bound sessions
`project__2026_03_`	archive after 90 days
Any with content > 4 KB explaining a decision rationale	suggest pin

Invocation

Run via PowerShell in Windows:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$env:USERPROFILE/.claude/skills/memory-prune/prune.ps1"

Or set up an alias in your shell:

function prune-memory { & "$env:USERPROFILE/.claude/skills/memory-prune/prune.ps1" }

What this skill does NOT do

Does NOT delete files outright (only moves to archive/)
Does NOT touch feedback_*, decision_*, reference_*, user_*
Does NOT modify entries you skip
Does NOT auto-trigger; only runs on explicit invocation

Cadence recommendation

Run once per month or whenever MEMORY.md exceeds 180 lines (check via wc -l MEMORY.md).

Decay-when

This skill itself decays only if memory architecture migrates (e.g., to a vector DB). At that point rebuild against the new substrate.

---name: memory-prunedescription: Manual reviewable prune of stale memory entries. Lists project_* entries older than 30 days with content preview; Frank decides per-entry [keep | archive | pin]. Keeps MEMORY.md under the auto-load 200-line truncation. Use when MEMORY.md exceeds 180 lines or session-end after a heavy work week.---# Memory Prune — assisted, never autonomousThe memory system at `~/.claude/projects/C--Users-frank-Arcanea/memory/` accumulates ~2-3 entries/day. Once `MEMORY.md` exceeds ~200 lines the auto-loader truncates it and entries silently disappear from future-session context. This skill prevents that without auto-deleting things that might still matter.## Philosophy- **Never auto-delete.** Auto-decay is silent and corrupts the wisdom layer of memory.- **Bias toward keeping `feedback`, `decision`, `reference`, `user`** — these are durable.- **Bias toward pruning `project_*`** — these are session snapshots; old ones rarely re-load.- **Always show content before deciding.** A 30-day-old project entry might be the one foundational decision you keep needing.## How it works1. Walks `~/.claude/projects/C--Users-frank-Arcanea/memory/` for `.md` files2. Filters to `project_*.md` last-modified > N days ago (default 30)3. For each candidate prints: - Filename + age in days - First 200 chars of body - Recommended action based on heuristics (see below)4. Prompts Frank: `[k]eep | [a]rchive | [p]in | [s]kip`5. Executes: - **archive** → move to `memory/archive/YYYY-MM/`, remove from `MEMORY.md` - **pin** → rename to `<original>_pinned.md`, ensure indexed in `MEMORY.md` - **keep** → no change (will resurface next prune) - **skip** → no change, no resurface this session## Heuristic recommendations| Pattern | Recommendation ||---|---|| `project_*_session_*.md` (session log) | archive — these are ephemeral by nature || `project_pp_audit_*.md` (PP audits) | archive after 60 days || `project_*_strategy.md` (strategy docs) | keep or pin — usually evergreen || `project_overnight_*.md` | archive — overnight session snapshots || `project_mega_session_*.md` | archive — date-bound sessions || `project_*_2026_03_*` | archive after 90 days || Any with content > 4 KB explaining a decision rationale | suggest pin |## InvocationRun via PowerShell in Windows:```powershellpowershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$env:USERPROFILE/.claude/skills/memory-prune/prune.ps1"```Or set up an alias in your shell:```powershellfunction prune-memory { & "$env:USERPROFILE/.claude/skills/memory-prune/prune.ps1" }```## What this skill does NOT do- Does NOT delete files outright (only moves to archive/)- Does NOT touch `feedback_*`, `decision_*`, `reference_*`, `user_*`- Does NOT modify entries you skip- Does NOT auto-trigger; only runs on explicit invocation## Cadence recommendationRun **once per month** or whenever `MEMORY.md` exceeds 180 lines (check via `wc -l MEMORY.md`).## Decay-whenThis skill itself decays only if memory architecture migrates (e.g., to a vector DB). At that point rebuild against the new substrate.

Frequently asked questions