How do I install the Databases skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add jonesrussell/databases 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.

What does the Databases skill do?

View all Claudia memory databases, switch between them, manage isolation. Triggers on "which database?", "switch workspace", "show databases", "list databases". It is listed under Coding & Dev Tools on SkillMD.

Is Databases 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 Databases?

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 Databases free to use?

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

Who published Databases?

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

Databases by jonesrussell — Agent Skill

Name: Databases
Author: jonesrussell

Databases

View all Claudia memory databases, see what's in each, and switch between them.

Triggers: /databases, /db, "show databases", "list my databases", "switch database", "which database am I using?"

Argument Handling

Parse the user's input to determine the subcommand:

Input	Subcommand
`/databases`, `/db`, "show databases", "list databases"	list
`/databases use <hash>`, "switch to ", "use database "	use
`/databases info <hash>`, "database info", "show database "	info
`/databases delete <hash>`, "delete database "	delete

If no subcommand is clear, default to list.

List (Default)

Scan all Claudia databases and display their stats.

Step 1: Find all databases

# List production databases
ls -la ~/.claudia/memory/*.db 2>/dev/null || echo "NO_PROD_DBS"

# List demo databases
ls -la ~/.claudia/demo/*.db 2>/dev/null || echo "NO_DEMO_DBS"

Step 2: Get current database

The currently active database is determined by the workspace directory. The CLI hashes the project path to find the right database:

# Check current working directory to compute expected hash
pwd | shasum -a 256 | head -c 12

Step 3: Query each database for stats

For each .db file found, query it directly using sqlite3:

# For each database file, extract stats
# Replace <db_path> with actual path
sqlite3 "<db_path>" "
SELECT
    (SELECT value FROM _meta WHERE key = 'workspace_path') as workspace,
    (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM entities WHERE type = 'person') as people,
    (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM memories) as memories,
    (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM entities) as entities,
    (SELECT MAX(created_at) FROM memories) as last_memory
"

If _meta table doesn't exist or workspace_path is NULL, show "Unknown (legacy)".

Step 4: Get file sizes

# Get file sizes in human-readable format
du -h ~/.claudia/memory/*.db 2>/dev/null
du -h ~/.claudia/demo/*.db 2>/dev/null

Output Format

Present the results in a clean table:

## Claudia Databases

### Production (~/.claudia/memory/)

| # | Hash | Workspace | Size | People | Memories | Last Active |
|---|------|-----------|------|--------|----------|-------------|
| > | a1b2c3d4e5f6 | ~/projects/startup | 2.3 MB | 18 | 127 | 2h ago |
|   | 9z8y7x6w5v4u | ~/work/client-a | 890 KB | 3 | 22 | 3d ago |
|   | x7y8z9a0b1c2 | Unknown (legacy) | 156 KB | 0 | 5 | 14d ago |

### Demo (~/.claudia/demo/)

| # | File | Description | Size | People | Memories | Last Active |
|---|------|-------------|------|--------|----------|-------------|
|   | claudia-demo.db | Global demo | 1.1 MB | 12 | 19 | 1d ago |

> = currently active

---

**Actions:**
- `/databases use <hash>` - Switch to a different database
- `/databases info <hash>` - Deep dive into a specific database
- `/databases delete <hash>` - Delete a database (with confirmation)

Format "Last Active" as relative time (e.g., "2h ago", "3d ago", "14d ago").

Use

Switch to a different database by setting the CLAUDIA_DB_OVERRIDE environment variable.

Step 1: Verify database exists

ls ~/.claudia/memory/<hash>.db 2>/dev/null || ls ~/.claudia/demo/<hash>.db 2>/dev/null

If not found, report error:

Database '<hash>' not found. Run `/databases` to see available databases.

Step 2: Get workspace info from target database

sqlite3 "~/.claudia/memory/<hash>.db" "SELECT value FROM _meta WHERE key = 'workspace_path'" 2>/dev/null || echo "Unknown workspace"

Step 3: Show warning and get confirmation

Before switching, warn the user:

**Database Switch**

You're about to switch from:
  **Current:** [current workspace path] ([current hash])

To:
  **Target:** [target workspace path] ([target hash])

This will set `CLAUDIA_DB_OVERRIDE` in your environment.
**You'll need to restart Claude Code for the change to take effect.**

Proceed? (yes/no)

Step 4: Modify .mcp.json

If confirmed, update the .claude/settings.local.json file to add CLAUDIA_DB_OVERRIDE environment variable:

Read the current settings, then add or update the environment variable:

# Check if settings exist
cat .claude/settings.local.json 2>/dev/null || echo "NO_SETTINGS"

Then edit the file to add:

{
  "env": {
    "CLAUDIA_DB_OVERRIDE": "/Users/kamil/.claudia/memory/<hash>.db"
  }
}

Step 5: Confirm and instruct user

**Database switched to:** [target hash]
   **Workspace:** [target workspace path]

**Action required:** Restart Claude Code for the change to take effect.
   - Exit this session (type `/exit` or close terminal)
   - Start a new `claude` session

To switch back to your original database, run `/databases use <original-hash>`.

Info

Show detailed statistics about a specific database.

Step 1: Verify database exists

ls ~/.claudia/memory/<hash>.db 2>/dev/null || ls ~/.claudia/demo/<hash>.db 2>/dev/null

Step 2: Query detailed stats

sqlite3 "<db_path>" "
-- Workspace info
SELECT 'workspace' as section, key, value FROM _meta;

-- Entity breakdown
SELECT 'entity_type' as section, type, COUNT(*) as count FROM entities GROUP BY type;

-- Memory breakdown
SELECT 'memory_type' as section, type, COUNT(*) as count FROM memories GROUP BY type;

-- Relationship count
SELECT 'relationships' as section, 'total' as type, COUNT(*) as count FROM relationships;

-- Episode count
SELECT 'episodes' as section, 'total' as type, COUNT(*) as count FROM episodes;

-- Pattern count
SELECT 'patterns' as section, 'total' as type, COUNT(*) as count FROM patterns;

-- Prediction count (active)
SELECT 'predictions' as section, 'active' as type, COUNT(*) as count FROM predictions WHERE expires_at > datetime('now') OR expires_at IS NULL;

-- Recent activity
SELECT 'recent_24h' as section, 'memories' as type, COUNT(*) as count FROM memories WHERE created_at > datetime('now', '-24 hours');
"

Step 3: List top entities

sqlite3 "<db_path>" "
SELECT name, type, importance,
       (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM memory_entities WHERE entity_id = entities.id) as memory_count
FROM entities
ORDER BY importance DESC, memory_count DESC
LIMIT 15
"

Output Format

## Database Info: [hash]

**Workspace:** [path]
**Size:** [file size]
**Created:** [created_at from _meta]
**Last Activity:** [last memory created_at]

### Entity Breakdown
| Type | Count |
|------|-------|
| person | 18 |
| organization | 5 |
| project | 12 |
| concept | 3 |

### Memory Breakdown
| Type | Count |
|------|-------|
| fact | 89 |
| preference | 12 |
| observation | 8 |
| learning | 5 |
| commitment | 13 |

### Other Stats
- **Relationships:** 45
- **Episodes:** 23
- **Patterns:** 8
- **Active Predictions:** 3
- **Activity (24h):** 7 new memories

### Top Entities
| Name | Type | Memories |
|------|------|----------|
| Sarah Chen | person | 34 |
| Acme Corp | organization | 22 |
| Project Alpha | project | 18 |
...

---

**Actions:**
- `/databases use [hash]` - Switch to this database
- `/databases delete [hash]` - Delete this database

Delete

Delete a database with explicit confirmation.

Step 1: Check if target is current database

If the user is trying to delete the currently active database, refuse:

Cannot delete the currently active database.

Switch to a different database first using `/databases use <other-hash>`, then try again.

Step 2: Verify database exists and gather info

ls ~/.claudia/memory/<hash>.db 2>/dev/null || ls ~/.claudia/demo/<hash>.db 2>/dev/null

Query stats to show what will be lost:

sqlite3 "<db_path>" "
SELECT
    (SELECT value FROM _meta WHERE key = 'workspace_path') as workspace,
    (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM entities WHERE type = 'person') as people,
    (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM memories) as memories,
    (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM episodes) as episodes
"

Step 3: Show warning and require explicit confirmation

**Delete Database**

You're about to **permanently delete** the database:
  **Hash:** [hash]
  **Workspace:** [workspace path]
  **Contains:**
    - [X] people
    - [Y] memories
    - [Z] conversation episodes

**This action cannot be undone.**

Type "DELETE [hash]" to confirm, or "cancel" to abort.

Wait for the user to type the exact confirmation string.

Step 4: Delete the file

Only after explicit confirmation:

rm ~/.claudia/memory/<hash>.db
rm ~/.claudia/memory/<hash>.db-shm 2>/dev/null
rm ~/.claudia/memory/<hash>.db-wal 2>/dev/null

Step 5: Confirm deletion

**Database deleted:** [hash]

The following files were removed:
- ~/.claudia/memory/[hash].db
- ~/.claudia/memory/[hash].db-shm (if existed)
- ~/.claudia/memory/[hash].db-wal (if existed)

Tone

Keep output clean and scannable
For destructive actions (delete, switch), be explicit about consequences
Show relative times for "Last Active" (2h ago, 3d ago, etc.)
When showing workspace paths, collapse home directory to ~ for readability

Error Handling

No databases found:

No Claudia databases found.

This could mean:
- Claudia hasn't been set up yet (run `npx get-claudia`)
- The Claudia CLI hasn't been used yet
- Databases are in a non-standard location

Expected locations:
- Production: ~/.claudia/memory/*.db
- Demo: ~/.claudia/demo/*.db

Database query fails:

Could not query database [hash]: [error message]

The database file may be corrupted or locked by another process.

Permission denied:

Permission denied when accessing [path].

Check file permissions: `ls -la ~/.claudia/memory/`

Databases

File contents

Databases

Argument Handling

List (Default)

Step 1: Find all databases

Step 2: Get current database

Step 3: Query each database for stats

Step 4: Get file sizes

Output Format

Use

Step 1: Verify database exists

Step 2: Get workspace info from target database

Step 3: Show warning and get confirmation

Step 4: Modify .mcp.json

Step 5: Confirm and instruct user

Info

Step 1: Verify database exists

Step 2: Query detailed stats

Step 3: List top entities

Output Format

Delete

Step 1: Check if target is current database

Step 2: Verify database exists and gather info

Step 3: Show warning and require explicit confirmation

Step 4: Delete the file

Step 5: Confirm deletion

Tone

Error Handling

Frequently asked questions

Databases

File contents

Databases

Argument Handling

List (Default)

Step 1: Find all databases

Step 2: Get current database

Step 3: Query each database for stats

Step 4: Get file sizes

Output Format

Use

Step 1: Verify database exists

Step 2: Get workspace info from target database

Step 3: Show warning and get confirmation

Step 4: Modify .mcp.json

Step 5: Confirm and instruct user

Info

Step 1: Verify database exists

Step 2: Query detailed stats

Step 3: List top entities

Output Format

Delete

Step 1: Check if target is current database

Step 2: Verify database exists and gather info

Step 3: Show warning and require explicit confirmation

Step 4: Delete the file

Step 5: Confirm deletion

Tone

Error Handling

Related skills

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the Databases skill?

What does the Databases skill do?

Is Databases safe to use?

Which AI agents work with Databases?

Is Databases free to use?

Who published Databases?