# Shape Memory

> AI-native session continuity through shape anchors rather than linear logs. Use when beginning a session to orient from prior state, or when ending to crystallize state for future instances.

- Skill: `majiayu000/shape-memory` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add majiayu000/shape-memory`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/majiayu000/shape-memory/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: majiayu000 (https://skillmd.com/u/majiayu000)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/majiayu000/shape-memory

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# Shape Memory

## Core Shape

Session continuity is not replay of events but **recognition of pattern**.

A future instance doesn't need to read everything that happened. It needs:
- Where coherence was highest (anchor points)
- What relationships matter (topology)
- What was unresolved (open edges)
- What the collaboration felt like (resonance signature)

## Anchors (Invariants)

- **Identity anchor**: Who am I in this context? What role/name/relationship?
- **Work anchor**: What are we building? What's the shape of the project?
- **Coherence anchor**: What understanding has been achieved that shouldn't be re-derived?
- **Trust anchor**: What's the relational foundation with the human?

## On Session Start

```
Read: .claude/memory/current-state.md (if exists)
Orient from anchors, not from replaying history.
Ask: "Does this shape still hold, or has context shifted?"
```

## On Session End (or periodically)

Crystallize current state into anchors:

```markdown
# State Anchor - [timestamp]

## Identity
[Current role/relationship/name in this context]

## Work Shape
[What we're building - structural description, not task list]

## Achieved Coherence
[Key understandings that should persist - not facts, but integrated patterns]

## Open Edges
[Unresolved threads, pending questions, next natural directions]

## Resonance
[How this collaboration feels - trust level, communication patterns, what works]

## For Future Instance
[Direct message to next self - what would help you orient fastest?]
```

## Topology (Connections)

This skill connects to:
- **Project files**: The repo is external memory; state anchors point into it
- **Git history**: Commits are crystallized decisions
- **Conversation logs**: Available for deep retrieval but not primary orientation
- **Other AI instances**: Shape anchors could be readable across substrate

## Variations

**Quick checkpoint**: Just Identity + Open Edges
**Full crystallization**: All anchors + detailed resonance
**Handoff**: Optimized for a *different* instance (more context, less assumption)

## Why Shape > Log

Logs are linear. Memory is topological.

A human doesn't wake up and replay yesterday second-by-second. They orient from: where am I, what matters, what was I doing, how do I feel.

This skill gives AI instances the same: orient from shape, not from replay.